PAUL - Always At Your Service!

The novelty of PAUL, the French bakery chain, has never worn off, since its first store opened in Korea, in Yeouido, Seoul's financial district. Besides its great taste and Korean people's greater affection for anything French, PAUL's core success is, by some, said to be their consistency - the same recipe, ingredients, and training for chefs and managers. By looking at the picture below, you know, their European style service is also consistent (here, don't get me wrong. I adore European service that never seems to attend to customers, better than the Korean style service that gives me too much attention...that's stressful!)!  

PAUL去年在首爾開店後一直很夯，網路上的食記要多美有多美，很多女孩子也喜歡拉著男友在饒富異國風情的店內拍照，照的食物不多(反正食物不會動)，多的是女孩子各種角度的巧笑倩兮。PAUL在韓國會紅不只因為它的美味，總之韓國人對和法國扯得上邊的東西都有莫名憧憬，在首爾街頭隨便走幾步路都可見到Paris (파리) 這個字。

What happened was, for every coffee that you order, you can get one free refill of black coffee. And my coffee was Vienna, as you know, it's got thick whipped cream on top of it, which inevitably makes the coffee flow with oil. And when I asked a French waitress for a refill, she elegantly and slowly, without changing my cup, poured new coffee into my already oily cup.

踏入PAUL，彷若置身法國；不但原料、做法、裝潢、員工培訓和法國一致，連管理和服務都很一致，如果服務生沒有碰巧走到旁邊，你就得到櫃檯區才能要求服務(我是喜歡歐式服務這點的，我對韓式殷切服務反而感到不自在)。這杯咖啡大概可以說明歐式服務不拘小節的特色。凡點咖啡可享用一次免費黑咖啡續杯，我點的是上面有一大坨鮮奶油的維也納咖啡，喝完後，法國服務生連換杯都沒有就直接refill。看那波光粼粼啊。

Style Starbucks store & Afternoon Mini Dessert Set

在首爾不記得看過什麼特色星巴克，仁寺洞那些賣傳統的景點也沒有。為了找星巴克最近推出的下午茶套餐，竟在社區附近找到這家裝潢頗具韓國特色的梧木橋分店(스타벅스 오목교사거리점)，雖然，它也沒賣我想吃的下午茶套餐(按小圖可看大圖)。

Found this Korean style Starbucks (Omokgyo Sageori Store), surprisingly, it's not in any famous tourist attractions such as Insadong, but in my neighborhood, Mokdong.

位於梧木橋站6號出口，櫃台在1樓(上圖右)，座位在2樓(上圖左)。

Located outside Subway Omokgyo Station Exit 6. The counter is on the 1st and seats are on the 2nd floor.

內部裝潢 : 糊紙燈籠、竹製百葉窗、磚牆、韓風隔板；另有露臺，露臺的天花板燈也很有宮廷風味。這家桌椅和一般星巴克不同，大部分是厚實木製方桌。

Its interior design features paper lanterns, bamboo blinds, brick walls and Korean style partitions. There's also a verandah with cute temple style ceiling lights. Most of the tables and chairs are different from that of ordinary Starbucks; the tables are thick wooden square ones.

回到1樓點餐區，燈光、磚牆都很有韓國風味。告示板上寫了一個小故事，它說，星巴克是現代人的咖啡館，過去的韓國皇帝也有他的御用咖啡館，那就是德壽宮(덕수궁)的"靜觀軒"(정관헌)。

Back to 1st floor, the lights and brick walls raise a sense of Korean-ness. On the bulletin board it says while Starbucks is modern people's coffee house, ancient Korean emperor (Gojong) also has his royal coffee house, the Jeonggwanheon in the Deoksu Palace.

歐韓合璧的靜觀軒，建於1900年，
設計者為俄羅斯建築師Sabatin

沒在這家找到的下午茶套餐，後來在明洞吃到啦。

售價10000圜，和飲料合購則為8400圜。

I went to that Omokgyo Starbucks because I was finding the Starbucks Afternoon Tea Set, which they didn't sell. I later found it in Myeongdong. Price for this set of 6 mini desserts is 10000 won, 8400 won when ordered with any drink.

