On the first day of the year (Happy 2015 everyone!) here’s a bit of a blog post detour. How’s the holiday weight gain coming along? Personally, it’s making me nervous especially when I think about having to wear my office uniform when I go back to work in a couple of days. Until then, though, I had fun just pigging out during the holidays, and samgyeopsal was a bit of a “staple”. So I figured, why not make a post about it? Keep me company as I retrace my gastronomic steps and revisit my close encounters with Korean food during my trip to South Korea.
I’ll be honest and say that, prior to my trip to South Korea, I have never tried eating Korean food. Not even kimchi. There were a lot of Korean restos in my city, but I just never got around to it. I blame it on my narrow perception that Korean food = kimchi only. I was glad to have that perception well and truly changed, and it only took a few days in South Korea to do that.
I’ll be honest, though, and admit that the first food I ate in Seoul was this.
Breads and pastries
Yes. Some bread from Tous Les Jours. Throw in a cup of green tea latte and I’m good (yes, I’m a sucker for green tea latte. ANY green tea latte.)
Tous Les Jours is, to my surprise, of South Korean origin. It is a bakery franchise originating in South Korea, and it has also made its way to the Philippines (I saw a branch when I was in Cubao.)
This branch was located right next to the bus stop in Myeongdong where we got off from the airport. It was also conveniently located right around the block of the hostel we stayed at.
…and it didn’t hurt at all that Kim Soo Hyun is the endorser, so he was all over the place when you enter the store. It was around this time that he has joined the A-list of actors because of his drama, Moon Embracing The Sun.
Street Food
As much as I wanted to, I wasn’t able to memorize the names of all the street foods we spotted. I also was not able to try them all (I guess I was not 100% adventurous) so I just ended up taking photos.
While our guide was coordinating our entry for the DMZ Tour (blog post here), we were given 20 minutes to check out the stores close to the parking area…. and had our first brush with Korean street food.
We tried the barbeque, and the tteokbokki, also called deokbokki. It was so spicy. I love it. XDD It was a bit of a shock, though, since it’s my first time tasting it. Getting milk for drinks may not have been the best idea, though. Good thing I have steel for a stomach.
Tteokbokki is made from soft and chewy rice cake, mixed with fish cake, and swimming in sweet n spicy red chili paste.
When we went to Yonggungsa (blog post here), we passed by a market street, and tried some cakes with red bean filling. I love red bean, so SCORE! This is best eaten hot.
Samgyeopsal
Samgyeopsal is, simply put, Korean-style grilled pork belly. With lots and lots of side dishes. There are so many that I found myself overlooking the rice. Haha! This is where I grew to appreciate kimchi, and I FELL UTTERLY IN LOVE WITH PICKLED RADISH. Especially when they come in those round, thin strips. YUM.
On our first dinner in Seoul, we went to this restaurant somewhere close to Hongdae (sorry, I did not catch the name of the place. We were too hungry, I suppose.)
Presenting… the table for three. 🙂
The ajhumma who took our order and served us must’ve known all three of us were foreigners and also samgyeopsal ‘virgins’, that’s why she showed us how it’s done, then left us to do the rest.
I had a blast putting everything in, and worrying how to fit the whole thing into my mouth later. The side dishes were remarkable, and I didn’t even care if the samjang I was getting was spicy or not.
And, ladies and gentlemen, the pickled radish I couldn’t get enough of. I remember at Gimpo Airport, where we ate at a small cafe. The old gentleman kept sending refills of pickled radish to our table (it’s free) because we were simply gobbling it up. 🙂
My friend also ordered makgeolli, or Korean rice wine. It was quite… milky. And they had a large serving. This is supposedly good for one person. Gawd. Needless to say, she had trouble finishing it up and my other friend helped her with it.
Aside from samgyeopsal, we also tried out their ribs, or the beef galbi. It was just as sumptuous~!
Our dinner in our first night in Jeju was at Woorinae Galbi, a short walk away from where we were staying. It was also the only place open when we wandered out for dinner at around 9pm already.
I loved how the place had that traditional feel, because there were low tables, and we got to sit on the floor and stretch our legs!! We were also the only customers at the time, probably because everyone else had the good sense to stay home.
I remember the lady owner was also watching the television, and Daemul was on. Kwon Sang-woo and Go Hyun-jung were watching us eat, haha! (And my friend Peach happily snapped away with her camera!)
In the other places we ate samgyeopsal, it was mostly lettuce. Here, we tried eating it with perilla leaves. 🙂 I must say, it is more flavorful than just the “water-based” lettuce.
Now here’s something special.
When we looked up places to eat in Jeju’s Seogwipo area, one place stood out and came highly recommended: Saeseom Galbi.
It was quite difficult to find, even with the car’s sat-nav put to work. I think we went around it 3x and spent around an hour looking for it. Then we just parked the car in front of the entrance to Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls (blog post here) and walked. It was already dark, too.
The place was quite a ways from the road, and if you don’t know what you’re looking for, it’s easy to mistake it as simply one of the residential houses around the neighborhood. It was the parked cars that gave it away. I am soooooooo glad we persisted into finding this place, because it was soooo good! Worth the long walk in the cold evening.
Saeseom Galbi is famous for its heukdwaeji gui, or grilled pork from black pigs of Jeju. Naturally, that’s what we ordered.
To this day, it’s the best-tasting meat I’ve ever had, done Korean-style.
Judging from the several Korean dramas I’ve watched, as well as those Running Man episodes, it is clear that we have barely scratched the surface when it comes to Korean food. I feel truly grateful that I was able to taste the “real thing” right where it all began. When I got back home, that’s when I tried sampling those at home. Granted, some of the restos are ran by Koreans, but they still pale in comparison to the first times I had a taste. Still, I’m glad that these have become more accessible.
For many, Korean food would be an acquired taste. Some do not like kimchi, although I think they are simply predisposed to feel or think that after not having a good experience during their first taste. Give it time, it’ll grow on you, as it did me.
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