Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Gosireh II

We went back to the VIP room with our drinks in our hands. May I recommend their pear juice to you? It is so refreshingly cold and sweet, a perfect drink to quench your thirst if your throat gets dry talking to your sisters. I had the Omoni lunch last time and it was quite a spectacle and pretty overwhelming to watch the ‘bed’ (sang) with all these dishes parading in front of you. I remember thinking you’d better not forget your wallet at home when you dine at Gosireh, or else you’ll have a ball staying behind to wash and dry these hundreds of precious metal dishes! Maybe I’ll bring these dishes out in sequence so you get a better idea what a Gosireh meal offers, ok?


We are all familiar with Korean cuisine, they always have all kinds of side dishes to go with your main meal. Hehe, I guess that’s how the term ‘side dish’ originates when the fans get side-tracked by other yummy male stars? The front 8 bowls belonged to cloudnine and me, so you see there were plenty. But as the name suggests, these are just side dishes, you can eat them anytime you want.


Since this is a special menu, I was told it’d be similar to the Omoni meal – more homey and less formal than the Tae Wang Sang. We started off with a sweet pumpkin soup. I actually prefer this soup to be cold, kind of like eating a pudding :) Hehe, see my pear juice next to it?


Next came the romaine lettuce salad – just a bit spicy. We all know Korean food tend to be on the spicy and salty side. Even though Gosireh’s cuisine stress on nutritious ingredients and natural seasonings, it’s still a bit more salty for my taste.


Then came the 2 hot appetizers – stir fry clear noodles with vegetables; taro, tofu and fish cakes on the hot plate. I usually find people gobble up their appetizers simply because they are hungry in the beginning, so these 2 dishes are very welcome by our sisters. Hehe, and don’t worry there’s not enough, they always bring out 1 piece for each person, no more, no less.


Now that my tummy is happy, I began to survey around the room. The not-too-large room is decorated with antique chests, figurines, vases and a serene butterfly screen. A lot of attention has been paid to the geometry of the patterns on the windows and ceiling. You see, I am really not a food expert like bb. To me, the setting, the decor and the company is more important than the food itself. If you ask me, I am just as content eating a bowl of wonton noodles, hehe, maybe served at the Grand Hyatt? :)



Aha next, our familiar hamburger! Well, I think it actually has a better name in Japanese than that. Last time baba-san and I thought it tasted like teriyaki beef burger, in a good sense.


In fact by now, I was getting quite restless. You remember this HRH seat that I was sitting on. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful or disrespectful, because I am indeed very thankful of this opportunity to be in the VIP room. But check out the height clearance from the floor to the table top?


A foot maybe, give or take 2 inches? If I were a young noble lady in ancient Chosun period, I think I would be a big headache to my parents. Why? because I didn’t even know how and where to put my legs?! Sure I have sat on the floor by the coffee table zillion times watching TV and munching snacks, but that was like 10 minutes, not 2 hours! At first, I tried to place my legs elegantly sideways to the left. But when I noticed my blood circulation had been totally cut off and my legs didn’t even feel my pinching, I shifted them to the right again. So my legs were swung back and forth (discreetly) throughout the meal like a pendulum. A few times when I tried to move my chair backwards, I almost knocked over this vase behind my HRH seat, phew! If I really break it, I guess I will have no choice to pay my debt but to work as HRH’s house maid for life, hahaha!


Well, I could have stretched my legs straight under the table, but then the poor sister on my opposite side would never speak to me again. Now, I wonder how HRH with his super long muscular legs could sit there for hours?? Maybe like this?


See, you probably can tell by now that I am full already, otherwise I would not be talking so much nonsense. Just that I thought I could not eat anymore. They brought out this piping hot soup with shrimp and tofu. Now you say, what is so special about a soup? This soup was so tasty that you want to eat it with lots of rice! Remember our Yong Joon asked for a second bowl of rice in the Omoni video? That was so satisfying, burp! Last time it was this super super delicious ‘abalone and chicken soy milk’ soup, probably the best I’ve ever tasted, very milky and sweet, yum yum!


This sumptuous meal ended with a pair of very ‘pretty’ dessert. Pretty? Because I didn’t really eat them, so they remained very pretty! Cloudnine told me the right one are 3 kinds of mochi – I think nuts, black sesame and not sure about the yellow one. The left one is that famous Hongsi persimmon which Yong Joon loves very much. It’s a frozen fruit – chewy in texture and not too sweet, very nice.


