A simple conversation:
Korean: Where are you from?
Me: India
Korean: Indo?
Me: Yes
Korean: Gandhi?
Me: Yes
Korean: Indira Gandhi? Your President?
Me: No. She was the Prime Minister, once upon a time. Our President now is Dr. Abdul Kalam and our Prime Minister is Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Korean: You speak good english.
Me: "SMILE"
Korean: So, you can speak Indian?
Me: Umm..uhhh...I speak Hindi and Bengali
Korean: Meaning?
Me: You see I am from West Bengal that is towards the east of India and my mother tongue is Bengali. I also know Hindi because it’s our National Language.
Korean: So your friend, he speaks Hindi? Bengali?
Me: No he speaks Tamil. He is not a Bengali. He can’t speak Hindi.
Korean: You are confusing me.
Me: We have many languages in India, depends upon where you are from.
Korean: Oh I see, but Hindi is your common language.
Me: Yes, but we talk in English with him.
Korean: I give up!! Lets have a drink!!
Me: Lets!!
Korean: So what language do you speak at home?
Me: Bengali
Korean: So English is at work and Bengali at home. When do you speak Hindi?
Me: With friends!!
Korean: Sorry?
Me: I mean with friends who are from the Northern, Central and Western Part of India.
Korean: So in those parts of India, they speak Hindi.
Me: No. I mean Yes and No.
Korean: What do you mean?
Me: I mean there are languages other than Hindi, for example Gujrati in Gujarat, Marathi in Maharashtra, Punjabi in Punjab.
Korean: They are different provinces?
Me: Yes, we call them states.
Korean: But in English State would also mean country..
Me: That’s right, they almost are.
Korean: What are you trying to say?
Me: Never mind, I am just joking.
Korean: So all your prov...er...states and your language name is similar.
Me: NO!
Korean: Oh!!!!!
Me: Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the North use Hindi. In the South we have Kerala using Malayalam. There are other examples
Korean: OIC! So each province....ohhhh...states have different governments?
Me: Yes, true.
Korean: So what is the official language?
Me: Each to their own.
Korean: Now I understood. So they communicate to each other in Hindi.
Me: NO, not always.
Korean: Are you trying to confuse me?
Me: No. While they use their own language, when communicating with others they also translate them to Hindi.
Tamil Friend: NO!!!
Korean: What?
Me: Some do and some don’t.
Korean: I had enough of this.
Me: Oh sorry. We must have bored you to death. It’s rather confusing. Oh by the way. Why do you guys have English Headings in Posters and Books but all other content in Korean?
Korean: HUH???
Sphere: Related Content
Showing posts with label Seoul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seoul. Show all posts
Monday, February 27, 2006
Residence Reasoning : Seoul
Residence in Seoul:
What should be the criteria for selecting an area to stay? The most common answer would be the workplace. That’s because everyday morning you would not like to commute too much and would like to reach office without too much trouble.
I have a different take on the subject and I am not sure whether you would agree. I would like to stay near my friends and more in a foreign land. For example, my workplace is Incheon but I stay in Seoul. My daily commute time is about 2 hours to and fro. I somehow do not seem to mind this. I am rather more comfortable that on a holiday and weekends I am much nearer to my friends. In a foreign land it’s the non-work hours that you think about ways and means to fill up and I am sure that cannot be done alone. Not always. After an action packed holiday I would not like to travel a whole lot of time to reach home. Therefore I stay in Mapo, just above the Subway Station and for me it’s extremely convenient to reach anywhere I feel like in a reasonable amount of time.
Some others look for transportation convenience; schools perhaps, nearby markets and what have you. In Seoul the first and the third points are irrelevant because of their good spread. School is not a factor with me, so that is out.
There are a few others who stay in Inch eon but weekends they stay with other colleagues/friends. But I have an issue. I like to go back home at night, no matter where I am. So now would u agree to my point of view? Sphere: Related Content
What should be the criteria for selecting an area to stay? The most common answer would be the workplace. That’s because everyday morning you would not like to commute too much and would like to reach office without too much trouble.
