Something must have got into me because I gave a really long and hard thought to making my dream of opening a little cafe come true. Where? In Seoul, a place where I least fit in, where I can’t find a decent loaf of bread, where people cast the accusing look, “Watch where you’re going!” when bumping into each other on the street, where people shove each other and never say “Sorry”, and…where I get almost suffocated on public transports during rush hour, which I dread the most. So why do I even consider the idea? Hmm..a good question, though even I am struggling to find answers to the very question myself. It’s a fight between me trying to completely cut off the invisible umbilical cord deeply rooted in the hardened soil that has no nutrients for my growing soul and me still inclined to root even deeper for the moisture of support and comfort.
While tossing up several options for my next moves, autumn has quickly settled in but the impatient winter seems to force its way in blowing the colourful leaves off the trees.
People call me WEIRD when I say that I spend most of my earning for the pleasure of cooking and eating, – isn’t it better than buying expensive clothes and bags? – make plans for dinner while eating lunch and prefer conversations instead of watching TV while eating. The craziest of all reasons is probably that I travel 2 hours to get a loaf of bread.
Then one day it struck me that I might be a savior to make these people experience another way of life, another flavour, and the importance of putting time aside to appreciate the food they put into their mouth, which led me to the decision to open a cafe in the most vibrant and fashionable spot in Korea, known as Hongdae, the University of Fine Arts and Design. Yes, I might have had my head hit by something really hard, and indeed I WAS recently struck by some good sourdough loaves.
How it all began was that one grey Friday morning I ventured out to the Hongdae area to survey the local and also to try out five bakeries claimed to make authentic French style pastries and sourdough bread. I found only two of them were worth going back to and the place called “October”, where everything is made with organic ingredients and sourdough starter, was my pick because it had the most authentic feel, the widest range and the best looking olive ciabatta, and the sample of walnut and apricot sourdough and French baguette were really good. So I bought pumpkin bread, seedy grain sourdough and tomato olive ciabatta and was very anxious to try them.
They got my approval. Thanks.
While looking for the bakeries, I was amazed not only by the number of cafes and restaurants but also by how lavish they looked. How many of them would be actually worth a try? Are these just the places where rich young adults, no, young adults with rich parents hang out? What about those with less fortunate parents? Do they not deserve the same special treats without breaking their bank? Why does eating gorgeous meals have to be so expensive? Sadly, a big portion of the money people pay in these places goes to cover the high cost of lease not the quality of the produce they use for cooking. That’s why I prefer small and rustic places tucked away in unlikely places to avoid snobs and I don’t mind going extra distance for an exquisite and delightful meal, and I won’t complain about the lack of decorations and paintings on the wall. You can imagine me dining in a white empty space with nothing but dimed lights, a table laiden with scrumptious food and a pleasant and welcoming waiter, plus a nice and generous guy who is as good a eater as me 
Among these unappealing places, two interesting places pulled me to a stop. One is a bar called “Edith Piaf” and the other a wine bar called “Toto’s Corner Wine Bar”(I think that was the name, but I’m not sure), where two lovely dogs were enjoying lazy Friday morning while waiting for their owner to open the bar.
It was almost 11am but many of the cafes in the area were still closed or just opening, but all other non-food shops were still shut with no sign of opening anytime soon. Even the bakeries haven’t put out all of their items, which was very different to European countries. Not good for early risers like me :p
While wandering through small streets adorned with charming little cafes, I thought to myself that I could have my own cafe and open up the “bored” people to the exciting world of various flavours and races with my god-given gifts: my cooking and daredevil personality. Is it just another fantasy I need to wake up out of? I felt confident that my cafe would have the best of the flavours from the world over and be a place where people mingle sharing their life stories while learning English, food culture and cooking in the most natural environment. People ask questions like “How are you going to make profit?” and my response is always “Is it important?”, then they go, “What is the purpose of doing business?”, and I go, “To make a living doing what I want and am good at. Would it benefit both me and my customers?” All I get is “Are you kidding?” But I wasn’t and am not!
Why can’t I bake good wholesome bread and cookies and serve them with a nice cup of hot chocolate made with pure cocoa powder, not the sickly sweet mix, and why can’t I serve a glass of wine with an assortment of homemade dips, salami and cheese? Why can’t I invite people to eat with me since I cook everyday anyway and get them to pay whatever they think the food was worth? Why can’t I have people to bring whatever food items they feel like for the day for me to cook for them and they pay me at the end for the food as well as for a bit of cooking lessons? Am I getting crazy here? Hello, hello, wake up!
The second baking session:
<Chocolate Almond Cookies and Butter Orange Cookies>
I mean, honestly, when I had the third baking session with my brother’s girlfriend, she mentioned that she’d never heard or tasted anything like my banana bread and oat cookies. She got absolutely bowled over by the sweet aroma of coconut in the Anzac biscuits, saying I could sell just that in my cafe. They are awesome, wholesome cookies as they are, however, my tweaked version of Anzac biscuits has raisins and is crispy with slight chewiness. These biscuits are so good and heart winners, beating chocolate cookies hands down, and you can’t stop at just one and I usually eat 4 or 5 in one go and don’t feel guilty at all.
I hope Anzac biscuit purists don’t get offened by my a(du)lteration because seriously it adds an extra burst of flavour and also reduces the amount of sugar in the recipe. My theory is that sugar is the baddie we need to avoid not butter.
I’m so glad that I’ve finally managed to post a recipe on my favourite Anzac biscuits. I realised how much I’d ignored writing recipes of the food I cook or talk about, often because it’s so common and the recipes are available on the net, but then when I want to remake the thing, I don’t remember the variations I made before. That’s why I’m writing down my version of the recipe that’s been approved by me after many trials. I hope you will have success with the recipe, too.
Anzac Biscuits with a twist
Ingredients: makes 24
1 cup flour (all-purpose or whole wheat pastry)
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup finely shredded non-sweetened coconut
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup raisins or sultanas (chopped into smaller pieces if possible as it helps the dough to bind better)
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
120g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup or honey
1 tablespoon boiling water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Preheat oven to 175’C and line a baking tray.
- Sift flours into a bowl and add rolled oats, coconut and sugar, and stir with a spoon until well combined
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat and add golden syrup and water
- Continuously stir butter mixture until golden syrup is dissolved.
- Take off the heat and add bicarbonate of soda. Stir until all lumps are broken up.
- Add butter mixture to dry mixture and stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
- Using hands, form the dough into small balls and press them between your palms before placing them on the tray
- Bake for 10 mins or 15 mins for crispier texture.
