So what is Seoul food like? Well yesterday I tried to answer than question by eating in a couple different restaurants and today I'll continue my experimentation and report back. Lunch yesterday was in a tiny little restaurant down a side street that contained a few business men in damp suits from the constant Seattle like rains that covered the city yesterday and a pair of young women picking through the remains of their side dishes. One side of the restaurant had a large glass mirror on the wall from which you could observe most of what occurred.
A young woman wearing a baggy yellow t-shirt and sagging cargo shorts that when to mid-shin bussed the table when I came in and let me sit. She asked me what I wanted and I pointed to what one of the young women was eating and she gave me what I assume was some sort of assertation before before padding off to the kitchen across a soaked cardboard box laying on the floor. I could see her washing her hands although the place didn't really look that clean. It was the sort of place that would make my mother cringe. But here's the thing...I find it really difficult to believe that you can actually get sick off a lot of types of Korean food. So many of their dishes are pickled, which functions as a natural antiseptic, that it seems unlikely. When she served up to be what turned out to be some sort of tofu stew with hot chopped peppers in it the dish was boiling. Where are the germs supposed to live?
Anyway I liked the food but my taste for Korean is unsophisticated. I like the place near campus as Purdue which Jiyeon hates (says it's "not very good") so I really shouldn't be considered knowledgable. They gave me a few side dishes with mushrooms, kimchi, and what seemed to be some sort of pickled seafood. Also they gave me a tiny little plastic bottle with foil across the top. When I asked what it was for my waitress managed one word in English: "Dessert". It turned out to be a very thin yogurt loaded with sugar. I confronted Jiyeon about this later. "I thought you said that Koreans didn't like sweet things?" Since I've been here I've managed to get two drinks that were sweeter than anything you would find in the states. She replied that she guessed Koreans like sweet drinks but not really candies or pastries.
So last night for dinner Jiyeon took me to an old school korean barbecue. They take small pieces of meat and cook them on a table top grill. Then after you dip the meat into sesame oil, you place it into one of the several varietys of lettuce/leaves that they provide you along with a dab of rice and peanut paste and shove the whole thing in your mouth. Oh so good. Of course you also have many side dishes and other such things. This whole process truly deserves more of an explanation but I'm getting a little burnt out writing.
Ok so here is a list of quirks about Korea that I find interesting thus far.
1. Koreans drive on the right but on the sidewalk they walk to the left. It's harder to get used to than you'd think because when you forget you just drift back over to the right. I mentioned this to Jiyeon and she asked me how I knew the rule. I told her I observed it. It's actually not to hard once you realize that they actually have painted lanes on the side walk and subway just like vehicles to guide foot traffic.
2. Even the bums have style. The people of Seoul seem to me to be very fashion conscious. I mean some aren't and maybe this is a bit of a generalization or a stretch...I mean I've only been here for one day but it seems that way. I sat next to a bum in a park yesterday (You could tell by looking at his hands...really long natty nails and hadn't shaven) that still seemed to have a kind of urban style. Weird.
3. Koreans are nice. They're very polite and helpful. I haven't made up my mind whether this is genuine friendliness or not though.
4. Metal Chopsticks. They eat with metal chopsticks that I find hard to manipulate than wood. In the two restaurants that I've been in they've been in a little box on the side of the table and when food is served you get them out.
5. Seoul is big. I've been in cities before (Macau comes to mind) that I've walked from one side of it to the other over the course of a day. I don't think you could do that in Seoul.
6. Skin conductivity on the elevators. You don't press the elevator buttons in my hostel, you touch them. I've tried doing it very lightly. Apparently it has to do with conductivity and not pressure. Amazing.
7. Shower clogs. These are awesome and came in the room (Now I won't catch athletes foot!) but they're a little small on me.
