NANTA

Last night we attended a NANTA performance. The show is a musical comedy with lots of very intricate drumming, dancing, juggling, etc. We've never seen The Blue Man Group, but we imagine this show is very similar to that mixed with Hibachi cooking. The story is about a group of chefs who have to deal with the manager's inept nephew joining their cooking crew. They drummed on large barrels of salt and kimchi as well as on their cutting boards with knives. The show was pretty amazing and really funny, as cabbage, onions and carrot pieces flew into the audience. We were lucky enough to sit in the front row, and Jenny got pulled up on stage to try some of their soup they had literally "thrown together." Our friend Hyun Ju was also chosen to go up on stage and she participated in a dumpling making competition while wearing a large chef’s hat. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures in the theater, but here is one of Jenny and her fake marriage on stage.

The performance was in an area of Seoul called Apujeong, which is nicknamed the Beverly Hills of Korea. We could tell this wasn't just a rumor when we saw Lamborghinis, Bentleys, and other imported cars lining the streets. We ate dinner at a cool little Mexican Restaurant in the Gangnam area. Their bar was a converted taco wagon-esque contraption that looked like it had just been parked right in the middle of the restaurant! Sure, we had just eaten Mexican food the night before, but it’s so hard to come by in these parts that we just couldn’t resist when we found this place =)

NOTE: The night before, we had FINALLY found the Mexican food place near where we live that we had searched for 3 times with no luck. After getting a makeshift map written on the back of a napkin or something, we found Dane’s Mexican Grill. We heard the margaritas were legendary and were so excited that we ordered them without looking at the price. As it turned out, they were 10 dollars and served in a tiny martini glass. Oh well, at least the food was good and reasonably priced. We got a picture with Dane, the owner, who is Korean but lived in the US for many years and spoke English fluently.