According to their signage, they don’t use sugar, powder, or additives in any of their smoothies. I like.

When you first walk in, it’s a bit confusing… There are just so many different colors, plastic tubes that look like lipstick, and lots of women. Is this a smoothie bar or a makeup shop? Where am I??

The way it works is you pick up a tiny plastic honeycomb, and then you go around the room choosing the ingredients you want and sliding the markers into the honeycomb basket. You basically get to create your own smoothie concoction. Bee + Basket= Beesket. Get it?

In addition to the typical fruit options, you can add some healthy veggies to your smoothie, such as broccoli, red cabbage, paprika, kidney beans….

….chestnut, sweet potato, pumpkin, tomato, etc.

My choices weren’t very unique or interesting… just a regular fruit smoothie with mango, melon, and strawberries. Next time I’ll have to be a little more daring with my picks.

If you’re totally overwhelmed with all the choices, they have a few suggestions or Best Sellers that you can try out.

After carefully picking out your smoothie ingredients, you take your honeycomb beesket to the counter where they scan your selection. What’s cool is that on the screen, you can see the exact calorie count of your drink as well as a breakdown of the nutrients and vitamins.

My mango, melon & strawberry smoothie was 162 calories. The base cost of each smoothie is 5,600won, and then depending on what ingredients you pick, the total might be more. My smoothie cost 6,400won because of the mango (500won) and melon (300won)…. eep!

Abigail’s sweet pumpkin, strawberry, and pear smoothie was 143 calories, 5,900 won.

If you’re not in the mood for a smoothie, you can also get your drink as an ‘ade with fizzy soda, or you can have yogurt added. And ofcourse, if you’re someone who hates fruit and veggies, you can also get coffee or tea.

Sitting area

Both of our smoothies tasted really great and refreshing. I couldn’t really taste the individual fruits, but the combined result was yummy~ My only main gripe about Beesket is that the smoothies are pretty small considering the steep price. I guess you pay more for the experience of picking out the ingredients and coming up with your very own personal smoothie formula. Yes, it’s basically just a gimmick, but if it encourages people to be healthier and enjoy organic, natural foods, then I reckon it’s cool beans.

Check Beekset’s Website for more info, directions and map.

Feel free to Leave a comment!

Right now there is an art show going on at Wyln Gallery in Hongdae, by the ‘Soul Painter,’ Heyjung Kim. My friends and I went to check it out over the weekend and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was just really wonderful. The entire show was made up of fuzzy black and white charcoal portraits of the animals that have been abandoned by their owners.

It’s amazing how much emotion the artist was able to capture through such seemingly simple drawings. There is also an animated story that you can watch and I got a little teary by the end! (I’m a sap…)  The whole show is really heartfelt and makes you think about all the fear and loneliness abandoned animals must feel.

If you are in Hongdae this week, I highly recommend you try to catch this show before it goes down- Thursday is the last day! The artist is obviously an animal lover and has a heart to help them and bring awareness to this issue. Go support~!! :)

Wyln Gallery Website for map and details
Artist Website

We also hit up Laksheme, the vegan-friendly steamed donut place I went to last year. It was nearing the end of the day and there weren’t that many options left, but we got a cinnamon-walnut and chocolate donut to share.

They were both awesome, but I preferred the cinnamon-walnut one. :)

Whenever I go to Laksheme, it’s always so empty… Even though the donuts aren’t authentically deep fried, they have so many vegan options and their stuff is actually really tasty and probably healthier than regular donuts. I also love the cakey texture. So I’ll just say, don’t write ‘em off before you try em!

Some random images from Hongdae…

These guys were handing out promotional stuff for who-knows-what…

The always happy-go-lucky Makgeolli Man! Do you know the Makgeolli Man?

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It’s so great having a guest over because now I get to cook for two! Usually when it’s just me, I really don’t try that hard, especially when it comes to breakfasts… some fruit, a bowl of oatmeal, sometimes just a cup of coffee, blah blah blah… But when I have friends over, cooking and eating becomes more enjoyable, and I also just want to be a good host and feed them well. So this morning, we woke up and made banana oatmeal pancakes!