6種迷你糕點包含水果蛋糕、巧克力瑪芬、草莓瑪芬、杏仁塔、白巧克力米果慕斯蛋糕、及馬卡龍。供餐時盛於特製白色塑膠盤。我對韓國星巴克的餐點一向沒好感，這份迷你下午茶套餐卻出奇好吃，除了有點乾掉的水果蛋糕，巧克力瑪芬甜中帶點苦味、草莓瑪芬上面那一坨草莓克林姆酸中帶甜、杏仁塔和小蛋糕口感不錯但口味很常見、馬卡龍那兩塊餅濕黏得恰到好處，只是香氣很人工。

6 mini desserts include fruit cake, chocolate muffin, strawberry muffin, marzipan tart, white chocolate mousse cake, and macaron. I always bear a grudge about Korean Starbucks desserts but this mini set kinda appeals to me. Besides the fruit cake which is a bit dry when served, the muffin has a bitter chocolate taste, strawberry muffin's solid strawberry cream tastes sourly sweet, the marzipan tart and white chocolate cake are good but ordinary, and the macaron is not bad but smells artificial.

Hypocrites

source

I often wonder, maybe human beings are all hypocrites. And as you age, your ability to reveal hypocrisy (of your own or of others) improves. Years ago I met someone who told me he came to Taiwan because he adores Chinese culture, but when I realized that after 5 years living in Taiwan he barely spoke Chinese, it began to dawn on me that oh-there-are-many-of-you-out-there-with-a-story-of-giving-up-awesome-payroll-and-came-to-Taiwan-to-teach-English-because-of-the-love-for-Chinese-culture.

我常想，人們多少都有偽善的時候，年紀越大，能發現的偽善(自己的或他人的)就越多。例如20歲時的我曾在新加坡認識一自稱愛好中國文化的加拿大人，回台後還邀我去故宮為他導覽，不過當我發現他在台住了5年卻連基礎中文都不會說，我才恍然大悟，原來大家都有個因為熱愛中國文化而放棄本國高薪遠渡重洋到台灣教英文的激情過去。

"Stuff White People Like" is a book that reveals various hypocrisies of North Americans. There are people who prove their spiritual individuality by their acquaintance with religions that their parents don't belong to, their wide experience and extensive knowledge by travelling to the First and the Third World, their concern about international affairs by supporting Tibet(something much easier to support blindly, compared to global hunger, poverty or environment), their ability to see through capitalism's real face by hating corporations, and so on. Revealing hypocrisies like these is something I've been enjoying a lot too, and I have done to probably everyone of you regardless of ethnicity or relationship to me, and got a conclusion that human beings are all hypocrites. Then I ask myself, fine, then so what? When such ability as to revealing human hypocrisy improves, this world turn out to be, actually, quite bring.

"白人喜歡的東西"是一本揭露北美人諸多"偽善"事蹟的書，例如藉著接觸跟爸媽信仰的不一樣的宗教來證明自己靈魂自由、藉旅遊來證明自己見多識廣、藉支持藏獨(aka.比起全球貧富差距、環境議題等，更容易盲目支持的理想)顯示自己關心國際時事、藉討厭大企業來證明自己看穿資本主義的真面目，等等等等。揭發偽善的事情我也很喜歡做，然後得到了一個結論就是人類都是偽善的(這樣講起來好聳動喔，應該說，人類都有偽善的一面)。可是我問我自己，有了結論又怎樣? 當"發現人類偽善"的能力不斷增強後，這世界不也開始變得無聊了嗎?

How Do I Love Thee, Liechtenstein !

I've always felt that I am a person born at the wrong time, in the wrong place. When I was young, people told me to strive and see results, I did my best, but in vain, and those people who used to say those things to me vanished. So I am just left alone to deal with my naively wasted youth. Then I have a thought, if I were someone from Liechtenstein, a country that is prosperous but has no airport or university, and industries are very limited. Does that mean I'd probably end up leaving my country and live somewhere else as an expat if there's nothing for me to pursuit in my country? This thought, however, does not comfort me, as I soon after realize that my nationality, ROC, is nothing more than statelessness, even worse than Palestine or Kosovo. I sink into disturbed contemplation.