It was an enjoyable 2 hours lunch and kiyomi came in to chat with us. Well, not 'us' us, dear cloudnine translated everything for me of course. She invited us to join the other 60 sisters in the main dining room as the games were about to start. Ha, games, I love games, especially BYJ games! As we walked past the corner of the room, cloudnine pointed out to me the cushion on the floor came from Yong Joon’s home. HRH’s HOME! Now chinggu, contrary to what you think : NO, I did NOT bury my face in the pillow! Hehe at least, not in front of everyone :) Hehehe of course, knowing me, I would make a detour to a more private space before making my way to join the rest of the group .......


Next ...... the love from sisters

21 comments:

bbmag said...

lovely lovely post!!

looking forward to the next one :)

p.s. hope we'll get a chance to go there together :p

Anonymous said...

Hi Jaime,

When rather familiar, by now for me, Gosireh was described by dear Jaime it gains another charm. You have given me a joy of re-
appreciating Gosireh's beauty. Thank you!

Let me add some information about the food we savored. Hope Jaime doesn't mind.

Though the menu was arranged from Omoni course of last summer, because it is winter now, that hamburger-like 'tokkarubi' was actually the only food HRH was eating in that video clip for last summer's Omoni Sang. Red one on top is a kind of carrot and the green one is a pickled plum. In the video he was telling that his mother's tokkarubi was much bigger.

As you can see we watched this video clip as well as his New Year Greeting for Gosireh patrons. Usually this VIP room, unlike the main hall of 1st floor, doesn't have a TV set but Mr. Hayakawa, the manager, was kind enough to bring his own TV from his house. (I heard his wife was not happy about this.)

I also liked the pear juice. The sound of a word 'pear' in Korean is the same as Bae, so many Bae sisters love this juice, haha.

cloud nine

bbmag said...

hey cloudnine!

those are very juicy tidbits you've sprinkled on jaime's posting! thank you thank you!

i particularly enjoyed reading that TV story, and also about 'bae-juice'! i wasn't all that enthralled and enticed to try it before, but now that i know its name is bae-juice, can i order ten glasses? :p

Anonymous said...

Alright BB, same order for me too^^
Thanks very much Jaime and cloud nine, you girls are sooo lucky.
I hope I can join you someday.
BTW, that Omoni sang video, where can I see it?? did I miss at BB's? or is it showing only at Gosireh??
And yes Jaime, I am like you, a bowl of wonton soup at Grand Hyatt. I'd love to enjoy the grand place than the food. At that Grand Gosireh, pear juice and appetizer will be enough for me.
All the food look delicious, but the problem with me is cannot eat much.
But what ever it is I wish at least one trip to Gosireh in my life, especially with the Bae sisters ....
Thanks for all the details, I am at these the places and meeting the Japanese sisters through you.

love,
Y.

HeippieH said...

Good good, enjoying all the details of Gosireh deco and its delicious food, and all the fun comments. Now what is that HRH cushion used for, placing on the floor? What is that pink cloth for? Can anyone sit on it? or hug it?

I am interested at the Omoni sang video too, haven't see it. Where can I watch it?

Love,
-H.

jaime said...

Oh thank you dear cloudnine for your clarification, they are very interesting info. Really, bae juice? no wonder it tastes so good.

Mr. Hayakawa is indeed very nice, he even came in several times to make sure we are ok. Just looking at the way he talked to that little man next door, so patient and polite.

Thank you cloudnine for taking me there, it was a wonderful experience.

love ... jaime

jaime said...

hi hi princess,

yeah, let's all go together next time when you're in Tokyo. Hope they'll extend the Tae Wang Sang for you :)

Thanks for reading and posting this in your blog.

love ... Jaime

jaime said...

hi Yee,

I am sure you will go to Gosireh someday, especially your daughter speaks Japanese. Hope I will still be here then :)

For the Omoni video, I think it is only for Gosireh patrons only (back then). I am not sure if they have released it to the family afterwards. no, right bb? I know bb and sweet sister have posted pictures and translations about the omoni meal both in her blog and Quilt. Please use 'omoni' as the subject keyword to search in Quilt Freeboard.

http://www.baeyongjune.com/freeboard/freeboard.htm

love ... jaime

jaime said...

hi dear h,

For the omoni video, please refer to my answer for yee above. The cushion is just placed casually at the corner, for sitting I assume. The pink hanbok belongs to a nice sister. I think she brought it along for us to try on, but we didn't have time to wear it. Very beautiful. Am I right, cloudnine?

nice to hear that you have sometime for yourself to relax and enjoy BYJ!

love ... jaime

Anonymous said...

Hi h and Jaime,

Yes, Jaime is correct, that cushion is for sitting. The floor of Korean house is warmed but still it's hard to sit on directly so they use cushions, just like in our Japanese tatami-mat room.
As for that pink hanbock, that was brought by staff named Ume-chan for us to try. She bought it for her daughter when she went to Soul. I heard she asked the discount (in Korean or Japanese?).
Actually I tried it on and found, unlike Japanese kimono, it very comfortable to wear.

