Taekwondo, rise up and get your Poonsae on!

About a month ago I dipped my toe into the TKD waters to see what would happen. Actually, I jumped in head first. For months my Canadian buddy Brenden had been urging me to go to Yeonsei TKD in Songdo for it for increased core strength, flexibility and balance.

Each day starts with a pretty rigorous routine of sit ups, push ups, squats with the kettle bell and jumping rope. Form while doing all of these is paramount. We finish all of this with some serious stretching. It's not easy and Brendan understands this.

A little about me. I am a 41 year old male. I've been a "good" bicycle racer and largely kept my sport persuits limited to that or some running. I broke my left hip and femur almost exactly 10 years ago thanks to a careless driver. Since then I have had some sort of pain or limitation in my hip and the muscle in my left quad. Each night during our workouts of punching, stretching, forms, and kicking, I am reminded of this injury through imbalance or weakness. However, the next day finds me totally recovered and feeling measurably better than I did the previous week. I find myself grunting less when picking things up from awkward places or just getting in and out of the car.

Brendan and Master Kang have done an excellent job of listening to my thoughts, understanding my physical limitations, and accommodating my needs. I think it safe to assume any lesser facility would be more of a sink-or-swim style. I feel like I'm swimming and doing it without injury. I should also stress that this a non-violent approach to learning martial arts. I'm approaching a yellow belt (not so rookie as white) and am assured of minimal contact for some time. Whew!

Cost is $100/month. Classes are Monday - Thursday night at 9:30PM for one hour. You can come a little early for additional workout time.

If you want to contact Brendan to check out a class or just chat with him, shoot me a note.

message Rx, Chiropractic care, and personal training

My wife and I have been enjoying the care of Dr. Ko recently and it's made a ton of difference. Dr. Ko actually prefers to be called Teacher Ko. The guy is supremely humble. His care however is a force to be reckoned with.

Teacher Ko has been providing us message therapy and light chiropractic care. I'm in the critical camp when it comes to chiropractic care but his approach is well executed. He's gentle and tuned in which is important to me. He can really buckle down on those difficult spots which is good too.

Last month I was attending "Dirt church" with some friends. Dirt church is a non-competitive MTB ride every Saturday. I managed to experience the fortitude of Korean trees when I warp-10'd into a small grove after a kick-ass power slide. I was the bee's knees to that point. I destroyed my helmet (good thing!) and managed to tweek my neck and right arm severely. I walked in drunk on wisky (pain killer) and he saw me right away. He worked on my entire body focusing on my right arm and neck for over 90 minutes. I got me loose enough to start some real healing. I'm trained to be critical and observant of all care and I feel he truly helped me. He charge me his standard rate of 20,000 KRW.

If you are in need of message therapy or light chiropractic Teacher Ko is fantastic. I am not in need of a trainer so I cannot comment on his abilities. Please note that his English is very limited. Thus far, it's not been an issue. He's currently working very hard on getting his English improved. Also note that in January his rates go up to 30,000 Krw/ hour. Still a fantastic bargain for this fantastic care provider.

Teacher Ko is located above the wine store in Songdo in suite 206.

Phone 032-832-6378
Cell 010-6378-6363
E-mail: jaehee2003@naver.com

Dental Care (Songdo Dream Dental Clinic)

I've long eyed the large tooth sign on the 3rd floor, suite 304, on corner above the convenience store across from Sinsagae basement grocer. At a friend's suggestion I gave them a go for my teeth cleaning needs.

I found Songdo Dream Dental Clinic to be very professional and sufficient enough at English to get me through the process. I filled out a simple health question sheet while I waited for less than five minutes. I was told the whole cleaning would take about 30 minutes and they were right. I feel I had less pain than I have had at places in the States but I cannot say if they went as deep as other locations. I usually need an ibuprophen after a cleaning when it's been a while but I'm cool for now. The total price was 60,000 KRW. I'll certainly go again and I'll do it in six months like a good boy.

