the Korean Ramen wars...

Hi everyone!  Sharon here.  I’ve been a little MIA on the blog mostly because T is doing such a great job giving the play by play and also because he takes FOREVER blogging.  By the time he’s finished using the laptop, I lose interest.   As he mentioned in an earlier post, he really is the slowest writer EVER.   

Today I was smart enough to call dibs on the computer first, so here I go!

I’m not going to do a daily run down since T is way better at remembering what we’ve done each day.  Instead, I’m going to dedicate this post to the food we’ve eaten so far (in no particular order since all the days are blur to me).

First, the ramen wars.  Shin Ramen vs Neoguri Ramen. 

Much to my surprise, I haven’t had any hankerings for Korean food since we left Seoul.  Even when I saw this sign posted at one of our hostels, I felt no craving.

Bulletin board at our hostel advertising that they sell Shin Ramen at the front desk for $2.80.  Oddly the advertisement is also posted in the bathroom.  Subliminal message or warning?

However, when I mentioned the sign to T it must have sparked something inside of him because he got so excited when he saw Shin Ramen at the local grocery store.  I was happier to see Neoguri (the superior Ramen).

We didn't really feel like eating out today or cooking a big meal so we decided to break out the ramen and do a side my side comparison of the two brands.  I made mine with an egg (not scrambled in, but poached) and a slice of cheese.  Yes, I know that a slice of cheese sounds weird, but it’s AMAZING.  T  prefers his with egg fully scrambled in and no cheese.

My Neoguri Ramen

T's Shin Ramen

If you think my sliced cheese in Ramen is weird…check out T’s habit of dipping a bread roll into the soup of his Shin Ramen.  For you Koreans and Korean Americans reading this…you know this is just straight up funny.

Sesame bun with Ramen

 

Despite feeding T the most perfect bite of my Neoguri  Ramen with the perfect proportions of cheese, noodle, soup, and drizzled egg yolk, he still stands by his Shin Ramen.  I can respect that.  The man knows what he likes.

Enough about Ramen and on to other food.  

While on our way to Wanaka, we stopped by a random stand called the Curly Tree that sells something called White Bait Patties.  It was recommended to us by our tour guide at the brewery we stopped at and it was DELICIOUS. 

 

I’m not 100% sure what White Bait actually is, but the way it was explained to me was that it was a wormy looking fish that is a few inches long.  It swims up shore and people catch them with nets.  When it’s caught it’s a transparent grey.  But after it’s caught it turns into a milky white.  The patties are made by mixing the fish up with some egg and frying them on skillet with butter.   You eat it with a slice of white bread, lemon, and some salt and herbs.  It was SO good.  I must admit though that I got a little grossed out when I looked at the patty close up and saw little wormy things smooshed together.  I could even see the eyes.

The only other notable thing we ate was in National Park after we did our crazy Mount Doom hike thing.  After the hike, we treated ourselves to a proper dinner at a place with tablecloths and candles, quite a rarity for us these days.  Lamb in NZ really is delicious.

Mussel Bisque. Creamy and delicious.

 

 

 

Roast Lamb with veggies, potatoes, and mint jelly

Other than that, we have had countless sandwiches, several avocados, tons of pasta, and random dishes I’ve been putting together with leftover ingredients we have.  We also had one bad night where we ate this...by far the most disgusting and unhealthy meal I have ever had. T said it was ok though because we had a pear to round it out.

Fried jumbo sausage, deep fried battered hot dogs, deep fried potato patties, and a corn fritter.

All in all, I can say we’re eating pretty well (except for the one meal above).  Good thing for the hikes though…I’m on my way of shedding the crazy soju and Korean bbq pounds I’ve gained over the past year.

That’s it for now.  Next time I blog, I’ll write about the very cool and interesting people we’ve met so far including our first kind-of hitchhiker experience. 

Bye!