Tag Archives: Starbucks

espressamente by illy in Shingsae

No matter where you go…

… there is coffee

With apologies to Buckaroo Banzai, of course…

espressamente by illy

espressamente by illy

As I sipped my illy iced Americano in espressamente illy @ Shinsegae Department store, I wondered if my coffee sense had been tainted by all the Starbucks, Paris Baguette, and numerous other slightly better (CoffeeMama) and much worse (GS25 or the crappy Kirkland Colombia CostCo blend that was in our crappy automatic coffee machine) coffees I’d drunk since leaving my beloved Francis Francis X7 (thanks Alicia!) in Cayman.

Francis Francis X7 in situ in Cayman

Francis Francis X7 in situ in Cayman

A half hour earlier I’d had an iced Americano at the Starbucks on a higher floor and I’d like to think that I could taste the difference but to be fair, I’m not quite sure.

Starbucks in Shinsegae

Starbucks in Shinsegae

Iced Americanos aren’t as true a representation of the coffee as much as, say, an espresso shot, with which I’m sure I could distinguish a good coffee from a not so good coffee. It’s probably for the best because if all the crap I’ve been drinking had been so obviously crap, I’d be much more of a grump.

I will say this about the illy iced Americano, the barista here did it proper shakerato style. Propers for that my Korean friend.

Iced Americano prepared to perfection by illy.  Shakerato!

Iced Americano prepared to perfection by illy. Shakerato!

Ben eats a cronut

Korea Cheat Day Number One

Thought I’d get around to this now that I’ve got some time on my hands.

As you may know by reading this, one of the biggest challenges for me in Korea is reconciling all the delicious looking pastries with staying on the Four Hour Body/Slow Carb Diet.  Luckily I’ve found a few sources to keep me on track, so when this past Sunday rolled around and I could let loose without fear, I took advantage of it.

Here are the highlights in order, food wise.  In my haste to in inhale as much crap as possible some pictures were not taken…

1. Conch shell pie from Paris Baguette

Paris Baguette conch shell pie

Paris Baguette conch shell pie

2. Chicken kebab from Instanbul Kebab in Hongdae.

3. Double chocolate cookie from Ben’s Cookie’s in Hongdae.

Ben's Cookies in Hongdae, Korean girls not included.

Ben’s Cookies in Hongdae, Korean girls not included.

4.  Cronut from Dunkin Donuts in Myeondong

5. Hot dog wrapped in potato chips in Myeondong.

Hot dog with potato on a stick

Hot dog with potato on a stick

6. Big slice of chocolate crunch cake from Starbucks in Myeondong.

7. Crunky! from one of the many subway stops to get back home

Crunky!

Crunky!

8. Steak pizza from Pizza School in Migeum.

9. These

Korean cheat day snacks

Korean cheat day snacks

10. Baskin-Robbins Quarterback crunch ice cream in a cone

I should also mention the Starbucks chocolate covered espresso beans I gobbled at random times during the day.

Starbucks dark chocolate covered espresso beans

Starbucks dark chocolate covered espresso beans

All-in-all, a good Korea Cheat Day Number One!  Can’t wait for next week.  Thinking Itaewon.  Maybe Sujis.