Phone 032-858-2800

What's David's? in Songdo (good eats, drinks, entertainment)

I was sweetly reminded by my better half that I have not posted anything in a looong time. This is true and not without a lot of excuses.

In the middle of August a new dining and drinking establishment named What's David's? opened in Songdo, Incheon. No, the question mark is not a typo in the middle of my sentence but rather an omage to the constant questions the owners David and HeeKyong Moore fielded when What's David's was opening on a baren side of the Dream City building in New Songdo City.

What's David's? has two central themes, provide a great bar for patrons to saddle up to for fish and chips witha pint of Guiness or Kilkenny. They also provide a trendy spot for people to get tasty tapas and pizzas. It's an unlikely combo, on a once very raw location, that has taken off well beyond all estimates. And get this, it's NON-SMOKING! Patrons can easily step outside for a puff.


The menu Is largely Western with some tips of the hat to the East. For example, the fish and chips are not a simple batter coating but a crispy, flaky style loved by Koreans and westerners alike. Burritos come 3 per plate in a cone and are tasty. Burgers are generous and hand made. Yes, hand made and come on Chef Max's own special made buns. Hand tossed Pizzas roll from the clay oven with various styles and topping available. You like steak? What's David's features Wagyu beef from Australia and it's quality is noticable. Many items come with a side salad that features a mustard vinagarette. Yum! No artificial transfat containing products are used at What's David's

The drinks range from Kilkenny, Guiness and Max on tap with a fridge full of US, Mexican and Belgian beers. The wine selection features wines from Spain, France, Argintina, Australia and more. Mixed drinks and whisky drinks are avialale as well. I'll confess, I've slammed a few of a special drink named after a German patron called Helmut. It's OJ and Jagermeister. Never in my wildest dreams woould I have thought of that but here I am, a fan.

The decore indicates that someone may have lived in Spain at some point adn that is true. The owners lived in Spain for quite some time and have a warm spot in their heart for the county. Rich colors over stucco contours really make it happen for this place. Recessed seating in the back of the place make for cozy social sitting with friends. The bar is just what David ordered and does a great job of propping up weary Westerners and Asians alike.

The entertainment is often provided by a local acoustic quartet called "Hazel". They are comprised of 2 violinists and 2 guitarist who play pop, rock, folk, and a bit of Jazz. We are awesome...ooops! Yeah, I'm in the band. I'm bad at horn tooting so I'll just tell you to check us out on facebook.

The meal prices at What's David's are certainly more than you will pay for chicken and hoff but you get so much more. For example, a buger with hand-made fries and salad are in the W10,000 range. At the Sheraton something similar is W18,000. Beer prices are on par with other places in and around Songdo.

Kids? Sure! This is a place meant for everyone. Check out What's David's for business lunches, dates, and just blowing off some steam.

What's David's is open seven days per week. Check out their Face book account for more details. Look under "David's in Songdo".
032-833-1225

Beer

When I first arrived I strolled the aisles in search of an alternative to Korean beers Hite, Cass, and OB. To my surprise I did find a few Belgian and Mexican beers. The bottles were dusty and expensive. For our obligatory housewarming party I bought damned near ever good beer available from every E-mart, Lotte, and Homever. Eighteen months later the selection seems to have improved but the price has not. I do not expect those prices to change either. I adjusted my expectations on beer prices and continue to politely say "no thanks" to the Korean beers while coughing up the dough.

Below is an ongoing list of the places I frequent near Songdo and what non-Korean beers they have. I'm not saying all of these beers are what I call good so I marked an astric next to beers I feel are exceptional for the area. If it does not have a notation, it may suck or I have not tasted it yet. This list will continue to be updated.