I have a different take on the subject and I am not sure whether you would agree. I would like to stay near my friends and more in a foreign land. For example, my workplace is Incheon but I stay in Seoul. My daily commute time is about 2 hours to and fro. I somehow do not seem to mind this. I am rather more comfortable that on a holiday and weekends I am much nearer to my friends. In a foreign land it’s the non-work hours that you think about ways and means to fill up and I am sure that cannot be done alone. Not always. After an action packed holiday I would not like to travel a whole lot of time to reach home. Therefore I stay in Mapo, just above the Subway Station and for me it’s extremely convenient to reach anywhere I feel like in a reasonable amount of time.
Some others look for transportation convenience; schools perhaps, nearby markets and what have you. In Seoul the first and the third points are irrelevant because of their good spread. School is not a factor with me, so that is out.
There are a few others who stay in Inch eon but weekends they stay with other colleagues/friends. But I have an issue. I like to go back home at night, no matter where I am. So now would u agree to my point of view? Sphere: Related Content
Indian Restaurants in Seoul
Indian Restaurants in Seoul :
Do I have a catering degree? Is my sense of taste like an average person or is it something terribly unique? There could be more questions on me qualifying for writing about Indian food in Seoul. But then I guess this is my space and who cares after all. So here goes my piece. To set the base right let me explain that I understand a fair amount of cooking and I have had my decent share of eating out.
One of the first Indian restaurants I visited was Ganga (I hear its owned by a Bengali – I am one too – for Non Indians: I will explain this concept later). Ganga is located in the basement of Seoul Finance Centre, a perfect up-market area, where you find a plethora of upscale restaurants. As soon as you enter a Korean Hostess would greet you and assign you the relevant table depending on the number of people. It’s a dark brown atmosphere, if you know what I mean. The chairs, the tables and the décor are dominated by that color. When you look up, you see those big pipes intertwined and carrying water or gas or what have you. You immediately know that this is the basement of a large multistoried building. Those pipes by the way are painted and now form part of the décor. Then comes the menu. The prices are exorbitant to say the least and therefore let me concentrate on the food. We ordered Barbecued Prawn, which was marinated with a tangy Indian Masala (spice mix). That was pretty good and I enjoyed each time my teeth bit into the soft meat. Then came the Nan (Indian Bread) which was soaked with so much of butter that you could perhaps take some of the latter some home for next day’s morning breakfast. The Black Dal (Boiled Black Lentil with Indian seasonings) was disastrous and perhaps they had no cream in the kitchen. We had ordered for two Curry Dishes: One a Paneer Makhani (Cottage Cheese in a Tomato Butter Sauce spiced up with Ginger and Fenugreek) and the other a Chicken something. which I do not remember. How do u make two dishes identical? This art would be easily explained to you by the hundreds of chefs working in the hundreds of Indian restaurants all over the world. It’s quite a simple process. Prepare basic gravy consisting of tomato, onions, coriander powder, cumin powder and some Indian spices and keep. Keep your vegetables, or Cottage Cheese or Meat boiled and ready. No matter which dish you order they would just mix them up and serve. No wonder they all taste the same. So Ganga? 4 out of 10!!!
Taj in Myong-dong, the fashion district of Seoul. That was my first visit to an Indian restaurant in Seoul. Under duress I have been there a couple of more times. My humble suggestion to you? Stay away!!! They have this same problem of similar tasting dishes. Additionally, they make them sweet. After all Kashmri Rogan Josh cannot be sweet. They also manage the colours well. All dishes look the same!! I guess they are an ISO 9000 restaurant. Stick to the process!!!! 3.5 on 10!!
Chakra in Itaewon and Hannam Dong and some other places. The South Indian Dishes here are not bad but if you opt for the buffet make sure you are in time. If you were late all the gravy would be diluted with water. That’s there idea of filling up the containers....ahem...coffers. 4.5 out of 10 but purely because of the South Indian spread. “Dal” I have talked about earlier and it’s a nice and cosy joint. Finally, this is a restaurant, which would earn a little respect in whatever they churn out notwithstanding some blemishes. 6 out of 10.
