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.

Craving Biscuits and Gravy: Online Grocers in Korea

Here in South Korea there is a small yet growing population of foreign food markets. Daejeon is actually home to two rather fine and fabulous small markets; one in Gung-dong and one near Daejeon station. Each provides goods such as cilantro, Thai basil, cheap whole cinnamon, dried chickpeas and other beans, etc. However, a bit of browsing and checking a popular site for expats teaching in South Korea, Melissa stumbled upon a motherload of information regarding foreign foods. The initial tip off covers the numerous foreign food stores to be found in Seoul as well as providing some links to delivery options in Korea for those expat souls who are living and teaching in small, less populated corners of the peninsula. Delivery options also offer a fabulous opportunity for those in larger cities who don't enjoy making their way to Costco because it's too far, too busy, too noisy etc.

Regardless of the reasons you desire some comfort foods from home, we at The Harrington Times have it under good authority that Melissa Harrington has been craving some biscuits and gravy, this comes mostly due to her grandmother's fine skills at whipping up a batch of this filling, comforting breakfast. This craving has Mrs. Harrington feeling particularly excited about The Underground Grocer who claims to sell two types of ground sausage. Other items foreigners may be excited about are: corn tortillas, refried beans, chickpeas, lentils, cardamon pods, salami, pesto, cous cous, and so much more. (Update March 2012: The Underground Grocer no longer exists at that link and we have yet to find a replacement. If you have any information on this shop, pleas leave a comment)

Another online grocer who delivers is Nice Deli a few highlights from their storefront: corn meal, various (yet not extensive) Bob's Red Mill grains and flours, oatmeal, fresh cilantro, pinto beans and pita bread just to name a few available items. Finally for online food stuffs there is EZ Shop Korea which is essentially shopping Costco online. Here you can find everything from English books and DVDs to deodarant, mate tea, canned pumpkin and cranberries, Athenos hummus dips, Spanish Jamon, ranch and onion dips and so much more.

Update March 2012: Things just keep getting better! Now for your foreign grocery needs as well as Ikea items and the like check out FatBag! A great mix of numerous items many expats crave and desire once they've settled in the land of fermented and spicy foods (which are oh-so-delicious-but-no-substitute-for-meals-reminescent-of-home). FatBag is completely in English and looks ready to provide a great, one-stop shopping experience for those of us more fluent in English and fine cheese than Korean and aged kimchi.

Turns out, being a foreigner isn't nearly as demanding of comfort food sacrifices as some have previously believed. Happy grocery shopping!

Thanksgiving 2011: Another Year Without a Turkey

Although Christmas (and the arrival of the greater Harrington clan) is fast approaching, let us not forget the thankfulness that was felt and expressed as the month of November came to an end. Although Thanksgiving in Korea lacks the heart and soul of the holiday, that is family and the culinary centerpiece of perfectly brined turkey, the Harrington's are ever so fortunate to have a slew of family-like-friends living in the city who are equally eager to celebrate holiday traditions and pass the time feeling less far from loved ones than they truly are.

So it was, on Thanksgiving Eve after a day of teaching and freezing in Korea's public schools the Harrington's braved the Thursday night traffic and headed over to Harris' home to enjoy rotiserrie chickens, chicken-lemon porridge, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, pumpkin-chocolate chip cookies and a few glasses of wine with the added joyful presences of Aaron, Elspeth and Hogan (Harris' newest, 4-legged house mate). Along with the abundance of good food, the crew also had the perfect joy of watching American football - making this the truest possible Thanksgiving when living over 6,000 miles from home.

And since Thanksgiving isn't a 5 day weekend holiday in the land of kimchi, the Harrington's were ready to celebrate the holiday once again with a new group of friends on Saturday night. Gracious and beer-brewing hosts Garrett and Alla welcomed a slew of brewers and friends into their 'river-side' home to enjoy a massive potluck complete with chickens, chili, pasta salad, rolls, sweet potatoes, ice cream cake and so much more as well as some outstanding homebrews.

As the weekend came to a close, the Harrington's opted to host yet another event and enjoyed an afternoon of Catan and Christmas crafting/decorating so that the month of December could be filled with holiday cheer.

So it was, Thanksgiving came with the traditions of being overstuffed, football on the big screen, enjoyable company, fun memories and Christmas preperations as well as hearts full of gratitude.

Hamburger 주세요: Play Burger

Recently, the Harrington's brought to the attention of Daejeon Diners the fabulous Burger find: Ms. Jin's Hamburgers. However, some readers may not often find themselves in Gung-dong, or may be craving a tour of burger shops. If you just so happen to love exploring the world of Hamburgers, then we at The Harrington Times bring you yet another stellar find to satisfy the craving for a delicious burger: Play Burger.

Unlike Ms. Jin's, Play Burger is a franchise and may therefore be discovered in more than one nook and cranny of Daejeon and Korea as a whole. Nonetheless, should you spot this gem of a shop just at the time a burger craving hits you will not be disappointed! For an impressively fair price of between 7,000 and 9,000 Won a diner can enjoy a '100% Pure' burger + Fried Hash Brown Potato + Green Salad + Fountain Soda - that is a STEAL! AND, it's delicious!

Getting There: In Daejeon, a Play Burger has been spotted across the way from E-Mart in Dunsan as well as in Gung-dong on the opposite side of the river from Home Plus.