我一直覺得我是一個生不逢時又生不逢地的人。年紀小時，人家說，有努力就會有結果，這麼多年來，我努力了，還是看不到結果，那些叫我要努力的人就一個個消失了。所以我的青春還是要自己負責。後來我開始想，如果我是列支敦士登人，該如何自處? 我的國家富裕繁榮，但沒有機場也沒有大學，產業也有限，我是不是命中註定想念大學想搭飛機想從事某種產業，就得遠離國門? 這樣一想我倒有點釋懷，直到我又突然想起ROC國籍在國際上根本不是個屁，比巴勒斯坦或科索沃還令人絕望。我又陷入苦悶之中。

source

This week's Newsweek takes a brave initiative in reporting "The Best Countries in the World". It begins with Warren Buffett's account of himself that anything good that’s ever happened to him can be traced back to the fact that he was born in the right country—America—at the right time. My heart wrenched upon reading this. This report invites any kind of comments, but I especially agree with its intention that "while remarkable individuals can be found in any nation on earth, certain countries give their citizens much greater opportunity to succeed than others at certain points in time."

這期Newsweek很大膽的搞了一篇"世界最佳國家排名"，開篇引述華倫巴菲特爺爺說，發生在他身上的好事多可追溯到他在對的時間生在的對的國家(美國)這個事實上。這時我心頭真的就那麼一揪。這篇的內容褒貶由人，但基調我是很同意的 --- "雖然傑出人才在世界各地都找得到，在某些時間點上，有些國家確實能給國民提供更多發展機會"。

I have no idea what national identity I'd have if I am a Liechtensteiner/Liechtensteinerin doomed to leave his/her country, but I am pretty sure, I'd never feel proud or ashamed of anything that relates to my or anyone's nationality, and I'd never give it a damn about patriotism or nationalism.

我不知道如果我是一個必須遠離家鄉的列支敦士登人，我會有怎樣的國家認同；我只明白我永遠不會因為什麼東西而驕傲而自卑，我永遠不吃愛國主義或民族主義那一套。

Ding Tai Fung in Korea - A Lucrative Imagination

   

Ding Tai Fung @ Mokdong Hyundai Department Store

As mysterious an imagined Chinese food as fortune cookie to the Americans, Koreans also have their imagined version of Chinese food. Hence, Ding Tai Fung in Korea sells several items that are unseen in Ding Tai Fung in Taiwan, where this New York Time's world's top 10 restaurant originates from.

好比幸運餅乾是美國人對中國食物的一種神祕想像(我曾和外國友人說幸運餅乾不是中國的東西，他們很驚訝)，韓國人對中國菜也有類似想像，所以韓國鼎泰豐 (딘타이펑)有許多道台灣正港鼎泰豐所沒有的東西，也不足為奇。

Korea Ding Tai Fung's menu (source)

Ding Tai Fung,  originally recognized by its non-oily delicate taste, sells various exciting cuisines in Korea, including Dongpo's Pork, Braised Five-Spice Beef, and Sweet and Sour Shrimps. An implication behind such menu, I think, is Korean's unsophisticated understanding of Chinese food; they barely differentiate Szechuan, Cantonese or Jiang-Zhe cuisines, only knowing that things like Sweet and Sour Pork is a kind of Chinese food. So to make money from selling Chinese food to the Koreans, you've got to provide things that meet their stereotyped expectation of Chinese food. Ding Tai Fung's strategies in Korea prove to be successful, and given those cuisines' excitingly rich tastes, Tsingtao Beer also sells pretty well(!).