Other than this there are quite a few of them and I will talk about them as I encounter each one. By the way, I always wonder about the Indian Samosa being treated as a starter in Indian dinners. Where are the Tikkas and Kebabs? They are there, but the samosas seem to be a hit. But who said that the world isn’t quirky. So where do I get good Indian food in Seoul. The Indian homemakers (colleagues wives) are there and thank god for them. And there are some colleagues too who can give those restaurateurs a run for there money. I rather visit them for a good Indian meal than waste time buying an expensive untrue Indian dish. And of course I have my own kitchen, for producing good items and if they are bad I can always blame it on myself.
A commentary on "Chakraa" is available here : http://seouldays.blogspot.com/2006/03/friday-evening-at-chakraa-itaewon.html
I visited "DAL", why don't you? : http://seouldays.blogspot.com/2006/02/lazy-sunday-talk-sunday-has-arrived.html Sphere: Related Content
Do I have a catering degree? Is my sense of taste like an average person or is it something terribly unique? There could be more questions on me qualifying for writing about Indian food in Seoul. But then I guess this is my space and who cares after all. So here goes my piece. To set the base right let me explain that I understand a fair amount of cooking and I have had my decent share of eating out.
One of the first Indian restaurants I visited was Ganga (I hear its owned by a Bengali – I am one too – for Non Indians: I will explain this concept later). Ganga is located in the basement of Seoul Finance Centre, a perfect up-market area, where you find a plethora of upscale restaurants. As soon as you enter a Korean Hostess would greet you and assign you the relevant table depending on the number of people. It’s a dark brown atmosphere, if you know what I mean. The chairs, the tables and the décor are dominated by that color. When you look up, you see those big pipes intertwined and carrying water or gas or what have you. You immediately know that this is the basement of a large multistoried building. Those pipes by the way are painted and now form part of the décor. Then comes the menu. The prices are exorbitant to say the least and therefore let me concentrate on the food. We ordered Barbecued Prawn, which was marinated with a tangy Indian Masala (spice mix). That was pretty good and I enjoyed each time my teeth bit into the soft meat. Then came the Nan (Indian Bread) which was soaked with so much of butter that you could perhaps take some of the latter some home for next day’s morning breakfast. The Black Dal (Boiled Black Lentil with Indian seasonings) was disastrous and perhaps they had no cream in the kitchen. We had ordered for two Curry Dishes: One a Paneer Makhani (Cottage Cheese in a Tomato Butter Sauce spiced up with Ginger and Fenugreek) and the other a Chicken something. which I do not remember. How do u make two dishes identical? This art would be easily explained to you by the hundreds of chefs working in the hundreds of Indian restaurants all over the world. It’s quite a simple process. Prepare basic gravy consisting of tomato, onions, coriander powder, cumin powder and some Indian spices and keep. Keep your vegetables, or Cottage Cheese or Meat boiled and ready. No matter which dish you order they would just mix them up and serve. No wonder they all taste the same. So Ganga? 4 out of 10!!!
Taj in Myong-dong, the fashion district of Seoul. That was my first visit to an Indian restaurant in Seoul. Under duress I have been there a couple of more times. My humble suggestion to you? Stay away!!! They have this same problem of similar tasting dishes. Additionally, they make them sweet. After all Kashmri Rogan Josh cannot be sweet. They also manage the colours well. All dishes look the same!! I guess they are an ISO 9000 restaurant. Stick to the process!!!! 3.5 on 10!!
Chakra in Itaewon and Hannam Dong and some other places. The South Indian Dishes here are not bad but if you opt for the buffet make sure you are in time. If you were late all the gravy would be diluted with water. That’s there idea of filling up the containers....ahem...coffers. 4.5 out of 10 but purely because of the South Indian spread. “Dal” I have talked about earlier and it’s a nice and cosy joint. Finally, this is a restaurant, which would earn a little respect in whatever they churn out notwithstanding some blemishes. 6 out of 10.
