Fine Dining in Daejeon: 싸다돼지마을

Although the Harrington's love a good hamburger or taco, the truth is they love Korean food and cook plenty of it at home while also making their way out to the many fine-dining establishments of Daejeon. Time and time again, the Harrington's make their way to Gung-dong where some of the best food for the best prices is located. And of those Gung-dong restaurants there is one 싸다돼지마을 (Cheap Pork Village) that has them hooked, nearly addicted to their go-juchang bul-gogi (thinly sliced meat in a spicy, red pepper sauce, wrapped with lettuce)

Favorite Cafes: The Chocolate

Of all the cafes located in the great city of Daejeon, South Korea, one continually calls forth the Harrington duo and any number of their eager friends.

The cafe is simply called The Chocolate. And for good reason. The chocolate options at this cafe are supreme.

Take for instance the original Hot Choco which is served in two parts - a mug of perfectly steamed milk alongside a beautiful helping of warm, liquid chocolate, oh and the third part - a whisk.

27 on the 27th: A Golden Weekend

One week ago, Melissa awoke to the day she has so long anticipated, April 27th, 2012. Even before learning about the blessed 'golden birthday' (the birthday on which ones new age matches the day of the month), Melissa was sure being 27 would be the most fabulous thing in the world. (Recent reflections have convinced her that getting older seems a bit more promising than daunting, anyway, reflections for another time and place).

Seeing how Melissa's birthday was on Friday, she was required to wake upon the regular morning hours and make her way to Samcheon Elementary school where she'd be required to energetically and enthusiastically teach five classes of 4th grade students. Fortunately, these are some of her favorite students and her classroom as well as the school halls were filled with sweet voices singing the Happy Birthday song or shouting birthday wishes for Melissa Teacher. Not to mention the gifts and sticky note messages, hand made cards and candies that also filled Melissa Teacher's desk.

Aside from all the attention afforded by students, Melissa was also honored to receive an ice cream/gelato cake from the subject teachers, although the flavors ranged from grape to strawberry to cheese (as in processed cheese), the thought was quite nice and the fruit flavors quite lovely.

Favorite Cafes: Cafe Moru

If you live in Daejeon and spend any time on Facebook groups you've likely heard about the greatly renowned Cafe Moru where Daejeonites can sink their teeth into some fine quality brunch items.  Always ready to check out the latest and greatest in Daejeon's dining options as well as enjoy some typical western breakfast items, the Harrington's recently made their way to Cafe Moru and were far from disappointed.

The cafe is easy to find behind

Stories from the Couch: Baseball Mania

On Sunday, April 22nd, the Harrington's loaded up the car and headed north toward Cheongju, the current home of Daejeon's Hanwha Eagles while the home stadium is under construction.  And while the Harrington's love a good game of baseball on a Sunday afternoon as much as any Apple-pie fed Americans, their main purpose in attending this specific game was due in large part to the CouchSurfer they picked up at the bus terminal before heading to Cheongju.

Waka is relatively new to CouchSurfing, but not to the sport of baseball. On the contrary, Waka is

Fine Dining in Daejeon: Machera Well-Being

In Laramie, Wyoming one of the Harrington's all-time favorite restaurant is a place by the name of Sweet Melissa's. Now, aside from the fabulous name choice, the restaurant has a phenomenal all-vegetarian menu. And while our readers may be well aware that the man Harrington in particular has a deep love for meat and that Melissa gets her share too, the truth is they know the value of a good vegetarian meal. In fact, most of their home cooking is more aligned to that of a vegetarian than a raging carnivore.

Regardless of the Harrington's personal food choices, suffice it to say, the couple is always on the look out for restaurants that have foreigner appeal and a vegetarian restaurant is most definitely appealing to the vegetarian tourists or expats in South Korea who quickly discover that if there's no meat in the dish, there's likely to be fish sauce and if there's no fish sauce, there's likely to be meat.

So with an understanding that vegetarian meals are a) good for the soul and b) hard to come by in South Korea, the Harrington duo made their way out to Machera Well-Being a vegetarian buffet at the end of the Subway Line, Banseok Station.

Stories from the Couch: Ppuri Park and Other Things

Having enjoyed the first couple days of hosting and a night out on the town, the Harrington's and their guests were happy to awake on Wednesday morning and take things slow due to the national holiday, honoring the election. 

The day began with a fabulous Turkish style breakfast prepared by Onur. The dish was a simple yet extraordinary combination of onions, chilies, tomatoes, seasoning and eggs which was then scooped up onto a piece of bread before finding it's way to eager taste buds. With a hearty, happy start to the day, the crew cleaned up and packed up and prepared for an enjoyable outing to Daejeon's Ppuri Park.

Located in the southern parts of the city, Ppuri Park is perfectly situated between the river and a small hill. The park is significant in size and allows for guests to view various markers of historical Korean family names as well as take in a variety of foliage...when it has bloomed anyway. Additionally, the park showcases

Purposeful Dining in Vietnam: Huong Lai Restaurant

Perhaps it goes without saying that one of Melissa's greatest joys comes in the form of either food preparation or food consumption. While visiting foreign lands, it is always the goal of the Mrs. to find something great and incredibly tasty to feast upon.

Additionally important to the Harrington duo is spending their money in as wise, compassionate and sustainable ways as possible. Therefore, when the Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a Shoestring Guide Book highlights a restaurant as not only serving "beautifully presented traditional Vietnamese food" but also as a restaurant where all staff "are from disadvantaged families or former street children", you can bet your money that the Harrington's will set out in search of said restaurant.

Having toured Notre Dame Cathedral and the near by Central Post Office, the couple made their way Ly Tu Trong St. and began searching for a sign that would notify them of their arrival at Huong Lai Restaurant. Before long, the sign was spotted and the couple was ascending the wooden staircase into an incredibly quaint and cozy second floor restaurant of dark wooden tables, brick accents and white walls.

Wait staff spoke adequate English and were happy to recommend the Chili Lemongrass Pork and Fish Sauce Chicken both of which were bursting with flavor and absolutely delightful on this February afternoon in Ho Chi Minh City. Always ready to try something sweet, the couple then finished the meal with Che (a traditional sweet bean soup) and Homemade Longan Ice Cream

If you find yourself in Ho Chi Minh City, wanting to eat a delicious and purposeful meal for around $5US, Huong Lai Restuarant is an exceedingly fine choice.

Fine Dining in Daejeon: Ali Baba's Treasure

Perhaps a year ago Melissa made her way to Ali Baba's Treasure and was not impressed to the point of posting. However, a new cook and a few new menu items/recipes and Ali Baba's has now found itself a place here on The Harrington Times.

Offering a weekend special for 12,000 won, Ali Baba's lured the Harrington's in with the offer of salad, soup, falafel and lemon pepper chicken. The salad dressing reminded the couple of a salted lemon dressing they enjoyed while traveling in Guatemala and the falafel was pure joy! The soup was a bit salty compared to the non-salt-added foods the Harrington's typically consume, but delicious nonetheless. Only problem with the lemon pepper chicken is that there was such an abundance after having already chowed down on the deliciousness, fortunately, the Mr. can pack things in so he made sure to get the full value of the night out.

Getting There: Situated on the second floor of a building in Gung-dong if you can find Santa Claus or Shisha House you're just a few doors away from entering Ali Baba's Treasure.