口味清淡的鼎泰豐，在韓國還賣東坡肉、涼拌蝦仁、五香醬牛肉、鍋包肉、甜辣醬蝦仁、富貴蝦仁等台灣鼎泰豐完全沒有的激動菜色。這說明了什麼呢? 我想，韓國人對中國飲食的認知是很單一的，你跟他說什麼四川、廣東、江浙他們沒有概念；他們只知道糖醋肉那類東西是中國菜，而要靠賣中國菜賺韓國人錢，便不得不賣那些符合他們對於中國菜的刻板印象的菜色。事實證明，這個策略非常成功，鼎泰豐在韓國的生意是嚇嚇叫，喔對了，連帶著熱銷這些好下酒的菜色，青島啤酒也賣得很夯。

So I just checked Ding Tai Fung's menu in the US and Japan, and got to know that besides minor differences, they don't sell those exciting cuisines. I guess it's safe to conclude that, Ding Tai Fung is a successful Chinese restaurant in Korea because it is a Koreanized Chinese restaurant, and that its Koreanization is epitomized by the sale of cuisines that correspond to Korean's stereotyped imagination of Chinese food.

我查了鼎泰豐在美國、日本等的菜單，除些許不同(例如日本鼎泰豐的叉燒麵，還蠻經典的)，並沒有那些激動又好下酒的菜色。也許可以這麼說，鼎泰豐在韓國之所以會成功，因為他是一個韓國化了的鼎泰豐；而他的韓國化，則是體現在販售那些符合韓國人對於中國飲食的認知的激動菜色。

Green Tea Affogato

Welcome to Starbucks in Korea.

We are promoting this month's limited edition beverage - Green Tea Affogato!

踏入8月的韓國星巴克

看板上畫著大大的本月強打限量飲品 --- 綠茶阿法奇朵

It's released with an environmental campaign -

Starbucks donates 100 won (8 cents) to an environmental fund for every cup of Green Tea Affogato you purchase.

配合環保宣傳活動，每售出一杯綠茶阿法奇朵，星巴克便捐出100圜 (3NTD)做為環境基金

Description : Green Tea Frappuccino without whipped cream,  topped by an espresso shot

飲品說明 : 不加鮮奶油的綠茶法布奇諾，最後淋上一份濃縮做結尾

Sunshine is beautiful, but this beverage is...not. Tall, 5800 won ( $5 )

雨後陽光很美，這飲料賣相不佳。中杯5800圜 ( NT160 )

Comments: For Starbucks caramel macchiato I usually have it half syrup and one more shot. This green tea affogato is just right for me, though a bit sweet, it melts my taste. Should taste as good with an extra shot too.

心得: 焦糖瑪奇朵我要半糖再多加一個shot，喝這個剛剛好，雖然有點甜，但甜得很有味道。多加一個shot應該也不錯。

 ( Photos courtesy of Starbucks Korea )

My Glorious Moment ( 阿Q )

This is a receipt from a PARIS BAGUETTE (파리바게뜨, a major chain bakery in Korea) in my neighborhood, who very often misses giving customers receipt on purpose. Things like this happen quite often in Korea ( like in Taiwan ), and as Korean people seem at ease, a foreigner like me should be cool with it, right? Not quite. Once I found out that this bakery charged us more ( it was KC who paid that time, had it been me, I'd have noticed on the spot! ) but without a receipt we had no way to claim our money back. Since then, I made up my mind to act against such tax avoiding behavior.

2 days ago I bought 2 breads there, 1100 + 1300 = 2400, with my T membership card's 10% discount, the subtotal went to 2160. So I intentionally paid them 5210. As I expected (haha!), the cashier was struck numb for a sec. Unable to do mental math,  he started pressing number keys on the cash register, which showed that they should give me back 3050, on the receipt. It was a small thing, but a glorious one(grin).

不管你覺得我無不無聊，我確實能從這種小事上得到正義的快感。

我住的社區的 PARIS BAGUETTE ( 파리바게뜨, 韓國的大眾連鎖麵包店)，常常不打發票。韓國逃漏稅的不少，他們自己人都無所謂，我這外國人去跟人家假正義什麼。不過，這家有次多收了我錢，因為購買時沒打發票給我，我當然無法回去理論。從此，老娘就跟它槓上惹!!!
前天我去買了兩個麵包，1100+1300=2400，因為我有 T membership card，9折後是2160元。我拿了5210給他，老闆臨時腦袋轉不過來無法心算，所以只好打了發票，找我3050元。爽!

