Mexican restaurants barely exist in Asia. During the three years I have lived in Japan I saw two, and one of those was on a U.S. military base. Chinese and Japanese restaurants aren’t hard to find in Gwangju, Korea, but discovering a Mexican place seemed too good to be true. I stopped by Corona, hoping to eat, three times before finally being able to. The first time was a Monday (and they are closed on Mondays). The second time I showed up at 3 p.m., but they hadn’t yet opened for lunch (now they are). The third time I was really craving Mexican food, but I forgot it was a Monday. 😉

Today (Tuesday) I went by again, and this time they were open! The owner, a Korean named Choong Jun, worked at a restaurant in Los Angeles with a bunch of Mexicans and that’s where the idea came from. He speaks good English. I think he was the first person I have had a conversation with in three days (as I don’t speak Korean).

Anyway, back to Corona… The food is a little different from any Mexican restaurant I have ever been to. It was good, on the spicy side, and inexpensive. Next time I may ask for it to be less spicy. I think the menu said something about various levels of spiciness, but I didn’t order any special level.

I had a burrito for about US$5 (6,000 won). It came with chips and salsa (three giant chips that were actually full-sized corn tortillas that had been turned into chips). After I finished my burrito I was given a plate of nachos (covered in cheese, meat, sour cream, salsa, jalapenos, and onions). I don’t think the nachos normally came with my order. Perhaps they were saying “thanks for coming back a fourth time even though we weren’t open the first three times” or they were just working on a new nacho recipe. In any event, I wasn’t charged for the nachos and left absolutely stuffed.

I just noticed that Gwangju Blog did a review of this place in which they complained about the speed of service. My food was served very quickly. Also, the menu looks totally different now. I think Corona did a recent makeover. My food looked better than the photos that they posted.

The drink selection here is outstanding and far more diverse than anything I have seen in Korea thus far. They had about a dozen different beers to chose from which is about ten more than most places. Included in the selection were all the major Mexican beers (Corona, Sol, Dos Equis, Modelo, etc.), tequila, and Lost Coast Brewery’s Indica India Pale Ale. I never expected to see an IPA from California in Korea. They also had things like blue lemonade and Cherry Coke!

Next time I’ll bring my camera for some photos.

You can find Corona near the Chonnam National University back gate. Head down the street/alley with Dunkin Donuts on the corner. Near the other end, look up on the opposite side of the street from Dunkin Donuts to see Corona. They are on the second floor.

The address is 159-8, 2F, Yongbong-don, Bukgu, Gwangju. They are open from about noon to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Maybe they are open later on Friday and Saturday nights.

Posted on July 8th, 2013 under Korea. Tags: beer, corona, food, gwangju, reviews. Comments Off on Corona – Mexican Food & Drinks – Gwangju

Koba in Hiroshima, Japan

While cruising through Fukuoka and Hiroshima a couple weeks back, I tried to find a club with some live acts playing some kind of heavy metal. I couldn’t find anything so then I looked for a bar similar to Godz or Rock Bar Mother in Tokyo. No luck. The night I was in Hiroshima I planned to go to a Carp baseball game, but it got rained out. I then remembered that I had a Facebook friend from Hiroshima who is into hard rock and heavy metal so I sent him a quick message before heading out. He responded immediately that I should check out a place called Koba. I googled it, got an address, marked it on my map, and got on a nearby streetcar.

When I got to the spot on my map I couldn’t find Koba. I started walking in circles around the spot on my map, asking anyone who looked local if they knew of the place. No one did. I had gone down every street in the neighborhood at least twice. Finally, as I was about to give up, I walked into G.O.D Sports Bar. If they didn’t know where it was, I was going to just hang out there. The employee was so helpful that he looked it up on the internet for me and then walked me to Koba, making sure that I found it. Now that’s service! And from a competing bar no less.

Anyway, Koba (or コバ) is very hard to find, even with the address, as the only sign is about an inch high so I’ll help you with directions and maps below. I walked right past it several times in my search.

The guy sitting in the top photo is Mac from Macbar or MAC Bar (not sure how to spell it), another Hiroshima Bar that I’d like to visit on my next time through.

