Presents from Afar – Seoul & Munich

Living in a tiny pseudo one bedroom in the Lower East Side (and I’m not being modest when I say tiny), you would think David and I wouldn’t get too many visitors. On the contrary, we have guests every other month, at least. In the beginning, I wasn’t too thrilled about most of these guests. Not because these people were jerks, nasty, or had bad B.O., it’s just that I’m, to a certain extent, a private person (aside from the, ahem, blog, Twitter, and Facebook account). Recently though, I’ve begun to enjoy having friends stay over. I mean when do you have an excuse to go to nice restaurants and party it up during the work week unless you have guests from out of town? Sure you feel like death the next day at work, but it’s always worth it. And best of all, guests usually come bearing fun, and sometimes, delicious gifts.

Most recently, Alvin (David’s cousin) and his girlfriend (Alli), who were mentioned in my previous Jean Georges post, came to visit and brought back for me from Dallmayr in Munich some comb honey. This was my first experience with comb honey, and I have to say I’m a fan. Extremely sharp and fragrant, with tiny bits of crystallized sugar, this is what all honey should taste like. My little bear full of honey can go to hell. OK, maybe to the back of my cupboard until my comb honey is gone.

I ate tiny slabs of the gooey comb honey with some chèvre and whole grain crackers. David preferred the honey with cheddar cheese instead, but I think the tangy ripe goat cheese stood up better to the strong flavor of the honey.

And the presents don’t end there. Back in February, I mentioned in my Hop Kee post my lovely friends from Seoul, Soo Hyun and Joo Hyun. Well, just when their visit seemed to become a distant memory, two weeks ago I got a package in the mail reminding me how sweet my friends really are.

The girls got me the cutest faux food business card holders designed by Hui Eun Chang for the Moma store. My favorite is the Korean BBQ business card holder with miniature galbi (marinated short ribs), mushrooms, onions, and a bottle of soju with accompanying shot glass. No meal of galbi is complete without soju. My friends said they thought of me when they saw the BBQ and soju set. Oh, they know me so well.

Also cute, is the ramyun business card holder with a Lilliputian bowl of ramyun, suspended chopsticks, and a side of kimchi. I like how there’s a raw egg yolk in the bowl of noodles, just the way I like my ramyun.

So thank you Soo Hyun, Joo Hyun, Alvin, and Alli for all the lovely presents! I miss you guys. Gifts, I mean guests, are always welcome in my home. 😉