Other than this there are quite a few of them and I will talk about them as I encounter each one. By the way, I always wonder about the Indian Samosa being treated as a starter in Indian dinners. Where are the Tikkas and Kebabs? They are there, but the samosas seem to be a hit. But who said that the world isn’t quirky. So where do I get good Indian food in Seoul. The Indian homemakers (colleagues wives) are there and thank god for them. And there are some colleagues too who can give those restaurateurs a run for there money. I rather visit them for a good Indian meal than waste time buying an expensive untrue Indian dish. And of course I have my own kitchen, for producing good items and if they are bad I can always blame it on myself.
A commentary on "Chakraa" is available here : http://seouldays.blogspot.com/2006/03/friday-evening-at-chakraa-itaewon.html
I visited "DAL", why don't you? : http://seouldays.blogspot.com/2006/02/lazy-sunday-talk-sunday-has-arrived.html Sphere: Related Content
A lazy Sunday in Mapo, Seoul
Lazy Sunday Talk
Sunday has arrived with its bag full of woes as talked about in my earlier piece. But I am trying to keep my calm and looking at ways to make sure that it’s not so bad. Sunday is also a day for chores for me and I cleaned up my pad properly and also cooked. I cooked some Sambar (lentil and vegetables South Indian style) and some cauliflower/potato Indian style. And I have kept the chicken to be done in the evening. Bikram’s (a colleague of mine) long distance friend shared this recipe with me over the telephone.
Next I started searching for a movie to watch on the net and taking a decision on that is a tough one what with all the crappy movies going around. I zeroed on to "Water" a Deepa Mehta film and that’s what I will watch later in the evening. The other urge was to get out of home and go and watch the escapist "Firewall"(Harrison Ford) but then I decided against. Keep that for another day.
If you didn’t know, I can see the Han river (partially) from my pad and somehow it always has a calming effect on me. I like flowing water and that gives me some sort of direction. Mind you also like the sea, because the waves have their own influence on me. I had gone to the riverside a few weeks back when it had snowed and temperature was hovering at -13 degrees Celsius. The river was actually a sheet of still ice while the water flowed beneath the transparent ice. It was a visual I will not forget and I cursed myself for not getting along my camera. Looks like it would be a good idea to invest in a small digital so that it can stay with me all the time.
While I write and perhaps this happens to some, all sorts of events or ideas float around and attack my mind cells and I sometimes wonder as to which one I should pick up for another paragraph of senseless words. I envy the writers on how they maintain their sequence and threads while they weave their stories.
I have been working here for some months now and I do notice how Koreans behave or act. One of them is about the "short run". Sometimes you would find Korean women - mostly middle aged to the young trying to reach a short distance in a hurry. They would run but perhaps when I explain the "running" you would appreciate my point. The "run" would basically mean dragging the feet so that each leg covers roughly one foot of distance and before you complete one step the other leg has started. So a total two steps would cover approximately one and a half feet of distance while projecting that you are in a hurry. If you were walking normally you would reach the same distance in exactly the same period of time.