I got the recipe from this blog and I have to say, these just might be my new favorite pancakes ever. Since they are mostly made of oatmeal and a little bit of whole wheat flour, and don’t include any added oil or sugar, they are super healthy. I feel like I’m eating my regular bowl of oatmeal, except in pancake form. The original recipe serves 4, so we just halved it for the two of us. Came out perfecto. We overcooked the first few pancakes so they’re much darker at the bottom of the stack, but we eventually got the heat-setting right and they came out deliciously golden brown.

My friend Lilian gave me a mini jar of Banana-Rum jam from Paris, so we spread that on the pancakes instead of syrup (which I didn’t have anyway). Banana on banana: scrummers.

A little Nuttelex non dairy butter with banana rum jam.

Absolutely lovely and fluffy. I don’t think I could ever go back to regular flour pancakes now.

Kiwi and Korean yellow melons which are in season right now. Fresh cherry tomatoes in a separate bowl. It’s hard to beat a breakfast of banana pancakes with fruit and coffee, all while basking in the morning sunshine on the patio.

Aiights, that’s all for today~~ Happy long-weekend everyone in Korea!

Feel free to Leave a comment!

Anyway, today I want to share another recipe. There are so many times when I want to bake myself a sweet treat, but don’t want to make an entire batch of something and be faced with the temptation of eating everything myself. So in these instances, I’ll divide the recipe into halves, or even quarters, to get a small enough portion that is satisfying, but a little indulgent at the same time.

Well, the other day I wanted something cakey for a mid-morning treat, so I made a single chocolate-mocha cake with choc chips. The size was basically like a large muffin… in-between a regular muffin and a Costco muffin. I also added some ghiradelhi chocolate chips which I had in my pantry. Most chocolate chips available in Korea are so small, that in comparison these ghiradeli chips look like giants. The quality is also far superior… so rich! :)

Here is the recipe~~ I have most of the ingredients in grams because it’s so much more accurate, especially when dealing with small measurements like this.

Mini Mocha Chocolatta Yaya Cake

50g all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

45g organic unrefined cane sugar
18g grapeseed oil (or canola)
47g water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coffee extract
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp instant coffee granules (optional)
1/16 tsp salt (a pinch)
handful of chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 340F. Prepare muffin/mini cake pan.
2. Sift dry ingredients together.
3. In a separate bowl, mix all the wet ingredients including sugar, salt, and instant coffee. Whisk well until everything is dissolved.
4. Combine the wet with the dry and mix until just incorporated and it’s mostly lump-free. Gently fold in chocolate chips and any other add-ins.
5. Using a spatula, transfer the batter to the paper cup or cake pan. Bake for 18-23 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool & enjoy!

Soft and cakey on the inside with a slightly a crispy top crust.

This satisfies the chocolate-craving as well as the coffee addict in you. Two-in-one! I enjoyed this thoroughly. :)

You can also double the recipe and package the other cake for a friend~~ Hope you enjoy!

Feel free to Leave a comment!

Right now, I’m trying to plan some things to do while I’m there. LA-readers, lemme know if you have any ideas! :) Since SoCal is not a new place to me, I’ll probably just chill with my sister and look for local events and things to do… maybe go see some relatives in OC. My sister and I also plan on doing a road trip up to SF and Napa… :) I would really love to travel all along the west coast, but that will be determined by budget and time… I would loooove to visit Portland, the vegan mecca, but I don’t know if that will happen at this point. We shall seeee~

As for food, I don’t have much of a vegan bucket list this time. No real cravings or ‘must eats’….. except for one thing: vegan pho!!!! The LH’s pho here just doesn’t do it for me and I can’t tell you how much I miss having a big bowl of flavorful, filling pho. Oh, and I’m also looking forward to getting a veggie burger at Native Foods, with chili fries. Drool.

