Sunday, February 18, 2018

What's for dinner? Or breakfast?

Once again I am on a bus as I write, though this bus seems to have issues with the wifi, so this is getting posted when I make it back to the Main Press Center.
Currently it’s 7:30 a.m. on Monday (5:30 p.m. Sunday in eastern US) and as I was leaving the dining hall it hit me that this was the first time I woke up in Korea knowing that I will not be here a week from now. I fly out on Sunday afternoon so I can be back at work on Monday.
Today I wanted to write about something that’s near and dear to my heart. Food.
In Russia four years ago, our hotel accommodations included free breakfast. That first morning I went to the lobby of the hotel and found a couple things of cereal, some hard-boiled eggs and pretty much nothing else. It was not terribly appealing, so I ended up buying food to eat for breakfast if I wanted it.
I kind of expected the same thing when I got to Korea. They gave us meal tickets that entitled us to free breakfast in the main media dining room and the first morning I walked in to a pleasant surprise.
I was greeted first by a section containing a number of different cereals and yogurts along with three or four different kinds of fruit, which evidently is not the easiest thing to get in Korea.
Next up there was a line with baked goods, including bagels, bread and other pastries, followed closely by a line that included a number of hot cereals and Korean soups. Following that was a few different Korean options, including bolgagi, which I have to say has become a favorite of mine. That first morning it was the only thing I saw that looked appealing (it’s beef mixed with vegetables) so I grabbed some. Further down the line are cheeses and sliced.
What I did not see until later was another section off to the side that included eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage and a potato option, such as hash browns. There’s also a grill in the middle where they cook up fried eggs for you.
So, I’ve been getting my money’s worth on the breakfast each day. I have the bolgagi with rice, pineapple, a banana, pancakes, bacon and potatoes and then make an egg sandwich out of the fried eggs, whole grain bread, bacon and cheddar cheese.
This allows me to not eat as much the rest of the day and that is a good thing because I’ve been finding it hard to snag time later in the day to grab something to eat.
When I have made it to the main dining room for lunch or dinner, I’ve found some palatable options. I’ve had dinner outside the Olympic area a couple of times, once when I was on my tour to the DMZ and once with my friend Lee and his wife.
And not once have I resorted to eating at the Domino’s near the Main Press Center. And I’ve yet to see a McDonald’s.
Though I have a major craving for a cheeseburger.

UPDATE: Changed buses at the IBC to head to Phoenix Snow Park and the new bus had wi-fi, so uploaded along the way.


2 comments:

  1. It's good to treat the press kindly. A hangry writer might not project a highly positive image of the host country if it leaves him hungry after supposedly feeding him. Thanks to the South Koreans for keeping our local media specialist well-fed and happy! You're doing a good job, Josh!

    ReplyDelete