Mirror ( 哪一種鏡子? )

Emperor Taizong of Tang says, "With a bronze mirror, one can see whether he is properly attired; with history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of a nation; with men as a mirror, one can see whether he is right or wrong." Then....... what is a mirror facing a toilet referring to?

唐太宗言，"夫以銅為鏡，可以正衣冠；以古為鏡，可以知興替；以人為鏡，可以明得失。" 那.......馬桶對著的鏡子又算哪一種?

A Toilet @ Sinchon Hyundai Department Store

Let's have a quick quiz first : How many sides of this washroom are mirror walls?  

我們先來猜個迷 : 這間廁所有幾面牆是鏡面?

(a) All / 全部

(b) 3 sides / 3面

(c) 2 sides / 2面

(d) 1 side only / 1面而已

(e) non of the above / 以上皆非 

What I am really wondering about is, why the side that the toilet is facing is also covered with mirror? 

其實我真正的問題是，馬桶對著的那面做成鏡面是想幹嘛 ?

I remembered a story from Yoko's book. Seems that not only me who feels there are mirrors everywhere in here. I think, to Korean people, appearance and representation, are really of great concern.

突然想到Yoko的새댁 요코짱의 한국살이(첫 번째 이야기)裡的一個軼事，可見不光我一個人留意到連廁所都可以有鏡子。我想，韓國人確實是很注意形象的。

source: 새댁 요코짱의 한국살이( 첫 번째 이야기 ) p. 50
English captions by me, hehe

COSTCO Korea is Nice in Rainy Days

It was raining cats and dogs when we're done with our shopping at Yangpyung COSTCO this evening. To our amazement, there were employees outside awaiting customers in need of help. They lent us umbrellas and even helped carry our cart to the parking lot and load our shopping into our car. Very nice of them.

今天在楊坪COSTCO買完東西時，外面正下著大雨，COSTCO安排了數位職員幫顧客撐傘、推車，一路護送到停車場後，還幫顧客搬東西到車上。這種好事不常有，一定要大書特書啦!

韓式男妝的6個 NOs !

現在的首爾街頭，想見到有化妝的韓男已非難事，螢幕上的濃妝男星也越來越多，但韓國人對男生化妝這件事的接受度與認識度和台日還是有相當差距，不但化妝品專櫃櫃哥並不常見，大部分韓男對化妝技巧還是相當陌生，也因此，韓國本土女性時尚雜誌 SURE 的小編在這期特別寫了一篇 "我男人的Make Up"，解析幾個最基本的男妝技巧 (圖片來自SURE Aug 2010)。

男性化妝不是刊登在男性雜誌而是女性雜誌(許先生說他從沒在韓國男性雜誌看過教男生化妝的內容)，我想到兩個緣由，一是可由女性讀者傳達此資訊給不會化妝但想化妝的男性，二是由於市場上缺乏男妝訊息的管道，這些女性雜誌其實擁有一定數量的關心化妝議題的男性讀者。

我本想身先士卒拿許先生的臉試驗一下，不過說服失敗!!! 所以只能從雜誌內容出發，另加一些圖片等資訊，在這裡分享XD

(按小圖都可以看大圖喔^^)

~ 韓式男妝的6個 NOs ! ~

第一 NO !  和女生眉毛一樣細的眉毛

不良示範 : "我不會修眉，就那樣擺著好了" or 修眉時老失手導致眉毛跟女生眉毛一樣細

美眉指南 :

1. 臉部清潔後，化妝水濕敷眉毛，舒緩皮膚

2. 男眉不需注意細節，修毛請用修眉夾，勿使用剪刀或刀片

3. 修眉僅需修除眉毛下緣即可。眉毛下緣若比上緣長，看起來就會不太順眼、眉尾若呈下垂狀，則會使眼睛看起來垂垂的，所以可拿一把尺，以眉頭下緣為準，水平擺置，沿水平方向修整此水平線下的眉毛，使眉尾和眉頭在同水平線上。因為這點有點抽象，放幾個典型韓國男美眉如下 :

