Coco and Vivi at KCON 2013: A Whirlwind Recap

It's been a week since we got back from KCON, and we've finally settled enough to start posting some of our experiences.  Brace yourselves for an extremely long post containing an absurd amount of photos...

I wasn't even planning on going to KCON because I like to pretend that I'm a responsible adult and can't just drop everything to go to Korean conventions in other states, but when I woke up on Friday and realized I had no plans for the weekend, my husband and I decided to just get in the car and road trip it at the last minute.  I'm so glad I did! KCON was an absolute blast.  Here are some highlights:


The line to get into KCON was enormous, and unfortunately Viki's panel featuring Sean Richard Dulake and the ladies from Dramabeans was one of the very first panels of the day, so we only caught the tail end of it.

Fortunately, we were able to talk to Javabeans and Girl Friday after the panel, and they graciously agreed to play a round of Kdrama "Would You Rather" for the camera.

So yes, they're just as delightful and hilarious in person as they are on Dramabeans.  Seeing them in real life also made me feel a bit starstruck because I'm pretty sure that anyone who has every watched a Korean drama has also read something on Dramabeans. The only other time I ever met anyone remotely famous was on a plane to Albuquerque when I swear Robert Redford walked past me to use the lavatory. This experience definitely tops that one, though I suppose I could work on building a stronger celebrity-o-meter.

Javabeans and Girlfriday weren't the only ones we interviewed.  We also really enjoyed getting to know the many kdrama fans at the convention a little bit better.  Here was the first of our questions:

We got a lot of great responses, including some from Soompi, Viki, and 24-7 Kpop.  I love how some of these people didn't even bat an eyelash before deciding on their villainous alter-egos.

This was just the first of our questions.  We will have more of these fan question videos coming up in the next few days!

In the afternoon, we tried the "Anyone Can Cook Korean Food!" workshop, which should have been titled "If a chef prepares everything in advance, I'm sure you morons can figure out how to stir it all together, right?  Right?"  We successfully manged to put sauce into our bowls for some delicious bibimbap.

Okay, so I cheated and didn't place everything into a beautiful pile before I started eating.
Apparently, even stirring a bowl of stuff is beyond my capabilities.

Bibigo, the company who ran the workshop, gave everyone free Psy masks in honor of their most famous sponsor.
They also gave everyone free nightmares.

Of course, we also wandered over to the dance workshop, where everyone was learning sweet moves in preparation for the big concert.  It took us about four minutes before we realized we really didn't belong.

What the dancing should look like.  Notice how everyone is moving at the same time! So fun!

What our dancing actually looked like. I have no idea what either one of us is trying to do, but I feel pretty confident that none of it appears in EXO's music video.

What I really enjoyed about KCON was that there was always something going on at any given moment.  Coco and I (and Coco's mom, who was the biggest Kpop fan out of the whole bunch) just ran around looking at everything.

There was a center stage that constantly featured performers or competitions.

And, of course, plenty of Kpop cosplay to observe.

But seriously,how adorable are these two girls dressed as Crayon Pop?

Most importantly, there were about a million food trucks serving delicious food.

Coco tried these amazing bulgogi buns.  I went more traditional with a burger, which was great until I discovered that every single port-a-potty was out of toilet paper.  NOT an ideal situation to face after eating food truck burgers....I'll say no more.

The other great thing about conventions is that they give you all kinds of random free stuff with your food:

I was so excited about this Kim Soo Hyun poster!  Is he too young for me? YES! Do I have anywhere where I could reasonably hang a poster of a young Korean actor without being creepy? NO! But it was free, and that alone makes me happy.

Sadly, because my KCON trip was pretty impromptu, I wasn't able to stay for the concert on Sunday night.  Fortunately, Coco was able to attend, and she took some pictures to rub it into my face (and---by extension--everyone else's faces who didn't get to go.  Let's all moan about our misfortune together, okay?)

So excited for the concert to start! Who wouldn't be excited with a hot pink glow wand?

F(x)

EXO playing.  Look at that crowd!  So many Kpop fans, all in one place!  The energy at the whole convention was pretty amazing.

I'm definitely sold on attending KCON next year.  Stay tuned for some more KCON fan videos, as well as Coco's stab at KCON speed dating!

Coco and Vivi at KCON 2013: A Whirlwind Recap

Getting to Know Korean Ramen: Taking the Soompi Taste Test Challenge!

