I like Korean food, though not as much as I like other Asian cuisine such as Japanese, Thai, Filipino, Chinese, or Vietnamese. Suffice to say that it is always in my top ten list of things to eat when I am hungry. Korean will be one of the choices, always.
I like how Korean food is characterized by their ban chan/pan chan - a small assortment of dishes that go with your rice and main viand (my absolute favorite was the zucchini dipped in egg then fried, second is the marinated whole mushroom). This was how we had our food served in our Seoul office: personal ban chan on a silver tray. Most of my favorite meals, I had in our office cafeteria. If our Philippine office did this, I'd be ten times happier come mealtime.
It was the tail end of autumn when we arrived in Seoul and the temperature swung from a "balmy" 4C to a chilling -11C with wind. As such, we did not expect a lot of fresh produce to be available, as NOTHING grows in winter (except my waistline from all the ice cream, but I'll get to that later). So imagine my surprise when I found that out office cafeteria served - along with soup, rice and the various trappings of a traditional Korean meal - fresh greens mixed in with... whatever it was that made kimchi hot and spicy and nasal-passage-clearing good!
The vegetables there were spectacular, as one would expect from a colder climate. The broccoli was bright green, the asparagus was tender and sweet, and the cabbage was bigger than my hand. It is SO easy to go vegetarian/vegan with such a plethora of options. This is winter picking, imagine how much wider the variety would be come spring/summer! (Kikeun did tell me that most of their produce is imported. Apparently, there's not much flat land in South Korea for agricultural endeavors).
The fruits are a-ma-zing too! Where in the Philippines can you get ten huge pieces of sweet, luscious kiwi for only KRW5,000 (about $5 = Php 250)?!? You can bet your pwet I gorged on these things. Usually 8 to a KRW5,000 pack - I horded four packs at the grocery section of Shinsegae mall and ate it all in less than a week. Those strawberries are said to be imported from Japan. They cost a pretty penny too... about KRW8,000 (about $8 = Php 400) for 250 grams. But considering how sweet, juicy and downright sinful they were - it was worth it!
Korean-style tonkatsu, spiral-cut potato chips, a HUGE Zinger from KFC, fish-shaped griddle cakes filled with red bean paste
The savories are NOTHING to scoff at either. While the paeans to commercialism and globalization are here in the most wired city - Starbucks, KFC, McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts - there still are some traditional savories to be had. KFC was a very strange experience for me. I loved how HUGE and spicy their Zinger was, but my one-piece hot and crispy thigh (the size of my open hand) felt dry and lonely without gravy. They'd offer ketchup and hot sauce but still... =( However, these spiral potato chips were a revelation. I had them from a street vendor in the night market over at Myeong Dong. This was way before all of the similar carts popped up here in Manila. Sliced, skewered, dunked in hot oil and liberally doused with fine salt - this was a finger-licking salty hot snack on a cold day (-4C with wind! Brrrr....)
To wash everything down, here are my top three favorite things to drink in Seoul:
Despite being lactose intolerant (or a degree thereof), I thoroughly enjoyed each sip, glug and chug I had of strawberry milk. I think this one is made by Seoul Milk, whose plain full fat milk was a dream to sip on - ice cold and LBM-inducing.
Next up is Chilsung Cider. For those familiar with Sprite and Mountain Dew, it's like a combination of both. The clear lime-ness of the the Sprite with the kick of Mountain Dew... except this one is caffeine free (Mountain Dew has a LOT of caffeine). For me, it's just a refreshing bubbly drink to sip on straight from the fridge, despite the chilly weather. Oh, our office cafeteria offers it for free as an alternative to water. (In fact, in most places here, soda is refillable)
The third is rice tea. I like tea - in all forms and from all sources. I like the Japanese mugicha made of toasted barley. This one from toasted rice is similar - there is an unmistakeably nutty flavor that screams "toasted grain" while the mellow tea-ness of it all is pleasant to the tongue. Some venues offer this warm (think of a fridge that keeps things warm rather than cold) probably due to the season, but I prefer it ice-cold.
In general, I like eating cold food despite the cold weather. That meant ice cream!!!
Despite being lactose intolerant (or a degree thereof), I thoroughly enjoyed each sip, glug and chug I had of strawberry milk. I think this one is made by Seoul Milk, whose plain full fat milk was a dream to sip on - ice cold and LBM-inducing.
Next up is Chilsung Cider. For those familiar with Sprite and Mountain Dew, it's like a combination of both. The clear lime-ness of the the Sprite with the kick of Mountain Dew... except this one is caffeine free (Mountain Dew has a LOT of caffeine). For me, it's just a refreshing bubbly drink to sip on straight from the fridge, despite the chilly weather. Oh, our office cafeteria offers it for free as an alternative to water. (In fact, in most places here, soda is refillable)
The third is rice tea. I like tea - in all forms and from all sources. I like the Japanese mugicha made of toasted barley. This one from toasted rice is similar - there is an unmistakeably nutty flavor that screams "toasted grain" while the mellow tea-ness of it all is pleasant to the tongue. Some venues offer this warm (think of a fridge that keeps things warm rather than cold) probably due to the season, but I prefer it ice-cold.
In general, I like eating cold food despite the cold weather. That meant ice cream!!!
This is but a small fraction of my ice cream horde, since 90% of my consumption went unphotographed. Ice cream was up to 40% off since it was winter, but hot damn if that was going to stop me (the weather, not the price slash). Mr Jong, the friendly owner of the grocery/cafeteria in our apartment complex, had a HUGE stash of them in his freezer. He must have thought me crazy to be dashing out in -8C weather in pajamas and a sweater... in socks and slippers! That may have been reinforced by the fact that I bought at least 8 bars in one go. No surprises... I stayed in Seoul for 49 days. I must have eaten 49 servings of ice cream.
Last but not least: sweets. I blame Momsie for passing on her passion for sugar to me, but I am NOT complaining since there is a lot to stuff my mouth with when it comes to these coma-inducing confections. My favorite has got to be the Ghana mild cacao... 60% (I think) chocolate, mildly sweetened. Another favorite are these Sugus-like things that come in plain yoghurt (my favorite), strawberry (next favorite), grape, apple and orange. They cost KRW1,000 (about $2 = Php 100) for a pack of three. Tooth decay in a tube!
I guess that pretty much sums up my Korea food posts. There's a lot I didn't put up and that's because I'm hoping to take another trip to South Korea next year. Hopefully this time, I will be able to document everything with a proper camera... not a 1.2MP camera phone!
Happy Eating!
I guess that pretty much sums up my Korea food posts. There's a lot I didn't put up and that's because I'm hoping to take another trip to South Korea next year. Hopefully this time, I will be able to document everything with a proper camera... not a 1.2MP camera phone!
Happy Eating!
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