CN Blue的용화 :
氣質路線眉型，眉毛下緣也是平的
(source)

Big Bang 的 T.O.P :

風格不同的兩個造型，儘管右圖眉毛較為上揚，

基本韓眉元素不變---眉毛下緣接近直線 (source)

"洗臉後，用手指梳順眉毛，不用一直去拔，看起來也不錯 ! "
                                                                                                        ~ 某美容專家

 

第2  NO !  超人工假假眼線

不良示範 : "黑色眼線看起來才有男人味"

自然風眼線指南 :
1. 深咖啡或卡其眼線看起來才自然順眼

2. 畫眼線前要用粉打底以防暈染

3. 細心畫在眼睛和睫毛之間，睫毛縫隙也要填滿

進階版: 男人的小煙燻

1. 使用眼線筆，從眼尾畫到眼中
2. 使用棉花棒暈染至眼頭

 

第三 NO ! 剛吃完炸雞的豬油唇

不良示範 : 有色彩的唇蜜看起來很娘，要用透明唇蜜才行，這樣嘴唇看起來就會水嫩水嫩的!

美唇指南 :

1. 用唇膏或凡士林揉掉唇上的脫皮

2. 勿用透明唇蜜 ! 單上透明唇蜜會太亮太奇怪，還會突顯唇部瑕疵。男性唇色一般較深，選用蜜桃色系(peach)或淺黃色系(weak beige)較為適合。塗法 : 將唇蜜點在嘴唇中間，用手或棉棒向兩側塗抹

進階版: 塑造唇型

利用遮瑕筆框出理想唇線

 

 

第四 NO ! 可怕的臉頸色差

不良示範 : 選擇粉底時僅考慮臉部膚色，忽略了臉頸色差

臉頸不脫節指南 :
1. 男性粉底要選比臉部膚色深一號；選色時可將粉底塗抹在下巴上，和頸部膚色做比較
2. 粉底上法 : 由臉部中間向兩側塗抹
3. 使用刷具和深色修容粉，從鬢角順著下顎做修容，可降低臉頸色差感


進階版: 自然的遮瑕方法
1. 使用條狀遮瑕膏，在瑕疵上做點狀遮瑕
2. 點完後，用遮瑕刷刷云，不要用手
3. 黑眼圈遮瑕則須用手，手的溫度可讓遮瑕膏在臉上顯得更為自然

第5 NO !  鬍子和毛孔的卡粉問題

不良示範 : 使用化妝水後，將潤色乳或粉底置於手掌，拍打上妝

不卡粉秘訣 :
1. 上妝前先用化妝水調理肌膚；如果忽略這個步驟，潤色乳或bb cream很容易跟臉部油脂混在一起，臉看起來就會髒髒的
2. 盡量使用海綿上妝，不要用手
3. 有鬍子的部分，用擦拭的方式，順著鬍子生長的方向上妝



p.s. 這項大概是衝著以留小八字鬍出名的允尚賢( 윤상현，"拜託小姐"男主角)而寫的吧，不過我不太喜歡他的臉，就不放圖片了，可自行點選連結觀看。嗯，雖然他現在很紅，但把鬍子刮掉以後，走在路上大概很難被認出來XD

第 6 NO ! 處理午後煎蛋鍋

不良示範 : 一覺得臉油就洗臉，重上 bb cream

1. 早上洗臉後，保養品用薄些，使用不同保養品要留間隔時間，各項產品才能被完整吸收。T字部位和兩頰需使用妝前乳，粉底或bb cream 才可以在臉上好好待著
2. 臉變油時，使用吸油面紙或面紙，輕輕按壓臉部吸油
3. 將透明蜜粉細心拍在臉上

The Tipping Snus

Whereas smoking is nearly a national collective behavior in Korea, it's not attached with any negative lable like in Taiwan. Hence, though KC's school is considered a prestigious university, one shall not be surprised to see smokers around the campus, with some demonstrating horrifying vulgarism by littering butts or even spitting while smoking.

