SeJoong's Korean Restaurant

Last weekend we all needed an outing. We'd all been sick (and actually some of us were still sick) and we all had cabin fever. It was cold & rainy outside. So...we decided a museum was in order...specifically a children's museum. You might have noticed the photos in my last two posts look like they were taken somewhere kid-friendly and fun. You're right: our local children's museum. It has lots of fun little areas for kids to explore, play, and learn. I took a lot (!) of photos that day and decided instead of one massive post with too many photos, I'd break it up a bit. After finishing in the grocery store area (photos still to come), we turned the corner and saw this display...

Yep...the flag grabbed our attention IMMEDIATELY! "What is this?" we wondered. We saw photos of various spots in Korea...many of which we had visited on our trip to meet and bring home Little D. Palaces, parks, gardens, and museums. And then...we saw a map...

A map of Korea. We sat down and showed Little D where he was born. We know this doesn't mean anything to him right now...but some day it will...and we'll keep going back to this fun play space to show him and tell him his story...again and again.

As you can tell by the photo above, Little D was much more interested in exploring something else...instead of this map...can you guess what it was?...

A Korean restaurant!! That's right. Now...many children's museums have little restaurants for children to explore and cook up some tasty imaginative treats for their parents to enjoy. But...I have never been to one that has a KOREAN restaurant at the heart of this playtime adventure.

First...Little D explored the dining area...taking orders for various Korean dishes: Bee Bim Bop, Japchae, Mandu, Pajeon, and of course...Kimchi (of which there is a shortage in Korea right now...but not here, thank goodness!).

Then it was time to see what was in the pantry. I see plenty of tasty ingredients. Do you see any of your favorites?

Tea, rice, soy sauce, salt, spices, fish, shrimp, noodles, crackers...you name it!

Then it was time to get cooking. Here you can see our little chef (SeJoong) shaking up some spices to add to his ginger, cabbage stir fry (and yes...sorry vegetarians...that is a huge piece of [plastic] meat laying on the stove behind the pan).

Mix, mix, mix. (Or bee-bim, bee-bim, bee-bim...if you will.)

Taking a closer work at his creation. Note the spice shaker had to go IN the pan. I tried to tell him you just sprinkle some on top of the other ingredients, but he insisted the whole can needed to go in the pot. Well...he is the chef...and he is also the Korean in our family...so what do I know?!

Looking around to see what else might need to be added to his masterpiece.

Time to eat. Now...where's that poky waitress anyway? Hmmm...no tip for her!

"I guess I have to do everything around here. Time to wash the dishes." Note the cute conveyor belt that leads the dishes to the wash station. Little D loved to run back and forth...first to turn the wheel to crank the conveyor belt...and then back to the sink side to wash. (I'm happy to report that NO actual water comes out of that tap. If it did, I think Little D would still be there right now continuing to wash [play with] the dishes.)

"Would you like that to go, sir?" Handing over a take-out box.

Helping another satisfied customer pack up his left-overs. Kham-sah-ham-nee-dah.

Now...I know Little D had NO IDEA this was a Korean restaurant...or really what that even means. I'll admit...my DH and I were probably even MORE excited about this spot than he was. Oh, trust me...Little D had a ball in this area...running back & forth...pretending to cook, clean, etc...but we were the ones aware of this special spot's significance. If it weren't for him...this would have just been a fun little play restaurant spot for our child to play in. We wouldn't have looked at all the food items quite so closely...seeing if we could figure out what they were. We wouldn't have looked at all the photos, drawings, and other pieces of artwork with quite such a keen eye and with such excitement in our hearts & brains. Because of him...this fun spot had so much more meaning. It is a perfect way for us to expose him to his birth culture...in a fun and age-appropriate way. It should be no surprise to anyone that we spent more time in this area of the museum than any other spot...and I took more photos here too.

I look forward to many more trips to SeJoong's Korean Restaurant. I've heard it is very popular...and is now taking reservations...if anyone wants to join us. (We have an "in" with the chef/owner...so I'm sure we could get you on the list.)