The first question out of everyone's mouth is, "Did you eat some hella good spicy food?" Yeah, of course. That's what this post is all about, the super cheap, mad flavor food of Korea. If you want to know about places where you and a date can sleep in hot salt, or how Seoul has lasers at every tourist attraction, or Hooker Hill, you'll have to wait till I have some more time to write.
Bibinba, available at most shopping mall food courts around the world.
Street food was plentiful. A pickup truck full of peanuts was not an uncommon sight.
Rice porridge. If you are hurting from a night of spicy barbecue and copious drinking, this makes a good breakfast.
Spicy shrimps. Remember, alcohol can counter spicy food.
Black noodles. I've heard that you should eat this on April 14th if you didn't have anyone to celebrate Valentine's Day with. I say this is a conspiracy by the ultra right wing noodle conglomerates of the communist north.
Frying up some Korean bacon. Those peppers are mad hot. Remember, alcohol can counter spicy food.
Lettuce and black sesame leaves to wrap your meat in.
Almost finished. You can fry anything on the grill. Go ahead and just dump the whole plate of garlic on there.
Don't forget the liquor. Soju is the common rice wine that is drunk in Korea. It goes down smooth. There are a lot of flavored drinks, like this one, Guk-hwa-ju, made with chrysanthemum flowers. Remember, alcohol can counter spicy food.
In your lettuce, wrap some meat, kimchee, garlic, sauce... whatever and eat it. Remember, alcohol can counter spicy food.
A typical meal has about a dozen side dishes.
Fermented milky rice drink. It's called something like Malak. I don't know. It may or may not lead to an interesting night.
Korean izakayas are similar to Japanese izakayas, except more about drinking and less about the food. And more about socializing. People wouldn't dare talk with another table at a Japanese izakaya. In Korea, it wasn't long before everyone is pouring each other drinks and dancing on tables.
Real sausages from a real street vendor. It costs about a dollar.
Thirsty? Try a pine bud drink. Tastes like apple juice, but smells like pine resin. Awesome.
Rotti. I'm not sure what it is, but there was a Rotti Bun shop across the street from a Roti Boy, down the block from a Roli Roti. Crispy baked bread with a gooey middle is the best I can come up with.
Shellfish soup that tasted like pee.
Korean style sashimi. You point at the sea life in the big tanks outside and they prepare it. From front to back we have Mi-deo-deok ( sea squirt), some sort of sea cucumber, and something that is called "dog's dick" in Korean.
The sea squirt was pretty good. Very soft. The other 2 things were not. And, yeah, dog's dick looks like dog's dick.
Maybe this raw fish is Jeoneo-hoe, gizzard shad fish. The difference in Korean and Japanese sashimi is that in Korea, you get the whole fish served to your table.
The leftover fish parts are thrown in a pot to make a soup. I think this is Agwijjim. Spicy fish soup. Remember, alcohol can counter spicy food.