Koba is very close to the Hondori (本通) Shopping Arcade. If you aren’t there already, take a streetcar to the Fukuromachi or Tatemachi stops.

Above is a closer view and also shows you how to get there from Heiwa Odori.

When you approach the A on the maps, look for something like the above. It will probably be dark and not this clear. However, if you go up really close to the sign you will see this:

広島 Koba is upstairs. Head on in and up. The food is great. The company is great. The atmosphere is excellent. Everyone is very foreigner friendly in this place.

As I walked in Michael Schenker’s “Rock My Nights Away” was playing. The words were very fitting.
“When I’m sad and lonely
Far from home
Who’s gonna rock my nights away”

I recorded that song off the radio and onto a cassette tape in 1983, but probably hadn’t heard it since 1986 or so. Hearing it in Koba on this evening in 2013 sounded like it was written just for me at that moment. Koba was clearly going to rock my night away.

The place isn’t really Heavy Heavy Metal like Godz and Rock Bar Mother can be. Instead, it’s more 80s hard rock. I can’t remember all of the other albums played on this evening but one was Ozzy Osbourne’s “Diary of a Madman” (or was it Blizzard of Oz?). Anyway, Koba is a fun place so be sure to check it out the next time you are in Hiroshima.

The address is
１-４ Funairi Nakamachi
Naka Ward, Hiroshima, 730-0037

Tel: 082-249-6556
広島県広島市中区中町1-4

Koba is usually closed on Wednesdays.

Posted on July 3rd, 2013 under Japan. Tags: beer, hiroshima, Nikon 24mm f/2.8 AF-D nikkor lens, Nikon D600, photomerge. Comments Off on Koba (コバ) in Hiroshima

Misoya Bistro – Medford, Oregon

I picked up a couple of used, manual Nikon lenses in Medford this morning from a Craigslist ad. I purchased them mainly because I have fun playing with new lenses, and the price was right. The one I used for this photo of my “Japanese” lunch is a Nikon 20mm f/2.8 AI-s lens. It weighs about 25% as much as my 14-24mm and is much smaller. I will take this (or my 24mm prime) along when going on a hike or bike ride instead of my much larger and heavier zooms.

Why did I put Japanese in quotes? Because all of the “Japanese” restaurants (other than 武蔵スシバー Musashi Sushi Bar & Japanese Cuisine in Grants Pass) in Southern Oregon are run by non-Japanese with non-Japanese cooks and with foods that only partly look and taste Japanese.

Posted on March 14th, 2013 under Japan, Oregon. Tags: beer, food, Nikon 20mm f/2.8 NIKKOR AI-s lens, Nikon D600, sushi. Comments: 1

Carlsberg Brewery

One of the great things about Copenhagen is you can ride a bike anywhere. There are no hills, and the streets have great bike lanes. The downside is when you get caught in a rain storm. I took today’s photo at the Carlsberg Brewery (in Frederiksberg) while waiting for the rain to let up. It didn’t, and I eventually had to head out through the storm. I got drenched, but it was still a good day.

Posted on February 12th, 2013 under Denmark. Tags: beer, copenhagen, frederiksberg, Nikon 18-200mm VR II, nikon d7000, rain, signs. Comments Off on Carlsberg Brewery

I took today’s photo in Kamakura because of the cool-looking, old-style, Japanese building. This kind of architecture isn’t as common as it once was, but you can still find it, even in big cities.

Based on the sign in the lower left corner of the picture, you can buy specialty (microbrewery) beer here. Kamakura Beer (鎌倉ビール) appears to offer a variety of beers. I never saw Kamakura Beer, or other microbrews, for sale at most locations in Japan. Usually, stores offered a wide variety of beer that tasted pretty much the same (boring lagers). If this liquor store is closed when you visit Kamakura, you can buy from the vending machine out front (lower right part of pic). Now that is something you won’t find in most other parts of the world.

Posted on November 17th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: beer, buildings, jidohanbaiki, kamakura, signs. Comments Off on Japanese Liquor Store – Kamakura, Japan