Diddly Bop – Irish Bar in Jinju
A few weeks ago the rumours first started about an Irish bar opening up in Jinju. As it turns out the place is situated in the heart of Pyeonggo – dong’s lively bar and restaurant zone, see map here . I first ventured down one Thursday afternoon hoping for a pint of Guinness and a bite to eat but after finally finding the place ( it can be tricky if you don’t know the area) I discovered it to be closed. 
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Western Cookin’
Tired of Kimbab? Eaten all the rice you can possibly handle for the week? Check out Nice Market! Serviced out of Busan, NiceMarket.net is an online grocery store serving mostly expats and our reminiscent taste buds. Have you ever said, “I would KILL for a turkey club sandwich and a Dr. Pepper!” or “Man, since O’Taco closed down I have had a hankering for a taco!” Well, you can buy all of our western groceries online and have them delivered on ice! Nice Market and expatmart have everything from deli meats, cheese, our favorite snacks, pastas, Indian curries, FRESH herbs, and even toaster ovens. (Yes… I ordered a toaster oven off the internet) www.nicemarket.net www.expatmart.co.kr
Cooking in this country can often become bland for me. There is only so much rice and gochuchang I can handle. Which is why I LOVE NiceMarket.net and expatmart! It is often best for you to have if delivered to your school where someone will be able to accept the package.
Christina’s One-Pot Quick-n-Easy NiceMarket Meals
Tortilla Soup
From NiceMarket-
Fresh Cilantro
Taco Seasoning
Frozen Tortillas
Other ingredients
Chicken
Peppers (hot, yellow, green, red, whatever you fancy)
Onion
Fresh small Tomatoes
Cheese
First, cook your chicken. After cooking the chicken take it out of the pan and let it cool down so you can shred it up. While your chicken cools, sauté your peppers, onions, and half of your tomatoes. While they are cooking up throw the other half of your tomatoes, cilantro, and a cup of water into a blender. (If you don’t have a blender it’s okay!) Put your cooled and shredded chicken in the pan with your vegetables along with your package of taco seasoning and ¼ of a cup of water. Poor the tomato/cilantro soup mix into the pan and let it come to a boil for several minutes. Garnish your bowl of soup with a little of fresh cilantro, cheese, and a tortilla to dip in the soup! Takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish and is relatively cheap!
Indian Spiced Noodles
Another great NiceMarket (www.nicemarket.net) meal that I often survive on is Indian Curry. In their East Asian section they have a ton of packaged Indian spice mixes. I usually get the Butter Chicken, Tikka Masala, and Vindaloo.
Other Ingredients:
Tofu (or Chicken if you prefer)
Green Squash (or Green Pumpkin as they call it here)
Bean Sprouts
Pepper (green peppers are usually the cheapest)
Milk
1 egg
And the soft noodles you find near the Ddeok/tofu in the refrigerator section.
Saute your peppers and squash first as they often take longer to cook. (Unless you are cooking with chicken, then add that first) Cube the tofu and add it into the mixture to firm it up some. While these are cooking squeeze your Indian spice pack into a coffee cup and fill it with milk. Mix it together well and add to the mixture. Add another coffee cup full of water. Immediately put the bean sprouts in the soup so they aren’t quite so crunchy. Let it boil for 3-4 minutes and then add the noodles. Let the noodles soften and come to a boil for another 3-4 minutes. Crack an egg in the center and stir quickly. The egg will make the soup nice and creamy!
By Christina Riley
Basta Pasta: Delizioso!
Looking for some fabulous Italian food? Need a date night with a great bottle of wine? Basta Pasta is a great location for all of the above. Suggested to us by a co-worker, Basta Pasta did not disappoint! On a Friday night, the place was quite busy, but after a 5 minute wait the kind Host showed us to a table. Items available on the menu range from salad, soup, pizza, cream pasta, oil based pastas, red sauce pastas, lasagna, and steak. Being particularly hungry that night, we both ordered a pasta dish each and a salad to split, which in my opinion was a great decision. The portion sizes are not huge, but the ingredients are fresh and satisfying. While we did not order the steak, a gentleman next to us did and it looked much better than any steak you could get a VIPS. The food came out fast but still obtained quality. I recommend Basta Pasta for anyone looking for a great night of wine, good company, and pasta!
Lasagna from Basta Pasta
Salmon Cream Pasta from Basta Pasta
How to get there…
Located in Pyeonggo-dong you can take the following buses:
Buses 116, 121, 127. 16, 16-1, 17-5. 26. 260, 26-1, 26-3, 26-5, 50, 51, 52, 70, 70-1, 70-2, 70-3, 72, 75 and get off at 신안주공아파트. (The McDonald’s stop!) Once you get off the bus turn at the Homeplus Express towards the river. One block before the river you will see Basta Pasta’s OLD location on your right. Turn right down this road and you will see a more modern sign for the current location.
By Taxi: a closer location than the McDonalds might be 진주제일중학교 Jinju Jaeil Middle School. (Jinju Jae-il Hak-gyo ga-jo-sey-yo) When let off by the taxi go to the road at the end of the middle school and walk towards the river for one long block until you see the OLD Basta Pasta location
By Christina Riley
Eating in?
Ordering delivery in Korea is easier than you might think! There are some restaurants that we know and love from back home which are used to receiving calls from foreigners. The first thing you need to have is your home address and be able to pronounce it correctly. When calling, all you have to ask is “Do you have an English Line?” Sometimes they will be able to help you right away, and sometimes they will have to call you back, so be patient! The numbers provided are corporate lines, so make sure you tell them that you are located in Jinju. The local branches usually won’t have someone that speaks English, but the corporate lines often have someone there to assist the foreigners. After giving them your address (and downstairs door code if you have one) you can give them your order. The great thing is that once you call in an order, they usually keep your address on file, so the next time you call you may not have to give it to them again! Also, If you are picky like my boyfriend and do not want certain things on your hamburger you can say, “Mustard, pickle, onion bbae-go- ju-sey-yo” “… 빼고 주세요”. To be clear, you can also say the items that you don’t want and say “Minus”. They will then ask you if you would like to pay with cash or card. If you are paying with card, the delivery man will bring a portable credit card machine to your door. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
Here are places where you can call and get English assistance.
Photo Courtesy of http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/the-rice-bowl/dominos-south-korea-your-pizza-30-minutes-or-else
Domino’s 1577-3082
McDonald’s 1600-5252
Mr. Pizza 1577-0077
By Christina Riley
Yo Jinju! 