I'll leave you with one comment on K-beer. I was recently back to the states twice. On both occassions I had the pleasure of cruising nice Korean supermarkets. In all occassions a few Korean beers were available in the large 2 liter bottle...and they were dusty and lonely. Koreans may miss home when they move to the States but they don't miss their beer. But, Korean beer does have it's place with the food. No, Korean food is not bad, it just goes well with their beer and in a way unlike I've ever seen. Crisp, light, and tastless is a good compliment to offset the variety of Korean flavors.

Homever (Has the best selection but is a bit more expensive)
Erdinger Weiss
Erdinger Weiss* (dunkel) This is outstanding!
Duvel*
Leffe Blonde*
Leffe Dunkel*
San Miguel*
Hoegaarden*
Moosehead
Budvar
Coopers
Paulaner in several styles*
Paulaner in mini kegs!* (warning: same price as buying bottles)
Sam Adams
Tesco brand Lager
Heineken and Heineken Dark (sometimes)
Heineken mini kegs (again, same price as bottles)
Guiness
Oettinger
Asahi
XXX (sometimes)
Corona (sadly, limes are not available in Korea)
Miller

E-mart
Duvel*
Leffe Blonde*
Leffe Dunkel*
San Miguel*
Hoegaarden*
Heineken and Heineken Dark (sometimes)
Guiness
Miller
Oettinger
Asahi
XXX (sometimes)
Corona (sadly, limes are not available in Korea)
Budweiser

Lotte Mart
Duvel*
Leffe Blonde*
Leffe Dunkel*
San Miguel*
Hoegaarden*
Heineken and Heineken Dark (sometimes)
Guiness
Miller
Asahi
XXX (sometimes)
Corona (sadly, limes are not available in Korea)
Budweiser

The Seach for a Good Cappuccino Ends Here

Last week I navigated the coffee joints I assumed could provide me with a good cappuccino. The results varied greatly and ranged from WTF!? to passable but never great. This week I am happy to announce a couple additions to the list, one being acceptable and the other being just outright fantastic in all ways. Coffee Apa comes out on top of all in every way a Westerner might want.

Business Name: Coffee Apa
Services provided: Coffee, baked goods
Address: On the corner by Paris Baguette in Central New Songdo, accross from Dunkin Doughnuts
Phone number: C 010-8745-6164 T 032-831-8555
Speaks English: A little. Enough for specific coffee instruction
Hours and days of operation: 10-8pm
Price: W 4,000
Elapsed time to make drink: 4 minutes
The good: This site is run by a man and wife and they are very warm and sweet to deal with. Coffee temp was about 150. Foam, milk, coffee ratios were about spot on with full thirds each. Coffee flavor was the richest in town with a great deep flavor and no after-bite. Foam was small celled and thick as cream. In my top 20 I've ever had. This was the first time I heard what sounded like properly made foam, I heard almost nothing. They may have hand frothed the foam which is fantastic. This place roasts their own beans! Great location. Non-tacky decoration. Nice benches give communal feeling. non-smoking.
The bad: Not a single complaint so far.
Final evaluation: This is THE coffee place for Songdo. See you there!



Business Name: Ediya Coffee
Services provided: Coffee, baked goods, smoothies, sandwiches, wine
Address: 1st floor of the Get Pearl tower in East New Songdo
Speaks English: No
Hours and days of operation: M-Sat 10am - 8 pm
Price: W 2,800
Elapsed time to make drink: 3 minutes
The good: WoW, great price on the drink. It's W 1,200 less than all others in Songdo. The flavor of the coffee was rather weak. Too much milk but not by much, maybe 50% milk, 30% coffee, 20% foam. Foam was medium celled but good enough. Served in nice ceramic. Manager was VERY nervous about what I was doing and asked my Korean friend who assured her I was not copying her store. That's Korea I guess. The layout of the store is fine but a little foo-foo for me.
The bad: Smoking is not allowed but men smoke freely in this store and nobody said a word. Despite great price and fair coffee, I won't return unless I have business that has to be done there. It was VERY thick with smoke. Coffee to go is fine.
Final evaluation: Acceptable, almost good, cappuccino but smokers ruined it for this guy.

