Food Storyist.

My mom works.

She worked since I was very young. So, instead of her, grandma raised my sister and me and did most of house works including cooking. Mom cooked much less times than normal housewives, and even worse, she didn’t seem to have any interest in cooking. '

But, today, mom made a salad for me. 

Grandma is in hospital being taken care by nurses, since she got frail rapidly recently. It means no body is in charge of cooking in this family. I know how to cook, but presumably, with a genetical reason, I don’t enjoy it alike mom. 

I was so happy to spot the salad in the refrigerator. But soon I realized that, there is nothing but salad. Bleak. Nothing.

Luckily or unluckily, there was only just-made rice in the rice-cooker.

But, “Mom, You meant salad with rice?” 

Korea Pizzahut : Cream Chicken Pizza : Smart Dinner in Pizzahut

I wanted to have something fatty and starchy.
That idea led me to chewy cheese on bread, Pizza.

On the way home, My b-friend and I parked the cark at a parking lot middle of downtown.(it was near Kyungsung university in Busan). It was around 9:30, late for dinner for Korean. holding hunger, we wanted to try something new like hungry adventurers.
 
Imsil cheese pizza, very wellknown brand but rarely found, caught our eyes, so we hurriedly enter into it. Oh god, it was closed. The staff said it finished at 10 to dismay.

On opposite side of road, we saw the red sign glaring. Our eyes glared. We soon recognized it Pizzahut. One of the most popular places, the oldest franchise pizza shops in Korea.

I used to eat pizza at Pizzahut frequently 10 years ago. There were hardly optional places to have pizza in my village in the past. And I liked its new western food, pizza itself. But now, I disliked its outdated image of the pizza hut. Whether liking it or not, at that time, late at night, I was just craving for pizza itself.



Pizzahut

Entering the shop, we checked the closing time. The sign on the door says it closes at 11 to relief. A young staff greeted us cheerfully. We sat on a window-by table and flung open the menu book. Our eyes started prowling about. The staff, staring at us, all of a sudden, called us calmly. With a grin, she recommended us the smart dinner set proudly.



Smart dinner set? I’ve heard of smart lunch, but never smart dinner.
I look through the menu description on the book.

Smart Dinner

It’s available from 5 pm on only weekdays.
It consists of ‘the special pizza’, pasta and a refillable salad bowl for two.
It only costs you 24,000 for all of them.

You can choose one pizza among ‘so hot chicken’, ‘cream chicken’, ‘bazil seafood’, ‘tender beef’. and ‘camangber’, and one pasta among ‘baked meatball’, ‘baked carbonara’, ‘rich cheese’, and more pasta options available if you pay extra 2,000won. If you are three people, you pay 2,500 won more for salad.

Cost benefit : 7,700won
The special pizza(15,900won)+Pasta(8,900)+ Salad(6,900won) = All (31,700won)
All (without discount 31,700won) - Smart Dinner(24,000won) = 7,700 won
All (With 15% discount 26945won) - Smart dinner(24,000won) = 2,945 won

Be aware :
No drink is included.
No Discount(by credit card, mobile card) applied.
(If you have 20% discount method, Smart dinner is unnecessary,
but if you don’t have any discountable things, you must use it.)

We ordered Cream chicken pizza, Rich cheese pasta, Salad and a glass of coke. After 20 minutes, all food was served and looked so yummy. The pizza was good, the pasta was good. In terms of salad, there were new menus. Yuzu jelly, Caramelized Sweet potato, Passion fruits, and Cozze. I was so glad to spot Caramelized sweet potato(Goguma matting), and I piled it up on the plate like a rocky mountain and brought to the table.

Korean Holiday : I Eat Rice Cake Pasta Soup on New Year Day.

Today is Lunar New Year Day.
A big holiday in confucian countries.

As tradition, I had rice cake pasta soup, tteokguk, this morning.
I also ate special foods eaten only on occasion.
After eating breakfast, I bowed to our grandma and parents.
I used to get some money from them.
But I am old enough not to have it, a bit sad.

I am glad to have nice food here.
Now I am preparing to meet my maternal relatives later.

[KOREAN FOOD] - Korean Food : New Year Culture, Rice Cake Soup at Home
[SCRIBBLE ]- A Rice Mill : To Buy Rice Cake for Lunar New Year in Busan, Korea
[MY DIARY] - Korean Holiday : Lunar New Year Korean Traditional Food

A Rice Mill : To Buy Rice Cake for Lunar New Year in Busan, Korea

On the way home, swirling steam blurred my sight.
I stopped to figure where it was from. It was from the ventilator of the rice mill.

I thought the rice mill was almost shut up, completely close, since its light inside was often off. It hadn’t displayed any stuff quite long time.

But today, Surprisingly, small carts was laid in line in front of the rice mill to wait for its turn. I looked around standing there, and I spotted some women who seemed to be owners of those carts chattering with each other.

They must wait for their white long bar rice cake to make rice cake soup on the new year day. And thinking that we already prepared the rice cake ingredients, my mom by herself did it for us waiting in line.

Thanks, Mom. I feel the biggest holiday coming soon.


2011/12/28 - [KOREAN FOOD] - Korean Food : New Year Culture, Rice Cake Soup at Home