Day 47: Edae Shara Shara and Revisiting Woohyun's Restaurant

In the middle of finals week on August 5th, my friend and I continued our last week in Seoul together with another adventurous outing.

A few days ago I saw on Twitter that Shara Shara has new fans, this time of Myungsoo rather than an ad for their summer sale! There are also new mini standees of Myungsoo, but they weren't available in the store yet (I asked a worker about it, and she said maybe in September). On my way to the Edae Subway Station, I stopped by Shara Shara (from the station, walk down Exit 3 for one block to a dead end, then turn left and walk down half a block, and it should be on the right!).

It seems to be the criteria for Shara Shara employees to be aggressive, curt and crude, and for Shara Shara to have ridiculous policies for exploiting Myungsoo fans, especially compared to other Korean cosmetics stores. As I entered the store, a worker handed me a basket and this gorgeous fan, so I felt obligated to buy something for the fan. After much pondering, I settled on a cooling stick that instantly refreshes when applied to your skin.

At the counter, there were Myungsoo postcards (the black version; white is long gone), tumblers and notebooks. I asked how much I'd need to spend before getting freebies. She said with a 40,000₩ purchase, I could get a postcard or four mask face sheets (not with Myungsoo's face on them), and with a whopping 300,000₩, you can get more freebies. I knew some ridiculous amount would be listed, and knew not to get my hopes up at a Myungsoo notebook. Oh well, my 9,900₩ purchase still came with a free face mask sheet, surprisingly.

Afterwards, my Mexican friend (it is relevant that she's Mexican, as that's more fascinating than an American here) and I headed back to Woohyun's brother's restaurant for our last visit. I was really craving that grilled intestine again!

It was a Tuesday, at 7:40PM when we arrived this time. The ahjussi (who we later confirmed was Woohyun's dad) who cooked our meat last time opened the door for us, so we quickly rushed in, and they sat us at the tables again. There were two parties of older couples, one group of three Cantonese fangirls, and another group of two fangirls. One of the Cantonese fangirls gave (who we assumed as) Woohyun's mom a nice box of Chinese foods with a sticky note on it. The mom soon opened it and said 맛있네 (it tastes good). They looked like dried crackers. Later on Woohyun's dad asked Woohyun's mom what it was. The other ahjumma worker (who was so friendly and not intimidating like Woohyun's mom) also tried the snack.

Here is what we ordered this time! I wanted to take initiative in writing down our order this time, and completely failed. I wanted the intestine, but accidentally chose the item above it! It wasn't until they brought out our plate of raw meat that I noticed. I asked Woohyun's mom, who was at our table, if I could change my order or not, and she kept insisting that this meat was delicious and wouldn't budge. But Woohyun's dad, who was nearby, said that it's fine to switch. He then placed the other meat dish that we correctly ordered on the grill, started walking back to the kitchen with the wrong meat, noticed that one piece of the correct meat was still on the plate, brought it back to the grill, and went back to the kitchen and came out with the intestine. I was so thankful that he was able to make the switch!

Woohyun's mom then distractedly cooked the ribs and cut them for us. She left, making me hesitantly cook the intestine myself. It was so divine when they cooked the intestine to perfection; while my pieces were all burnt, I'll someday learn to master this art.

Later on, the kind ahjumma worker gave us free 된장까지 (soybean paste soup), which was different from past visits! Here's a photo of our entire dinner, with more side dishes as well.

In the middle of our meal, an ahjussi with a knife and pineapple walked to each table, offering a slice. When he came to our table, I thought he worked here and was just giving us some dessert fruit, so when he asked where we were from in Korean, I naturally was honest. Then he tried to sell us the pineapple -.- Since then, I'm more weary of who I tell information to and I'll try to be not as naive.

Once we finished, we waited until Woohyun's dad was at the counter so we could pay him. When I took out my embarrassingly gaudy, super flashy gold card, Woohyun's mom came over and looked at the card, joking in Korean that they don't accept credit card. I was about to get cash then, we she said she was joking, and I replied 신용카드 괜찮아요 (credit card is okay)? After this episode, Woohyun's dad asked if it's a Hong Kong credit card (as the Cantonese people previously paid, and maybe I do look more Hong Kong like than I give myself credit for), to which I said no. I want to elaborate, saying my mom is from Hong Kong, but I always stop myself short and need a first awkward conversation with someone before I'm comfortable enough to keep going.

On the counter they filled up their business card holder since last time! Also, instead of fans, there's a paper version from Lemoncandy.

Just after we paid, my friend asked Woohyun's dad where the bus stop was, as we were planning to go to Insadong. Before I had a chance to see if my note to Woohyun was still posted on the wall, he brisked us out of the restaurant and walked us out onto the street for a good three minutes, caring pt showing us the bus stop! During this moment, I observed that he was short, just the same height as me, right under 5' 4"! Then we arrived at the intersection, and he told us to cross the street half way to the bus stop. My friend bravely paused and asked 우현 아버지 있어요 (Woohyun's father exists)? to which I corrected 이에요 ((someone should have just corrected me with 예요) are you Woohyun's father?). He then quickly nodded and pointed us on our way, as the crosswalk just turned green.

Another wonderful day, but I'm just sad as this is probably the last time I'll visit Woohyun's restaurant, which is definitely my most favorite out of all of the members' restaurants.