A Good Cappuccino

Coffee perks us up and can bring us together in the most exotic of places. Coffee can inspire perky conversation or allow for clarity of mind amounting to liquid inspiration. But what do we have in the new international city of Songdo? This depends greatly on your tastes.

For me, nothing defines proper coffee like a good strong cup of black but that's not that techinical and I can mess that up well enough at home. A cappuccino can define a coffee retailer as it combines espresso, milk, and foamed milk in thirds. In reality, there should be no other definition of this coffee drink but every culture imparts their stamp on things. In Korea it seems a simple ice coffee is sufficiant enough to call a place a coffee house and it is assummed that you will be happy with cinnamon on your drink. In fairness, in Belgium, a cappucino, called a Chantilly, comes with a massive glob of whipped cream on top so you must request "Italian" while ordering. Anyway, I ventured out to see what we have available. I'll try to keep it brief for each. As of this writing I don't have access to all the pics I took.

Business Name: Rotiboy Bakery
Services provided: Coffee, baked goods
Address: Near Duncan Donuts.
Speaks English: None
Hours and days of operation: Not on door
Price: W4,000
Elapsed time to make drink: 4 minutes
The good: Location. Nothing else, avoid.
The bad: Cappucino was absent of any foam and was merely some weak coffee with cinnamom on it. When asked where the foam was they shrugged, implying they cannot make it. Temperature was not taken on this sample as it really did not represent what was ordered in any way.
Final evaluation: Avoid

Business name: The Cafe
Services provided: Coffee, some premade baked goods, beers, some canned sodas
Address: South East corner of the 1st World Center (B125)
Speaks English: None, but generally the staff attitude was positive.
Hours and days of operation: Unknown
Price: W4,000
Elapsed time to make drink: 15 minutes!
The good: Great location.
The bad: My coffee drink was ordered as "dry" and I asked for no milk. This defies the definition of a cappuccino but works well in Korea where this drink usually arrives as a Latte, drenched in milk and lacking real foam. 5 attempts were made by "barista" to create foam. The fifth try was successful but yielded soapy, large bubbled, 1/2" of weak foam. We also observed 6 total shots being made but the Coffee still tasted weak. There was no bitter aftertaste which is sort of a plus. Bean source is unknown. Coffee temp at serving was 136 degrees F or 58 Celcius and we suspect cooling was due to the attempts to make foam.
The atmosphere was perverse with odd seating arrangement that mandates groups of <3 class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Wein in Yeonsu-gu area which is a fantastic place. Wall coverings included seven different wallpapers and faux brick finishes. A small junky radio spilled out K-pop. The chilled dispay counter had a waffle and a muffin along with some cans of soda type drinks. The drink cooler had other sodas and Budweiser, Cass, and Cafri.
Final evaluation: Avoid.

Business Name: Lloydd's Cafe'
Address: North West side of Dream city facing jobsite
Speaks English: No but understood when I mimed "dry" or "without milk"
Hours and days of Operation: Open after 10 AM
Price: W4,000
Elapsed time to make drink: 2 minutes
The good: Very fast service. First coffee temp was 155 degrees F or 68 Celsius. It was heavy with milk and had about 1/4 inch of soapy, large celled, weak foam. Coffee flavor was weak and left a strong, bitter aftertaste. Beans are supposedly Lavazza. The second coffee I asked for no milk and he showed me a steel container with some foam left in it and pointed to it. I agreed that that was all I wanted on my espresso shots. The result was a huge improvement constancy-wise. After having cappuccino at The Cafe anything was an improvement. Wait, I forgot about Rotiboy. The atmosphere was very good and large with the ability to host any number of different sized groups.
The bad: Espresso aspect of the coffee still lacked a richness and I was left with a bitterness for quite some time. The location is currently not a great one as it faces the most active part of the construction site but one must keep in mind that this will change rapidly as the project progresses.
Final evaluation: The final product improved upon request but was not a good cappuccino. I would still go here if friends invited me. I hope, with time and experience, they improve to meet the needs of the growing international community.