While I’m super excited to see my sister and get out of Korea for a bit, I do feel a little guilty about taking so much time away. Now that I’m my own boss, I keep questioning whether I deserve to have such a long vacation. But at the same time, I think I need some time off to refocus, get some perspective, and return with new-found energy and inspiration. :)

By the way, for those in Korea, if you would like to place an order from the bake shop, please do so before June 2, or I will hold your order until I return. Thanks bunches!

—————————————

Anyhooozy, moving on to today’s post, a short restaurant review: Sitara Restaurant @ Hapjeong Station

Whenever I’m in Hapjeong area, I walk past Sitara, a fairly new Indian restaurant (I think it’s been open almost a year now). I just liked the look of it and its classy interior.

The interior is actually the most interesting thing about this restaurant. It’s modern, eclectic, and casual– a good date spot, as is evidenced by all the couples having their blind dates. ha. On the other side of this pic, there’s also an open window where you can see a couple Indian chefs working in the back.

When I went the other week, my friend and I ordered the ‘Mix Vegetable Curry’ (13,500 won) and ‘Palak Curry’ (14,000 won). Pricey, especially because you still have to order nan or rice separately. The nan bread here is not vegan and they do not serve roti bread, so we ended up just getting plain rice to eat with our curries. In my opinion, Indian curry ain’t complete without a bread vehicle to scoop it all up, but we had to do without this time.

The style is more upscale and Koreanized than most of the good Indian restaurants I’ve been to here in Seoul.

A part of me wishes the curries were served in copper curry warming dishes which I love. :) Something about the white bowls and plates just doesn’t look right.

The curries were quite delicious. The mixed vegetable curry provided a surprisingly spicy kick in the mouth. Palak curry is my favorite Indian dish of all time and this restaurant’s version was very tasty. Smooth in texture and perhaps a little soupier than I’m used to, but still very flavorful. Overall, I enjoyed my meal here. It’s not on my top places to go for Indian food in Seoul, but if you’re in Hapjeong and are craving curry, check this place out.

Directions to Sitara:
Hapjeong Station, Line 6, Exit 5. Turn right, after the bike shop. Walk straight about 1.5 blocks and Sitara will be on your right.
tel: 02-325-5623
서울특별시 마포구 합정동 413-18

2012.5.23 | 지도 크게 보기 ©  NHN Corp.

Chocolate-orange cupcakes with orange buttercream frosting and zest on top! I remember the first time I had a wedge of Terry’s Chocolate Orange (long before I went vegan) and fell in love with the combination of chocolate and orange. For the cake base, I used this recipe and added about 1 tsp of orange extract and 1 Tbs of orange zest to the batter. I’ve used this basic chocolate cake recipe a few times and really love it for its simplicity yet delicious results: rich, chocolately, moist (sorry if you hate that word… hehe) cake every time.

For the third flavor, I made some ginger cinnamon cupcakes with molasses buttercream frosting and a piece of homemade bbopki on top.

Bbopki is a traditional Korean street candy that uses only two ingredients: sugar an baking soda. The texture is very crunchy and airy, and it basically tastes like burnt marshmallow. :) I remember when I was a kid visiting Korea, I used to spend so much time just watching the neighborhood bbopki ajuhshi making these candies. I always tried so hard to carefully eat around the stenciled shape in the middle so that I could get another one for free. I was never successful though. Too clumsy perhaps.

Ok, back to the cupcake. For the cake part, I used the recipe for gingerbread cupcakes from VCTOTW but made so many modifications that it doesn’t resemble the original recipe much. Instead of maple syrup I used cane sugar. I  also reduced the amount of molasses and oil, left out the soy yogurt, added some apple cider vinegar, and finally added some freshly grated ginger to up the spice factor. Yea, I was definitely experimenting…. The cake ended up a bit crumbly, so next time I might add a chia egg or tofu to bind things together. But taste-wise, it was pretty great! I love ginger and molasses together. As for the frosting, I just added some maple extract and a tiny bit of black-strap molasses to give it a little brownish hue. It started separating a bit, so I won’t post the recipe (I can’t remember the measurements anyway…). It still tasted good though!

