Cycle 16 – Item 164
Post 5,643
18 (Wed) June 2025
Wild Mushroom Pizza
3.5
(Coex Mall)
-Samseong, Gangnam, Seoul, Republic of Korea-
solo
The 2025 Seoul International Book Fair is underway.
As mentioned yesterday, the fact that we even have a booth is a victory for us (see 16.163 Birria Tacos), but it’s also a win for the organizers and a win for the visitors as the first time since 2017 that English-language books are available at the so-called Seoul “International” Book Fair, which offers books in Korean, French, Arabic, Hindi, etc.
Just so happened that we collaborated with Penguin Random House on this, in large part because we’re on good terms with their Korean office, which was very keen to participate, but really PRH is the only publishing house of English-language books suited for this kind of exhibition because they have so many popular series, and because of their distinct branding. Certain children’s book publishers, such as Scholastic and Usborne, also have series and branding, but SIBF is primarily for adult readers.
After the fair wrapped at 19:00, I went to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. First time visiting CPK in Korea – the COEX location has been around for as long as I can remember – surprisingly, CPK has only 2 restaurants in Korea at present – but I had never even thought about trying it. Tonight, my back was killing me, and CPK was the closest eatery around.
Before tonight, I’d only been to CPK in the Philippines (see generally 8.172 Shrimp Scampi Pizza), where it ultimately earned the #6 spot on my rankings of the Best Pizzerias in Manila (see finally 11.145 Cheese + Combination Pizza).
After all the recent bellyaching about “Mexican” restaurants in Korea serving Tabasco sauce in lieu of a proper Mexican sauce – including yesterday’s The Taco Booth NYC (16.163 Birria Tacos), John and Matt (16.142 Chicken Burrito), Tacoreana (16.059 Great King Chicken Legs), God Eat (15.012 Shrimp Tacos) – I was shocked to discover that CPK offers Cholula, even though it’s not remotely Mexican. I guess the owner just appreciates a good hot sauce, regardless of origin.
The food was fine. By coincidence, I ordered the exact same pie that I had on my final visit to CPK in Manila (see generally 10.088 Wild Mushroom Pizza), which I didn’t realize until afterwards – shows that my tastes are consistent, even after 6 years. Different kinds of mushrooms, respectively.
A repeat visit – maybe next year, under the same circumstances.
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