Adventures — Finding Bouken

Due to logistics, we decided to head to Seattle for the weekend!

Seattle has been a place of interest for both of us for two big reasons: work and weather. The very short weekend trip is a test of sorts to see if we liked the feel of Seattle as a city should we ever need to relocate.

There was little to no planning for this trip. Besides making sure we stopped to get piroshki, a lot of our visits were done on a whim.

BREAKFAST AT LUDI'S

We quickly checked Yelp! in an attempt to find a semi-decent place to feed ourselves after arriving from our 6AM flight. We checked out Ludi's primarily for the Filipino breakfast food on their menu.

Ludi's feels like your local diner. It's family owned, busy, and quick. Hamu ordered the longsilog - longanisa (Filipino sausages), eggs, and garlic rice - while Usagi ordered the Russian Omelet. The food was good and portions were big, so much that Usagi couldn't finish her delicious omelet. Definitely a place to visit again!

PIKE PLACE MARKET

As expected, the area felt very tourist-y and lively most of the day. Lots of little shops, stores, and some cool things to see. There are street performers during the day, a lot of fresh fruit, vegetables, meats, fish, and the like. If it's coffee, fresh food, and baked goods, you're definitely at the right place. There's even a little shop to buy Chinese food from.

We stopped by a place called MarketSpice to buy some teas. They had a variety of teas to choose from. Some teas sounded like interesting combinations while others were more traditional. Most of the teas are in large jars on shelves propped against the store's walls. It's a great store to visit if you are a tea lover. They also sell a variety of tea related items such as teapots, tea cups, sugar spoons, and tiny cute tongs.

On Sunday morning, we stopped by a small Russian bakery called Piroshky Piroshky. Thanks to YURI!!! on Ice, Usagi had been curious at what a Piroshki (or Piroshky or Pirozhki) would taste like. Hamu got a beef and cheese while Usagi ordered garlic and cheese. If you have had a beef curry horn before, the flavor of the beef and cheese piroshki is similar. It doesn't have nearly as much spice, but very close! The garlic and cheese was also very good, so much that Usagi bought two and ate the second one the following day.

INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT (Formerly Chinatown)

The rail transit towards SEATAC from our hotel had a stop for the International District, so why not stop there on our way to the airport? We visited a multitude of shops and stores including the Kinokuniya Bookstore, Uwajimaya Market, and a cheap dim sum restaurant (they had Xiao Long Bao for $9 for 10!).

After walking around, it made a lot of sense as to why they changed the name from Chinatown to the International District.

CHEAP XIAO LONG BAO

We're all about dining on the cheap, but the result wasn't so great this time around. We visited Ping's Dumpling House, a hole in the wall store with a surprisingly cheap menu. Heck, $9 for soup dumplings? Might as well try it!

....it was very disappointing. There is always an expectation of failure when we go for cheap food, but we were secretly hopeful. The soup dumpling wrappers were thin so they fell apart easy. There isn't much to say about the place that has not already been left on their Yelp! page. It's cheap, but it's definitely a "you get what you pay for" situation.

As a side note, it was entertaining to listen to an old gentleman talk to one of the restaurant staff. He was comparing Seattle's International District to San Francisco's Chinatown. Something about disliking how the Chinese people in SF Chinatown didn't speak a lick of English despite being in the United States for over 30 years. At some point during their conversation, the restaurant staff he was speaking with clarified that the "Chinese" predominantly spoken in SF was Cantonese (the old gent didn't seem to care). By the end of our lunch, we discovered he owns some small hotels and his entire life story.

The lesson here folks? You'll end up writing more about what people talked about in the restaurant than the food when there's not much to say about the food. [sadface]

Japan is a wonderful country. It is mostly clean, people are considerate of others, and hey, they have public bins for recycling! I'm looking at you NYC!

In the United States, you don't really think about where to throw your trash because there are trash cans everywhere. No, I don't mean the whole landscape is a trash can, though certain places sure do look it. We definitely took that for granted in this trip.

If you're smart, you won't be carrying your trash around like I did!

Trash Generation 101

So how did we generate trash as we traveled anyway? Well, we like to pack snacks and eat as we go. See, we are grazers. We like to eat snacks. Lots and lots of wonderful, delicious, appetizing snacks. It does not help that there are konbinis (convenience stores) everywhere to buy snacks.

Such enabling. Much stores. Very clean.

At least trash can locations are predictable and consistent. They can often be found in konbinis, places that sell (street) food, and bathrooms.

How about recycling? Recycling seems to vary by town or city. Some areas will require cans in one bin and bottles in another. Others will have them combined. It really just depends on the local municipality, but if you're ever in doubt, take a peek inside!

But why?!

If you're a fan of Japan or have been there, you'll probably know why. If you would like more information, the reasons are already covered in great detail by various sites in the world wide web (too lazy? click here!).

But you, our dear friend, will probably so lazy you didn't click the link above! (If you are not, then good for you! Don't join the lazy club, a club we both clearly are a part of)

Don't despair, here's a short explanation courtesy of Quora: You're not supposed to eat and walk anyway.

The toast in mouth while running to school anime trope makes you think that can't be true... But, nope! It is considered improper or even rude to do so. There are some places that make an exception, though it is still common practice to stand or sit still to consume your goodies rather than walking. If you don't look Japanese and you forget about it, they will assume you know nothing of Japanese customs and will probably not get called out.

Finding a place to sit

Most places that provide food or drinks will have places for their patrons to sit. You will likely stand or find a place to rest your tired buttocks. If it is street food like nikumaki onigiri (meat-wrapped rice ball), you will likely finish it in a few bites and not need to search for Narnia (aka a place to sit).

The street food is fantastic! Sure, you don't get to move and eat at the same time, but it is very much worth stopping to eat and appreciate your food. It will be best for travelers to eat near the spot they purchased their food as there will be trash cans that will happily take the remnants of your goodies.

A weekend in Seattle, WA