Hi Yee,

It's nice to know that your daughter is coming to Japan to study. Nanzan Uni. is in Nagoya, right? It's only one hour and a half by Shinkansen-bullet train from Tokyo. I also have a few friends living in Nagoya. Hope we can get together for Gosireh luncj or dinner.

cloud nine

bbmag said...

actually oodo did upload that omoni video back then... but i've checked, the link is dead already. i believe i've saved it, but it's in my pc which i haven't set up yet. have been using my notebook since i've moved.

will try and upload it onto youtube after i've set up my desktop, k?

meanwhile, click here, here, here, here, here for related links.

Anonymous said...

Thanks BB and Jaime.

Hi Cloud nine,

Yes Nanzan is in Nagoya, she'll be coming on mid August and we are planning to visit her around September. My older daughter was in Nanzan on 2005.
I really hope to see you and other Bae sisters, I know you through these Bae sisters' blog. Can't wait to see you. Hope Jaime still be there at that time and BB, Vegas and Fendi can join us.

love,
Y.

gosijo said...

Hi Jaime and everyone,

These Gosireh posts are absolutely wonderful and the extra tidbits found in the comments are truly delightful!

Must say, though, I think you've inadvertantly provided chinggu with a fresh plan to win in the fierce battle of getting close to you-know-who first. You should have broken that vase when you had a chance, dear friend!

I'm sure you've heard about our most recent snowfall. Yeah, yeah, very romantic! Meanwhile, I'm at my wit's end about where to pile up the stuff shovelled from our walkways! Still, this morning, I could have lifted a great big 'cake' of it in my arms and showered a certain someone with it, while reminiscing about that well-known WS scene! Ahhhh...!

jaime said...

hi yee,

congratulations to your daughter, she must be very excited. Yup, I'll still be here. We will be happy to meet you :)

love ... jaime

jaime said...

my dear gosijo,

I'm so happy to hear from you. Even though I don't miss the frigid temperature and heavy snow in TO, I do agree with you it is indeed very beautiful. I can imagine what a romantic sight when you lifted that big cake of fluffy snow and showered it on your loved one on Valentine's day! Hehe, did you two rub hands, kiss and make up?

Now regarding the on-going battle with chinggu, I am so relieved that you are giving me advice. With you on my side, I will have her defeated in no time, hahaha!

Happy Valentine's Day!

love ... Jaime

jaime said...

thanks bb and cloudnine for the explanation on the hanbok and omoni video. hehe, so nice to have help from the experts :)

love ... jaime

HeippieH said...

Thank you jaime, cloudnine for your explanations on the cushion and hanbok. I wish I were there with you jaime and cloudnine, don't bother to draw ticket for me since there were only two left for the two of you, I'll be perfectly settled myself on that very HRH cushion which came directly from his home. Don't need food, sitting there is satisfying enough.

Thanks bb for the omoni video. Looking forward to see it on youtube. Happy unpacking. When we moved, it took us two years to unpack everything and feel settled. So you'll have a long time enjoy the "happy unpacking" mood.

Cheers!

jaime said...

hehe, you're so cute, my dear h. Do you think I will let u just sit there by yourself at the corner? I'd rather squeeze with you and cloudnine so we can all enjoy HRH's meal :)

jaime said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Aiyo, Chinggu! The dishes are a gourmet's delight. Beautifully presented & I don't blame you for not eating the dessert, they look so pretty to be eaten & best viewed til they melt(?), heheheeh!

There seems to be no end to the luck you got. First, the lucky number & getting the most covetted seat. Then the pink cushion that came from HRH's home!(thanx cloud nine & everyone who explained the use). What's next for you to see & feel? The celestial bed? the royal toothbrush? the heavenly scented bathrobe? This makes me remember from bb's blog past post about the sniffing of HRH's hair & other personal stuffs when anyone gets to enter the royal chamber, hahahahha!

So wonderful are the JPN sisters for showing their love & hospitality to you. Wish I can be in Japan too someday. That is, after dear hubby agrees since he won't relent coz he will never allow me anywhere near Korea or Japan(why does he cannot seem to understand that we love HRH that much?) . If you will ever get to wash the dishes at Gosireh, will you allow me to be assisting you in towelling (including HRH's body, hehehhehe!) & also making each metal dish squeaky clean?Hahahhaha!

Seems like Gosijo Onni has voiced on whose side she's on, eh? I have to call up Rambo, Lara Croft, Indiana Jones, Superman, Harry Potter & Voldemort if necesssary, LOL!

love yah, judy

jaime said...

hehe chinggu,

you are guessing bed, toothbrush? close, very close, keep guessing .... :)

I'll reveal in Gosireh III

love ... jaime