Usually when we think about a mom and her child hanging out for a day, you might think a nice lunch on a calm day. Instead it went along the lines of something like this: "Let's go watch an action thriller on a stormy day in the most bustling city of the world!"
My mom hasn't been to the theaters in a while and it seems like she was way too hyped for a movie. She was worried that we were going to be late for the early show and that the theater is going to be way too packed. It was to the point that I started getting angry at her for over-reacting. I practically told her, "Woman, we are watching a foreign language film in a theater on an extremely stormy weekday. Who do you think is going out to watch a movie?" When we arrived, that is when she finally realized that nearly no one is at the theaters. $7.79 for the early show (Yes!). There was only a handful of people watching Saving Mr. Wu with us. The trailers were playing way too loud at AMC Empire 25. The staff better turn down the volume next time I return for The Assassin.
Saving Mr. Wu is a suspense film about a Hong Kong star simply known as Mr. Wu (Andy Lau) throughout the story who gets kidnapped during his stay at Beijing. The story is nothing too deep or meta. It is simply going over the events of Mr. Wu's confrontation with his kidnappers and the Beijing police struggling to locate the hideout within 24 hours. The ringleader, Huazi, is remorseless in killing off his captives. He scares Mr. Wu when he orders his men to kill another captive in front of Mr. Wu as a warning for not being able to receive the ransom money. Mr. Wu and the second captive are chained together facing the fear of losing their life any minute. The whole film sets the tension high because it seems that at any moment Huazi will blow off someone's head due to his unorthodox way of handling the case and his ruthless remarks about life and death. Lau portrays Mr. Wu as honest, but a little crafty with his speech as he is always finding a way to escape or to lull his captors into freeing them. I thought it was a very good film to enjoy, but it's not something to overthink on. I liked how they used a tiny snippet of "Ambush From All Sides" for the soundtrack because it was exactly what was happening at the time. They also used Beijing opera as a recurring sound in the soundtrack as reference to the location of the story and to signal that something was gonna happen. The apple is such a good device that they used in the story. You'll have to watch it to get it.
After the movie, the both of us headed to a late lunch. I wanted to introduce my mom to Korean cuisine and originally settled on BCD Tofuhouse. However it was very crowded and there was a line inside the store as always. Today was the day I didn't want to wait long just for food so I suggested that we head to a different restaurant. At last, we settle on Muk Eun Ji. My mom is always wary of empty restaurants, but I assured her that I've been to Muk Eun Ji before. I had a great time there. We were seated and I let my mom take time with the menu. After explaining the items on the menu, she settled for the doenjang jigae and I went for the haemool sundubu. Both were $11.99. Our banchan that day was kimchi, sweet and sour pickled cabbage and onion, blanched broccoli served with a spicy sweet sauce, crisp bean sprouts, potato salad, fish cake, tofu, and a zucchini and string bean salad. The kimchi tasted absolutely delicious. I ate all of it since my mom's spice tolerance is extremely low. She didn't like the fish cake because it was sweet. I guess it was something too new for her. The potato salad was a disappointment like last time. Very bland tasting. Everything else was great.
Our main course arrived bubbling hot. I always love seeing the hot fiery stew set before me. My mom's first reaction was, "The portion is so small!" I simply told her, "You'll know soon." These pots look small, but contain the right portion to fill you up. I couldn't finish the last of my soup. She enjoyed her doenjang jigae quite thoroughly and was insistent that we some back for Korean barbecue. Looks like someone got too excited. My haemool sundubu had a lot of mussels which I enjoy a lot. They gave me baby shrimp rather than the large shrimp at BCD Tofuhouse. There were also small squid rings and a creamy egg at the bottom of my pot. I left Muk Eun Ji very full and very pleased with their food. I'll be sure to become a returning customer.
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