Last week I had been to an Indian restaurant named Dal. It’s in an area called Anguk situated in the ground floor of Art Sonje Centre. Some people confuse the same with Sejong Art Centre in Kwanghamun. I had heard about this joint earlier but this was my first visit, not that I frequent Indian restaurants - but that’s another story. I was of course eagerly awaiting to try out the "DAL" dishes and when the first appetizer came by way of a Salted Lassi (diluted whipped yoghurt with sugar or salt along with a selection of indian herbs and spices), which then you sip with a straw or perhaps drink it up. There was some papad (mashed lentil crusty pancake - fried or roasted). We had some Nan (Indian bread made of fermented flour) with Lamb Masala (meat in a spicy curry) and Prawn Masala. There was a cauliflower/potato Indian combo and Spinach with Cottage Cheese (Palak Paneer). The Palak Paneer spices were typically same as when you make a "Kadai" (a type of Indian recipe with defined ingredients and administration) item. However considering the other places I have been to in Seoul, this was definitely shades better and I would with my rather tough standards would rate it as 6 on 10. I shall cover Indian restaurants in Seoul in a later piece and there perhaps I will explain my stance though I am no Inderjit Kalra (Food Expert) or for that matter Vir Sanghvi (Editor, Hindustan Times and Food Critic). Sphere: Related Content
Sunday has arrived with its bag full of woes as talked about in my earlier piece. But I am trying to keep my calm and looking at ways to make sure that it’s not so bad. Sunday is also a day for chores for me and I cleaned up my pad properly and also cooked. I cooked some Sambar (lentil and vegetables South Indian style) and some cauliflower/potato Indian style. And I have kept the chicken to be done in the evening. Bikram’s (a colleague of mine) long distance friend shared this recipe with me over the telephone.
Next I started searching for a movie to watch on the net and taking a decision on that is a tough one what with all the crappy movies going around. I zeroed on to "Water" a Deepa Mehta film and that’s what I will watch later in the evening. The other urge was to get out of home and go and watch the escapist "Firewall"(Harrison Ford) but then I decided against. Keep that for another day.
If you didn’t know, I can see the Han river (partially) from my pad and somehow it always has a calming effect on me. I like flowing water and that gives me some sort of direction. Mind you also like the sea, because the waves have their own influence on me. I had gone to the riverside a few weeks back when it had snowed and temperature was hovering at -13 degrees Celsius. The river was actually a sheet of still ice while the water flowed beneath the transparent ice. It was a visual I will not forget and I cursed myself for not getting along my camera. Looks like it would be a good idea to invest in a small digital so that it can stay with me all the time.
While I write and perhaps this happens to some, all sorts of events or ideas float around and attack my mind cells and I sometimes wonder as to which one I should pick up for another paragraph of senseless words. I envy the writers on how they maintain their sequence and threads while they weave their stories.
I have been working here for some months now and I do notice how Koreans behave or act. One of them is about the "short run". Sometimes you would find Korean women - mostly middle aged to the young trying to reach a short distance in a hurry. They would run but perhaps when I explain the "running" you would appreciate my point. The "run" would basically mean dragging the feet so that each leg covers roughly one foot of distance and before you complete one step the other leg has started. So a total two steps would cover approximately one and a half feet of distance while projecting that you are in a hurry. If you were walking normally you would reach the same distance in exactly the same period of time.
Last week I had been to an Indian restaurant named Dal. It’s in an area called Anguk situated in the ground floor of Art Sonje Centre. Some people confuse the same with Sejong Art Centre in Kwanghamun. I had heard about this joint earlier but this was my first visit, not that I frequent Indian restaurants - but that’s another story. I was of course eagerly awaiting to try out the "DAL" dishes and when the first appetizer came by way of a Salted Lassi (diluted whipped yoghurt with sugar or salt along with a selection of indian herbs and spices), which then you sip with a straw or perhaps drink it up. There was some papad (mashed lentil crusty pancake - fried or roasted). We had some Nan (Indian bread made of fermented flour) with Lamb Masala (meat in a spicy curry) and Prawn Masala. There was a cauliflower/potato Indian combo and Spinach with Cottage Cheese (Palak Paneer). The Palak Paneer spices were typically same as when you make a "Kadai" (a type of Indian recipe with defined ingredients and administration) item. However considering the other places I have been to in Seoul, this was definitely shades better and I would with my rather tough standards would rate it as 6 on 10. I shall cover Indian restaurants in Seoul in a later piece and there perhaps I will explain my stance though I am no Inderjit Kalra (Food Expert) or for that matter Vir Sanghvi (Editor, Hindustan Times and Food Critic). Sphere: Related Content
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