Down town in K Town
There is an ongoing debate about whether New York City is truly a multicultural melting pot or a mosaic of cultures living in their own respective pieces.
I think I agree with the mosaic persuasion. But on the plus side, it makes it a lot easier to find the best places in town to try different international cuisines.
It was Ilia's last night with us in NYC so the three of us enjoyed a final meal together at the Soju Haus in K Town. I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to Korean food, so luckily Will was there to order everything for us.
You've probably tried Japanese shochu, but you tried Korean soju?
Gun Bae! (That's cheers in Korean, so I'm told.)
Soju is rice liquor that Koreans drink in full shots throughout their meal. It was a bit too strong for me, so I let the boys get rather intoxicated while I sipped at a slower pace.
It's customary to eat while you're enjoying Soju. (No such thing as 'eating is cheating' here.) We started with spicy marinated vegetables.
Then the cheese and spicy barbecue chicken.
Sweet, spicy and sticky chicken pieces covered in melted cheese.
Ilia was a little bit excited.
Holy cheesus!
And then a seafood omelette pancake.
Prawns, calamari and vegetables all sautéed together in an egg pancake.
And a little bowl of rice with a fried egg on top to go with everything.
A few glasses of Soju later ...
I think Will was embarrassed by me. What do you think?
And that is even before I started attempting to speak a few Korean phrases out loud.
After dinner, we walked to a nearby rooftop bar for a nightcap.
There is a beautiful view of the city skyline from 280 Fifth.
It was already 2am by the time we got there, so things were a little quiet ...
But that didn't stop us from staying for a drink.
Mumm champagne for three please.
Celebrating a fun-filled fortnight of old friends catching up after too long apart.
And brainstorming ideas for the next biggest start-up company so that we can quit our day jobs and start up headquarters in New York City. It's every Gen-Yer's dream, right? But as you know, we are in the kind of city where you can dream big.