Vegan Ginger Molasses Cupcakes
(adapted from the Gingerbread Cupcakes in VCTOTW)

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup soy milk (I used the thick, unsweetened Yeonsei Univ organic soy milk)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup black-strap molasses
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
2 Tbs fresh grated ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350F or 175C. Prepare cupcake pan with paper liners.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients together.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the soy milk and vinegar and leave for a minute to curdle. Then add salt, canola oil, molasses, sugar, and grated ginger. Mix well.
4. Combine the wet with the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
5. Spoon batter into prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Bbopki Candy
1 1/2 Tbs sugar
1/8 tsp baking soda (a small pinch)

To make your own bbopki, you basically melt about 1.5 Tbs of sugar in a ladel over the stove, stirring the whole time with a wooden chopstick. I used organic unrefined cane sugar, but usually it is made with white sugar, and you might get better results with that. Once the sugar starts bubbling take it off the heat and add a pinch of baking soda and mix vigorously as it begins to foam. Then bang it out onto a gently oiled metal pan and press down on it with a metal flattening thingymabob. I actually just used my spatula to spread it out thinly, but you gotta do it fast because it will start hardening immediately and you could end up with a stringy mess. Also, before it fully hardens, use cookie cutters or a knife to press shapes into it. I just pressed a grid pattern into it so that it would be easy to break apart. Mine didn’t turn out as good as the ones you get on the street, but it came out decent enough for cupcake-garnishing.

Here they are boxed up. For those in Seoul, you can get these paper cupcake carriers at the Bangsan Baking Market and they come in various sizes too.

Cupcake party time~~ !

Thoughts? Leave a comment~ :)

This time, we brought some mats to lie down on, and some snacks too.

살로별: these are crunchy rice snacks that are covered in some roasted bean powder. Really good and accidentally vegan! :)

Who needs a book when you have endless entertainment on your smart phone…

And here’s my latest order from iHerb. I have to say, I’m so thankful that iHerb exists. It has really changed my life as a vegan here in Korea. There was a time when us vegans had to just white-knuckle it or ask our family members to send us expensive care packages with all our favorite vegan staples. But now, getting hard-to-find items couldn’t be easier. With this order, I got a bag of Lundberg rice chips (wasabi flavor) and stocked up on organic extracts and spices for baking and cooking… and some vegan vegetable bouillon cubes. You can get vegan bouillon cubes at most department stores and also the FFM, but I ordered this cuz it doesn’t have any added salt… trying to reduce the amount of sodium I eat. I think I eat too salty these days!

The rice chips… these were just aiight. I liked the super crunchiness of the chips, but I could barely taste any wasabi… weaksauce! I guess when I see any wasabi-flavored snack, I think it’s going to be as strong as Japanese wasabi peas. I freaking love those fiery buggers that bring tears (of joy) to my eyes.

Snack plate. Pear and cherry tomatoes that I got for super cheap at my market.

Had a light lunch at Bakersfield in Gangnam the other day. My friends all got hot sandwiches or paninis and I had an olive bun with coffee. It’s too bad that none of their sandwiches are vegetarian or vegan.

This olive bread was delicious~~ so fluffy and soft.

Last but not least, I’ve been trying to improve my bake shop by adding Korean translations, getting new cards and stickers printed, and just learning more about business (something I know so little about), etc. There’s so much I want to do, but I’m trying to just take it one step at a time and have fun with it. :)

Some new items: a slight variation on the Green tea cookies… now with walnuts, instead of dried figs.

Banana choco oat cookies! There’s something about these that remind me of childhood… :)

Today I made this breakfast smoothie with 1 banana, 1 orange, 1/4 cup soy milk, and a couple ice cubes. Now that it’s getting hot and sticky these days, I will be making refreshing smoothies on a regular basis. You want summa dis, Bunnayy?