___________
Itinerary for the Day:
Meet Jiyeon to go to market
Eat cold noodles
Mess around
Meet Chris at the train station
Note: Chris's mom sent brownies with me for Chris. This is the message Chris sent me when I didn't call:
"Dude are you alive man? Gimme a call and lemme know you got in ok and the brownies are safe... 010-2415-3833"
Guess his priorities are in order.
A young woman wearing a baggy yellow t-shirt and sagging cargo shorts that when to mid-shin bussed the table when I came in and let me sit. She asked me what I wanted and I pointed to what one of the young women was eating and she gave me what I assume was some sort of assertation before before padding off to the kitchen across a soaked cardboard box laying on the floor. I could see her washing her hands although the place didn't really look that clean. It was the sort of place that would make my mother cringe. But here's the thing...I find it really difficult to believe that you can actually get sick off a lot of types of Korean food. So many of their dishes are pickled, which functions as a natural antiseptic, that it seems unlikely. When she served up to be what turned out to be some sort of tofu stew with hot chopped peppers in it the dish was boiling. Where are the germs supposed to live?
Anyway I liked the food but my taste for Korean is unsophisticated. I like the place near campus as Purdue which Jiyeon hates (says it's "not very good") so I really shouldn't be considered knowledgable. They gave me a few side dishes with mushrooms, kimchi, and what seemed to be some sort of pickled seafood. Also they gave me a tiny little plastic bottle with foil across the top. When I asked what it was for my waitress managed one word in English: "Dessert". It turned out to be a very thin yogurt loaded with sugar. I confronted Jiyeon about this later. "I thought you said that Koreans didn't like sweet things?" Since I've been here I've managed to get two drinks that were sweeter than anything you would find in the states. She replied that she guessed Koreans like sweet drinks but not really candies or pastries.
So last night for dinner Jiyeon took me to an old school korean barbecue. They take small pieces of meat and cook them on a table top grill. Then after you dip the meat into sesame oil, you place it into one of the several varietys of lettuce/leaves that they provide you along with a dab of rice and peanut paste and shove the whole thing in your mouth. Oh so good. Of course you also have many side dishes and other such things. This whole process truly deserves more of an explanation but I'm getting a little burnt out writing.
Ok so here is a list of quirks about Korea that I find interesting thus far.
1. Koreans drive on the right but on the sidewalk they walk to the left. It's harder to get used to than you'd think because when you forget you just drift back over to the right. I mentioned this to Jiyeon and she asked me how I knew the rule. I told her I observed it. It's actually not to hard once you realize that they actually have painted lanes on the side walk and subway just like vehicles to guide foot traffic.
2. Even the bums have style. The people of Seoul seem to me to be very fashion conscious. I mean some aren't and maybe this is a bit of a generalization or a stretch...I mean I've only been here for one day but it seems that way. I sat next to a bum in a park yesterday (You could tell by looking at his hands...really long natty nails and hadn't shaven) that still seemed to have a kind of urban style. Weird.
3. Koreans are nice. They're very polite and helpful. I haven't made up my mind whether this is genuine friendliness or not though.
4. Metal Chopsticks. They eat with metal chopsticks that I find hard to manipulate than wood. In the two restaurants that I've been in they've been in a little box on the side of the table and when food is served you get them out.
5. Seoul is big. I've been in cities before (Macau comes to mind) that I've walked from one side of it to the other over the course of a day. I don't think you could do that in Seoul.
6. Skin conductivity on the elevators. You don't press the elevator buttons in my hostel, you touch them. I've tried doing it very lightly. Apparently it has to do with conductivity and not pressure. Amazing.
7. Shower clogs. These are awesome and came in the room (Now I won't catch athletes foot!) but they're a little small on me.
___________
Itinerary for the Day:
Meet Jiyeon to go to market
Eat cold noodles
Mess around
Meet Chris at the train station
Note: Chris's mom sent brownies with me for Chris. This is the message Chris sent me when I didn't call:
"Dude are you alive man? Gimme a call and lemme know you got in ok and the brownies are safe... 010-2415-3833"
Guess his priorities are in order.