The fun Korean media news site, Soompi, recently asked Do You Know Your Korean Ramen? I shamefully had to respond that despite all the Korean ramen I have viewed being eaten on Kdramas, no, I actually did not know. The closest I had ever come to it was the infamous, cheap, Top Ramen that you usually eat when you are in college and can only spend $.25 on a meal, or when you are just too lazy to make real food (which happens more than I'd like to admit), or when you're watching a Kdrama and see them eating it and want some even though you're not actually hungry but think you can get away with eating it anyway because all the Kdrama female leads eat ridiculous amounts of food and are still thin.

But guess what? I am lucky enough to live near Ktown in NYC, so I have no excuse to be Korean ramen ignorant any longer! This weekend I decided to take the Soompi ramen challenge by sampling 5 ramens from their list. There are 10 on the list, but I just couldn't do it, ok? You try eating more than 5 ramens over a three day weekend! In order to conduct a ramen taste test you need:


1. An Assortment of Korean Ramen
Down in Ktown they have this awesome little Asian market, Hanahreum, that has an entire aisle of instant ramen. It was a ramen aficionado's dream!

These are the 5 ramen contenders I chose for the challenge.

Korean ramen does not look that different than regular old Top Ramen, but I did notice some differences. The biggest difference is that Korean Ramen includes a separate package for dried vegetables to add. Here is an example of what Korean Ramen looks like uncooked.

2.  A Ramen Pot

You know you've seen these beauties on kdramas and wanted one! I managed to pick one up.  The best part was that right after I made my first ramen package I sat down to watch Answer Me 1997, and look what she was making!

I just had to eat my ramen off the lid since Kdrama characters are always claiming who gets it. It really did taste better that way.

3.  Korean Chop Sticks

I mentioned in my last blog post about visiting Ktown that I am terrible at eating with chopsticks, particulary Korean ones because they are metal. Luckily I found some for this taste test and now I start practicing with them at home!

With all the necessary supplies ready, I began the task of determining which instant Korean ramen was the best.

1. Paldo Namja Ramen

                    

I thought this was really good Korean ramen. That being said, I have a pretty high spice tolerance. I am originally from Arizona so I grew up eating a lot of Mexican food. I would say that my spice threshold is more than the average white American, but less than the average Asian. I would give this ramen a spice rating of 4 out of 5. It made my nose run and gave me a mild lip burn, but I wasn't running around trying to find something to drink. The noodles were perfect with a good roundness and softness, and did not taste overly processed. The overall flavor was mostly just spicy, but it had a nice beefy broth. My roommate and I both went back to the ramen pot for more, only to discover that we already ate it all.

2. Jin Ramen

              

This was my last favorite ramen. It just seemed pretty bland. The overall flavor was just salty. The noodles were also kind of gummy and overly processed tasting. I would give it a 2.5 out of 5 on the spicy scale. It would still be considered spicy for a lot of white Americans. My roommate and I didn't even have the urge to finish the pot. 

3. Shin Ramyun Black

            

This ramen was pretty tasty. The overall flavor was mushroomy and beefy. I would give it a 3 out of 5 on the spice scale. My nose did run a little but there was no lip burn. The noodles were nice and soft without being gummy. The little packet of dried vegetables that came with it added a nice texture. Only eat this ramen if you really love mushrooms. 

4. Samyang Spicy Beef

          

This ramen had a nice beefy flavor with a good amount of spice. I would give it a 3.5 out of 5 on the spice scale. I wanted to go back for more as I ate it. One strange downside to this ramen is that it is very orangey, so much so that it tinted my teeth orange. Gross. 

5. Kokomen Clean Spicy Chicken

This was my favorite ramen overall. As I leaned over the pot to cook it, I whispered out loud, "Oh my gosh, that smells really good." The funny thing is that on the package the flavor is labeled as "clean" and "spicy". I was really curious to find out what "clean" tasted like, but I actually think this is a really good description for this ramen. It just looked light and fresh, and not greasy or overly processed. The noodles were nice and soft and round. It had a delightful chicken and green onion flavor. The dried vegetables you add in were very prominent, especially the green onions, but I liked that. I would give it a 3.5 out of 5 on the spice scale, which I think is perfect because spicy doesn't become the main flavor, but still plays a big part. I think this is a great choice for a kdrama fan to sample.

Hopefully this has inspired you to conduct your own Korean ramen taste test. You should try the other five on Soompi's list and let us know what you think. Have you ever tried Korean instant ramen? What are your favorites? Comment below.

Also, I found a few other gems at the Korean market, which means stayed tuned for more posts about my forays into Korean food and culture in Ktown, New York City!

Getting to Know Korean Ramen: Taking the Soompi Taste Test Challenge!