Maneki Nekos and Happy Dancing Squids: A Little Tokyo Food Tour

Last week's no-ramen, no-sushi food tour of Little Tokyo in the East Village was so much fun, especially because of the folks on the tour. And the cute animals! Check out these guys!

The "apple taste cider" (which hurt no actual apples in its making) was a definite miss, but the bottle will make an great vase, and dried squid is always a hit for me.

We started our tour off with one of my childhood favorite foods, the mighty OMU-RICE! Ours was topped with grilled enoki mushrooms, which was a really nice touch.

The group grabs takeout containers and splits them outside, a quick and delicious way of hitting up as many places as possible. Next up was my favorite Osaka friend, takoyaki! 

We loved watching the bonito shrink and undulate as they melted from the takoyaki heat.

Almost equally beloved by our group were taikyaki. This cake is filled with red bean paste usually, but this one was full of green tea paste and mochi. I loved the green tea one!

Next up were a Japanese bakery and a Japanese grocery store I often go to. Sunshine Mart in the East Village is a pure gem, and I was able to get mochiko and red bean paste to make mochi at home.

Here we are standing around with our spoils of junk food from Sunshine.

No photos of the delicious pan pastries we had, from sweet potato buns to custardy buns, but head to Pan-Ya to find those sweets.

I can't wait to do this again. I think next time we're planning on British food in the West Village.

Not for All the Fried Chicken in Seogwipo

What would I not do for this chicken, is the real question?

My umma and I spent a month this summer in Korea and Japan. Our favorite destination, despite the love of Seoul relatives, was Jeju Island, where we knew not a soul.

On that island, we stayed in the city of Seogwipo. Sitting like a sunny-side up egg on the southern face of that windswept volcanic island, Seogwipo was a quiet gem from the moment we arrived.

But black pig be damned. Despite being the island's specialty, it was this fried chicken in the Olle Market that I fell for. Hard.

Called dak gangjeong, this dish is inspired by Chinese sweet and sour chicken. Spicy, sweet and deliciously crispy, it's a pure pleasure that I remember from childhood church picnics and afterschool special treats at home.

For a mere W5,000 (5,000 Korean Won, equal to approximately three bucks U.S.) this cup of chicken was mine, all mine. And in a mere five minutes, this chicken was gone, all gone.

The quality and parts of the chicken you use, of course, are important. Here's a great recipe from Maangchi in case you won't be getting to Seogwipo anytime soon.