Business Name: Cafe Tiamo
Services Provided: Coffee drinks, Italian Gilato, small sandwiches.
Address: South East side of main Business area next to Olive Restaurant
Speaks English: A little
Hours and days of Operation: After 10 AM Monday - Sunday
Price: W4,000
Elapsed time to make drink: 5 minutes
The good: Consistently acceptable cappuccinos. Foam varies from slightly large celled to small celled and rich. Foam depth was about 1.5 inches. Coffee is supposedly Illy and leaves no bitter aftertaste but is not that rich either. I did not have my thermometer with me so I took no readings but the coffee required a moment to cool which is good. Outside seating is available and inside seating is usually available.
The bad: Not open early when you NEED a nice coffee, although they used to be closed on Sunday and they've finally seen the error of their ways. Note that during the summer months outside seating can expose you to fog provided by the mosquito fogger trucks that roam the streets spreading toxic fog. This is not limited to this restaurant.
Final Evaluation: Of the four places I have reviewed, this is the very best in service and quality for a western cappuccino pallets. I go there without hesitation.

Stan Crocker RD, LD

Bicycles and Accessories in New Songdo City

Business Name: Happy bike Bicycle Cafe (I assume this from the business card)
Services Provided: New bicycles and parts sales, service and repairs on used bikes
Address: Next to Baskin Robbins Ice cream
Speaks English: Nope, but he tries to make it work and succeeds. Point at what you want or bring a picture.
Hours and Days of Operation: 12PM - 8 PM Monday - Saturday (nothing posted on store but these are times I've stopped in.
Web Address: http://www.happybike-songdo.co.kr/ (not working as of 18/7/2009)
The Good: Very attentive. Strives to communicate. Prices are very reasonable on bicycles which can be insanely inflated in Korea. After a few purchases he seems to give an automatic 20% discount. If you buy something from him installation is free but I am sure bike shorts are excluded from this deal. When I need something done, he starts immediatly and never says come back in 2 weeks like they do in the states. There are other little shops in New Songdo but this is a real shop with more than little Strawberry Shortcake bikes. Is he the best mechanic? I don't know. He has made small errors but quickly corrected them. He may be nervous. I trust him at this point and I am a fair mechanic by most standards, I just don't have my tools with me.
The Bad: Sizes of bikes and accessories are limited to Asian sizes so folks over 5'8" may have to request he order something. As with ALL Korean bike shops, you cannot test ride bikes. This is a HORRIBLE business practice for the consumer but standard in Korea.
Other options: There is a great store by Munhak Stadium. Those guys have busted their butts for me and I consider them friends but a trip to Munhauk is not always possible.

Bio: Stan Crocker (moderator)

Name: Stan Crocker

Origin: Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

In Songdo Since: March 2008




Professional Background: Registered Dietitian (R.D.)

Current Job: Male home technical director (house hubby), sport nutrition lecturer, bike mechanic, home chef, moderator for this blog.

Interests: Nutrition, cooking, mountain biking and road bike racing, guitar playing, hiking, beer adventuring and reading.

Attached Image: Taken on Songdo pedstrian path over new train tracks while in construction.

Welcome to Songdo for Rookies

Hello and welcome. I've been living in Songdo, a small city in Incheon South Korea, for the past 18 months. During this time I've often had to rely on friends, strangers or simply venture into the unknown to satisfy my non-Korean speaking Western needs. It is my hope that this info center will provide some helpful shortcuts for your stay in Songdo. The information provided will include evaluations of restaurants, businesses, resources, events and activities in a simple and efficient format. I won't be doing this all by myself as others will be invited to contribute. Each contributor will provide a short bio and picture so that you can feel comfortable saying hello when you see us about town. Stay tuned.

Stan Crocker