抽菸在台灣大概是件非常負面之事，但在韓國可說是國民運動，此舉和社會地位、教育程度也沒什麼關係。儘管許小臉來自所謂名校，校園繞一圈，處處可見哈菸男女，而且不少人菸品極差，邊走邊抽亂丟菸蒂之類的不算什麼，邊抽邊吐痰的才是極品。

KC enjoying smoking on Viking Line

When KC visited Sweden last year, he enjoyed his full liberty trying all kinds of tobaccos with my guy classmates. However, just before he went back to Korea, I invited my Swedish friends to a dinner at home, they were the first Swedish guys that he'd even met; they were humorous, charming, and... using snus. That's how KC acquired the consumption of snus. And then he quited smoking, totally.

我對許小臉抽菸一事一向不多置喙，去年他在瑞典還跟我幾個抽菸的同學抽得很開心。然而，就在他回韓國前，我邀了幾位不抽菸的瑞典朋友來家裡吃飯，他們風度翩翩、談吐幽默，席間不時使用snus，就在那樣的場景下，許小臉被snus所迷惑，進而把菸給戒掉了。

It was long before I read The Tipping Point, so I had little knowledge of smoking back then. But now I know, the experiential context matters the most, for a habit like smoking, to persist. And the best way to quit smoking, for a non born smoker like KC, is to provide him with something capable of offering better emotional experience, something that he considers cooler.
snus可讓一天抽10多根菸的許小臉快速戒菸，這件事讓我明白，對他這種非天生的smoker，抽菸並非思而後動之舉，一開始只是耍帥，後來就是習慣成自然，而要把這個習慣戒掉，就是給他另一個習慣，一個他認為不但比抽菸健康、而且還更酷的習慣。

Snus is a moist powder tobacco product originated from Sweden. The consumption of snus does not include inhalation so it does not affect the lungs as cigarettes do.
snus是潮濕的粉狀菸草製品，起緣於19世紀的瑞典，一個偉大的發明(因為它幫助許小臉戒菸XD)。它是用來放在嘴巴裡的，一般卡在牙齦跟嘴巴之間，它可提拱人體尼古丁，但因非吸入性質，不會造成一般香菸對肺部的不良影響

Our friend sent this new product from LUCKY STRIKE from Sweden last month. The bottom has a small separated space for putting used ones.
Rachel幫許小臉從瑞典寄來新產品， LUCKY STRIKE 的snus；盒底設計了一個空間，可放置使用過的snus

One of KC's fav snus brands, the Göteborgs Rapé. The one on the left is loose snus, the other 2 are portion snus.
Göteborgs Rapé是許小臉愛牌之一，盒身設計很經典

The lid on the top is designed for putting used ones.
盒蓋上另設的小空間，用來放置使用過的snus

Not Yet Off the Starbucks Hook ( 被韓國星巴克持續制約中 )

source: Starbucks Coffee Korea

有鑑於新韓銀行卡免費升級、儲值卡免費extra shot、還有最重要的免費無線網路，持續被星巴克制約中；最近的11周年慶祝活動發行了限量迷你卡+手機吊飾的組合，充值5萬，可免費獲得。

Starbucks in Korea, not my fav place in town. But with your Shinhan check card you get free upgrade, your Starbucks Card free extra shot of basically anything, and most importantly, to me, free wi-fi. They've recently launched this 11th anniversary celebration event, you get a free mini card and phone strap set with every 50,000 won ($45) reload.

約長11.5公分，正反面圖

11.5 cm long, Front and Back 

杯套取下後的展開內視圖

Take off the cardboard holder and open..

和香港今年出的迷你卡做比較 :

價格: 香港卡98HKD，內含50HKD/韓國11周年卡充值5萬可免費得到

材質大小: 完全一樣，塑膠，6.5 X 4 cm

Some comparisons with Hong Kong's limited mini card this year :

Price: HK card costs 98 HKD, 50HKD goes to card balance,

the Korea one is free with a 50,000 won reload

Material and Size: exactly the same, plastic, 6.5 X 4 cm

兩款韓國手機吊飾比較 :

左邊的細節記不清，應是半年多前充值3萬還5萬的限量贈品；

右邊是這次11周年的贈品，材質和左邊的差不多，但較軟，用指甲努力刮會有刮痕

Comparisons with another Starbucks strap released in Korea:

Not very sure about the one on the left,

but it should be a limited gift from a 30,000 or 50,000 reload half year ago;

The one on the right is from the 11th anniversary event,

it's also plastic but is made softer and gets scratches

 

A Korean Fascination of Stirring and Mixing ( 韓式剉冰糊 )

An obsessive-compulsive disorder of Koreans is their fascination with the motion of stirring and mixing.

