The Warmth You Can Eat

Remember my last post? Yeah, I went out and got some. It turns out these Taiyaki/Bungeoppang aren't that common in this city, but I managed to hunt some places down that did have them.

Taiyaki, a snack with origins of Japan made the leap to Korea in the 1930's while Korea was pretty much oppressed by Japan. Since then, it has never left (South) Korea. Taiyaki, that is (The Japanese people left by 1945). Only now it is called Bungeoppang in Korea. They're both sold in vendors outside usually famous in the winter time. I suppose you can rate it on the same level of hotdog vendors here. Except the food is less crappy and possibly safer to eat. Oh, who am I trying to kid? Anything is safer than to eat those damn hotdogs!

Anywho, back in Toronto, current time. My most convenient choice was a place called "BnC Bakery" on Bloor. St, in between Christie and Bathurst. Where I got to see the lady working there, make them from scratch. She was even kind enough to let me briefly photograph the process as long as it would leave her out of the photos since she isn't photo-genic at all.

The process itself is not rocket science. You just need the right equipment. Notably, the fish-shaped waffle maker.

First thing that goes in is the batter.

Followed by some red bean paste, which is the filling.

And then you simply close the fish shaped waffle maker into one and wait a few minutes. Then it should look something like this.

Okay, so I made it sound much easier than how it really is. However, believe me when I say the taste was spot on. I'm sure the ones in Korea or Japan do taste better or at least more authentic, but I can't exactly get a plane ticket every time I get a craving. Although, the ones at BnC Bakery are great and I have a feeling I'll be going back there many times before the spring pops up this year. And until then, I do have my hand warmer to keep me warm on every trip to BnC Bakery.

A Gift of Warmth: Hand Warmer

I've been neglecting to write this for a while and it is way past the holiday season, but better late than never.

A friend of mine was in the country from Korea for a little while in the holiday season and managed to drop off a little gift. While it isn't anything that suits me in terms of style, it's (re)usefulness definitely gets a top score.

Its a re-useable hand warmer.

For those who aren't familiar with it, it does exactly what the name suggests: it keeps your hands warm. As the instructions say (in Korean), you simply microwave it-don't worry, it wont blow itself up and start a fire- for about 30 seconds. And keep it in your hands and just enjoy the warmth as the hand warmer itself gives off the heat it collected in the microwave. The hand warmer does stay warm for quite some time: Roughly 30 minutes. That's quite amazing.

This could just be my answer to the cold seasonal temperature of the Canadian Winter this season around. It is getting bloody cold in Toronto however, whether it is seasonal or not.

When it's not in use however, it simply looks and feels like a stuffed toy Taiyaki (たい焼き). Or to be more precise, regarding where this hand warmer came from, a Korean version, which is called, Bungeoppang (붕어빵). Both are quite tasty snacks, which are quite similar to one another and I will talk about them more in detail in the next post.

Oh, and one last thing, and my favorite feature I forgot to mention about the hand warmer: It actually smells like the actual Taiyaki/Bungeoppang. However, it tastes nothing like it =/