Yesterday, I had this amazing fried squid off the street. This cart is only open in the afternoons, but Rosa's boyfriend begged them to stay open til 9pm because he was bringing a guest who came all the way from the far side of the U.S. to taste their fried squid (a.k.a., Me). Did it live up to the hype? YES! They took fresh squid and dipped it in a doughy pancake-like batter, and it was perfect coming out of the fryer. There was a 7-11 next door, so we bought couple bottles of soju and drank it with the fried squid...right in front of the cart.
I've had some memorable meals in Seoul, and the best meal, if you haven't already guessed, was the Pork Curry Tonkatsu. If the location wasn't so far away from my house, I would probably eat it everyday. It is delicious and perfect.
Other memorable meals:
- Soondae (blood sausauge) stew - Even when I was going through my "I can't eat anymore Korean food or kimchi" stage, the soup was so delicious and good. I need to jedi mind trick the co-workers to go there for lunch.
- Burger Project at the COEX Hyundai Department Store (there are multiple Hyundai Department Stores in Seoul) - The burger is so flavorful and juicy, and even better with a side of blue cheese steak fries gratin.
- Mandoo (dumplings) - It's my food obsession in Korea. I love the ones that are served pan-fried. I feel like I'm living my own version of Old Boy because I eat mandoo a couple of times a week when I can't decide what to eat for dinner. I currently have three bags of frozen mandoo in the freezer.
- Grilled pork bellies - Korean BBQ places are everywhere, and the thick cut pork bellies are the best. I'm not a huge fan of soju, but I can definitely tolerate a lot of it when paired with pork belly and lettuce wraps.
- Dtuk - I never much cared for rice cakes. Even in the US, we eat them at weddings, family gatherings, after Christmas mass, etc. But then I tasted the ones that my mom's older sister makes, and I'm in love.
Weird things that I enjoyed:
- Cow intestines - It's cut into bite-size pieces and cooked on the table top with a side of raw liver. Dip it in sesame seed oil and it's pretty chewy buy swallowable. I don't eat the liver raw BTW.
- Seafood - This is all types of seafood, from BBQ roasted eel to raw animate octopus to freshly caught fish sashimied. The Koreans do well with seafood.
- Hanyak - After taking this medicine for a month, I think my mouth has acquired the taste for raw garbage. At least I stopped gagging when I drink it.
In addition to having memorable meals, I've had some meals that were so terrible that I need to remember them just to not make that mistake again:
- Dtukbokgi - This is Korean college students' favorite food. It's rice cakes cooked in a spicy chili soy paste. It's street food at its best, but they have restaurants that serve Ddukbokgi and you can add more stuff to it, like ramen, mandoo, and sausage (i.e., hot dog meat). So simple that it would be hard to mess up, right? Wrong. I really wanted to like it, and I can't even describe what I find it to be so cringe-worthy, but I will never eat dtukbokgi in Korea again.
- Kimchi jigae - This used to be my favorite Korean food. But then I had some terrible ones in Seoul that my face inadvertently cringes when someone mentions kimchi jigae. I think I will only eat kimchi jigae if I make it, and that's because it's made with bacon.
- Egg - I can tell you the exact moment when I lost interest in eating eggs. It's when I had a burger topped with a fried egg right before I started taking hanyak. Fail.
- Mom, I'm sorry to say this, but your little sister's cooking is pretty terrible.
Things from home that I miss:
- Mom's cooking
- Ellen's tuna fish sandwich
- Jessica Roll
- Fois Gras mousse and spaghetti and meatball from Proof Restaurant
- Diet Coke
- Bechamel sauce lasagne and nutella ravioli from Floriana
- Happy hour wine deals
I dreampt about New England Clam Chowder in a sourdough bread bowl earlier this week. Let's see how much fun I can have trying to find those ingredients!
I've had some memorable meals in Seoul, and the best meal, if you haven't already guessed, was the Pork Curry Tonkatsu. If the location wasn't so far away from my house, I would probably eat it everyday. It is delicious and perfect.
Other memorable meals:
- Soondae (blood sausauge) stew - Even when I was going through my "I can't eat anymore Korean food or kimchi" stage, the soup was so delicious and good. I need to jedi mind trick the co-workers to go there for lunch.
- Burger Project at the COEX Hyundai Department Store (there are multiple Hyundai Department Stores in Seoul) - The burger is so flavorful and juicy, and even better with a side of blue cheese steak fries gratin.
- Mandoo (dumplings) - It's my food obsession in Korea. I love the ones that are served pan-fried. I feel like I'm living my own version of Old Boy because I eat mandoo a couple of times a week when I can't decide what to eat for dinner. I currently have three bags of frozen mandoo in the freezer.
- Grilled pork bellies - Korean BBQ places are everywhere, and the thick cut pork bellies are the best. I'm not a huge fan of soju, but I can definitely tolerate a lot of it when paired with pork belly and lettuce wraps.
- Dtuk - I never much cared for rice cakes. Even in the US, we eat them at weddings, family gatherings, after Christmas mass, etc. But then I tasted the ones that my mom's older sister makes, and I'm in love.
Weird things that I enjoyed:
- Cow intestines - It's cut into bite-size pieces and cooked on the table top with a side of raw liver. Dip it in sesame seed oil and it's pretty chewy buy swallowable. I don't eat the liver raw BTW.
- Seafood - This is all types of seafood, from BBQ roasted eel to raw animate octopus to freshly caught fish sashimied. The Koreans do well with seafood.
- Hanyak - After taking this medicine for a month, I think my mouth has acquired the taste for raw garbage. At least I stopped gagging when I drink it.
In addition to having memorable meals, I've had some meals that were so terrible that I need to remember them just to not make that mistake again:
- Dtukbokgi - This is Korean college students' favorite food. It's rice cakes cooked in a spicy chili soy paste. It's street food at its best, but they have restaurants that serve Ddukbokgi and you can add more stuff to it, like ramen, mandoo, and sausage (i.e., hot dog meat). So simple that it would be hard to mess up, right? Wrong. I really wanted to like it, and I can't even describe what I find it to be so cringe-worthy, but I will never eat dtukbokgi in Korea again.
- Kimchi jigae - This used to be my favorite Korean food. But then I had some terrible ones in Seoul that my face inadvertently cringes when someone mentions kimchi jigae. I think I will only eat kimchi jigae if I make it, and that's because it's made with bacon.
- Egg - I can tell you the exact moment when I lost interest in eating eggs. It's when I had a burger topped with a fried egg right before I started taking hanyak. Fail.
- Mom, I'm sorry to say this, but your little sister's cooking is pretty terrible.
Things from home that I miss:
- Mom's cooking
- Ellen's tuna fish sandwich
- Jessica Roll
- Fois Gras mousse and spaghetti and meatball from Proof Restaurant
- Diet Coke
- Bechamel sauce lasagne and nutella ravioli from Floriana
- Happy hour wine deals
I dreampt about New England Clam Chowder in a sourdough bread bowl earlier this week. Let's see how much fun I can have trying to find those ingredients!
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