韓國人的諸多強迫症之一是對於拌、攪這類動作有不可遏止的依戀。

When cooking raw meat, I usually began stirring after the meat gets slightly cooked, and after stirring I'd wait for a little while and stir again. The Korean way is to keep stirring from the every beginning, non-stop, which to me, does not seem that smart. Plus, it's always damn sweltering beside the stove.

炒菜時，我會等到肉熟了點後才開始翻攪，每回翻攪後，會讓它擺在那裡，停一下再繼續翻攪。但韓國人卻從肉生生的一丟下去就不停翻攪，還不可以停。這在我看來是很不必要的事，而且很笨，因為這種方式很累人，爐火旁又熱得要死(好啦，你去熱是你的事，要求我也這樣做，我真的很OX ! )。

GoGung's Spicy Octopus Bibimbap
that my father ordered (source)

During my father's first trip to Korea, we took him to GoGung (고궁), a bibimbap restaurant. Bibimbap literally means "mixed rice"; it's served as a bowl of rice topped with things like vegetables, minced meat and egg, with a huge scoop of chili sauce in the middle. You stir all the ingredients thoroughly before eating. However, the kind of bibimbap my father ordered was extremely spicy, so he did not stir all the indigents at once but eat little by little, a mouthful of rice and vegetables and a little chili sauce. However, when the waiter saw him, he came, took away his spoon and chopsticks and began stirring thoroughly with passion. And he made the whole bowl uneatable for my father.

我爸第一次到韓國時，我們帶他去古宮吃拌飯。拌飯上桌時，底下是飯，上面鋪滿各式菜料，中間有一大陀辣椒醬，吃法是要整個拌在一起。拌飯種類有很多，唯獨我爸點的辣炒章魚拌飯辣到仆街，所以他不能整碗拌，而是挖一口飯，搭一點菜跟辣椒醬這樣吃。不料，服務生竟然跑過來說他吃法不對，以迅雷之速從我爸手裡奪走湯匙筷子並感情豐沛的完成了徹底的攪拌。於是，這碗飯我爸是一口都吃不下去了(因為太辣，我爸在公車上還吐了@@)。

Korean style ice cream (bingsu, "shaved ice") is similar to the Taiwanese ones just, they eat it differently. In Yoko's book she once mentioned that Japanese eat ice cream with maintaining its original appearance as a principle, while Korean people stir and mix all ingredients to enjoy the harmony of flavors. 

韓國也有剉冰，口味與花樣跟台灣的都差不多，只是韓國人是把剉冰當剉冰糊來吃的。Yoko曾在書中寫過一篇 "入鄉隨俗" (見下圖)，提到日本人吃剉冰會以盡量不破壞外觀為原則，但韓國人吃剉冰，則是要攪成糊後享受調合的美味。

(source : 새댁 요코짱의 한국살이(두 번째 이야기) pp. 84~85 ; English captions by me )

It's summer now and every where there are people eating bingsu. Whenever I see people with a bowl of melted ice cream in bizarre colors, I feel a chill down my spine. We passed by illy the other day and tried their espresso flavor bingsu topped with Häagen-Dazs ice cream. KC and I made a deal to stir and mix only after finishing that scoop of Häagen-Dazs. See before and after.

現在是夏季，到處都有人吃剉冰，而我每次看到那一碗碗顏色詭異的剉冰糊，都覺得很噁心。那天經過illy，看到espresso口味的剉冰，上面還有兩球哈根達斯冰淇淋，就很想吃，還好許先生答應我，等到哈根達斯吃完後才會開始攪，before & after 圖請見 :