asiana korean restaurant

i am at some kind of a big turning point in my life right now. well maybe it is not that serious but i have been really getting my shit together as though i am preparing for some kind of change, and i'm not just talking about going from summer to fall. i do not know exactly what is going on... i think my subconscious is sorting shit out and this is manifesting itself externally somehow without me really understanding it. in the past two weeks, i have:

• made butter (a goal i have had for a year and a half)
• cleaned my entire house from top to bottom (including washing dishes which had been in my sink since september, vacuuming under couches and my bed, cleaning windows, mopping out closets, and all kinds of things i have not done since i moved in, if ever)
• cleaned out my car
• gone through my wardrobe and collected 2 garbage bags full of clothes to donate
• made appointments for teeth cleaning (i have not been to the dentist in almost 3 years... i know that's totally gross), an eye exam (i have not gotten new glasses in over 4 years), and a haircut (it's going on month 3)
• bought an ipod after living for 2 years without one
• blogged constantly rather than just once every week or two
  

all of these things which i have been procrastinating on for years in most cases have suddenly started feeling really urgent and i can no longer put them off. i am also starting a project with avani which will be unveiled in the next few months.

another thing i have been wanting to do is get involved with some kind of volunteer project. i always used to do a lot of volunteer work before i moved to cincinnati and then for some reason i just never got into it here. so tonight avani and i decided to head up to west chester for a wine tasting and info session at wine c.a.r.t. which was organized by give back cincinnati. we liked wine c.a.r.t. and would definitely go back if it was not so far. we also liked give back cincinnati and we are going to do some of their volunteer events.

while we were up there we decided to have dinner. avani had tried mesh before, and i didn't want to spend that much money, so i did some googling and came up with asiana korean restaurant (not to be confused with asiana, the thai place in oakley). i love korean food, it is one of my all time favorites, so i knew this was our place. avani took some convincing because as she put it, "i don't want to eat rice. i have had enough carbs for the day." my stomach would not take no for an answer so eventually i got her to agree.

asiana's extensive ban chan selection (all very tasty)

ok, asiana is awesome. first of all it is really reasonably priced. the appetizers are expensive but that is it. they have both chinese and korean food and it is all really tasty and fresh and authentic. i was one of only two white people there, which i always think is a good sign. the service was great. our server barely spoke english (another good sign) but she was really nice.

we started with a big selection of ban chan (the random salads and pickled vegetables that you always get with korean food). all of them were really yummy. my favorites were the cucumbers in chili garlic sauce, the kimchi, and the tofu. but seriously they were all really good.

me attacking the ban chan

avani got a bowl of hot and sour soup to start. ok. read carefully. this was by far the best hot and sour soup i have had in cincinnati. let me say that again in bold. asiana serves the absolute best hot and sour soup in the entire cincinnati area. i am not kidding you. i had actually given up on finding good hot and sour in this city. but this soup is amazing. i have not had such good hot and sour soup since ollie's noodle shop (which serves the best in new york, in my opinion). asiana's is wonderful. if you like hot and sour soup, you must go eat it right now. get in the car. go. go. go!

avani with the amazing hot and sour soup

as for the rest of the food, it was delicious. i got the dolsot bibimbap and avani had the beef bulgogi. both were very yummy, fresh, and flavorful versions of those korean food all-stars. i do not think it was better than riverside, but it was definitely as good as. it was way better than sung korean bistro. also, the menu was really extensive and had a number of things i had never heard of and wanted to try.

chopstick lickin' good bibimbap

if you are looking for yummy korean food in the west chester area, asiana is definitely your spot. ikea is right nearby so maybe stop by if you are up there to shop for super cheap scandinavian home furnishings (but if you are like me, you will probably also want to stuff yourself with $1.99 swedish meatballs). as with korea house, i do not think i will be making a special trip up there for korean food since both of those places are on par with riverside in my opinion, and riverside is much more conveniently located. but i just might make the hike for that hot and sour soup...