Happy Monday~~

Hey lazy bum! ^^ Wanna leave a comment but don't want to scroll all the way back to the top? Click here~ haha. ^^

There are so many people just walking around the track, and also quite a lot of runners out for an evening jog. I used to think that Koreans don’t run, but apparently they do! I also saw a group of older runners going around the park as a pack. Seeing people jogging together puts a smile on my face.

There are also people playing outdoor basketball, kids rollerblading, wall-climbing, teams having soccer practice, and also outdoor aerobics for anyone who wants to join. It’s really refreshing to see and I also feel really inspired to keep moving when everyone around me is being active.

Wall climbing… haha, the kid on the bottom left corner was learning to climb, and he was so cute! Imitating the grown ups… :)

An army of ajumas doing some interesting aerobics and stretches. They must be from some kind of club because they’re all wearing the same red shirts! They were pretty entertaining to watch.

Little speedy rollerblading kids.

On one recent evening run, I had to stop to take pics of the temple all lit up with lotus lamps. The temple is uphill on one side of the park.

I guess they’re getting ready for Buddha’s birthday celebrations this weekend.

And if you’re just there for an evening stroll, you can catch the musical fountain show in the pond.

I was using my iphone camera, so the images are really grainy…

Another thing I like about going to parks here is that they’re not as scary or creepy at night as parks are in other cities I’ve lived in. There’s always a lot of activity, even past 9pm. Ofcourse you have to be aware of your surroundings, be careful and use your common sense, but there’s almost always enough people (all ages and genders) around that as a female, I have practically zero fear about going on a solo night run in the park. But I also don’t stay out too late and I make sure to start heading home before 10pm. Anyway, if you’re close to this park, definitely check it out and make use of its facilities.

Boramae Park
Boramae Station Line 7, Exit 2 or Shindaebang Station Line 2, Exit 4.
Naver Map

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I ordered the Falafel pita, petita size (5,700 won). You also have the option of just getting it salad-style, without the pita bread.

The server behind the counter heated up two falafel balls, chopped them into quarters, and then began assembling my pita. You can pick your fillings from a selection of fresh veggies, condiments, and sauce. Everything seems pretty fresh and clean. For mine, I chose romaine lettuce, sprouts, green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, corn, pickles, olives, and teriyaki sauce. One thing: I would also suggest that you ask them to heat your falafels on a separate part of the grill, or even in the microwave, to avoid contact with meat. When I went, the girl who took and made my order was fluent in English so she understood all my questions and concerns… I suppose that’s important when the shop is right by Insadong, which is tourist-central.

Once you pick your fillings, everything gets neatly tucked and rolled into the pita pocket.

In the end, it kinda looks like a burrito~

Considering the ingredients weren’t that special, this was pretty good. It was a little on the dry side and could’ve used some more sauce or flavorful fillings, but overall, it was a decent light lunch.

There are also tables and comfy seating, free wifi, and bathrooms upstairs.

The Pita Pit:
phone: 070-7784-7482
address: 서울 종로구 관철동 5-14
click here for map on website

2012.5.18 | 지도 크게 보기 ©  NHN Corp.

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The only soy milk option actually written on the menu is the soy latte (두유라떼 at the bottom with a pink tick mark next to it), but my friend and I asked if we could get soy milk for the green tea and raspberry cafe mocha latte and they obliged! :)

Raspberry mocha latte and green tea latte, both with soy milk (4,500 won for iced). I couldn’t taste the raspberry flavor much…. it was more like a regular latte but it still tasted pretty good. We both enjoyed our drinks, even though they were perhaps a tad on the sweet side. Next time, I’ll ask them to reduce the sugar.

Directions to Craft&:
From Apgujeong Staton Line 3: Exit 5. Walk straight, turn left after Woori Bank. After 1 block, turn left again and the cafe will be on your left.
From Garosugil: Walk to the end of Garosugil, away from Sinsa station. Turn right after Forever21. Walk for 1 block and the cafe will be on your right.

Address: 서울특별시 강남구 신사동 550-9
Phone: 02-541-1421

2012.5.16 | 지도 크게 보기 ©  NHN Corp.

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