Dining Adventures

my homestay "mom" Angela

barley bibimbap...yum

sides

octopus soup

Dining in Korea is definitely an adventure. First of all, not all of the restaurants have English translations on the menus. Secondly, many of the restaurants do not have any English speakers. Thirdly, my lack of Korean combined with numbers 1 and 2, make it a very interesting experience.

The other night, another adoptee and I went out for dinner. We saw a place that was busy, which is always a good sign, so we went there. Some places you have to remove your shoes, this is not one of them. We walked in, were greeted courteously, as you always are anywhere you go. She said something and motioned to the tables and then turned away. We took that as sit anywhere. When we found a table that was clean, the server came over, turned over the large grill that was in the middle of the table, and then turned on the fire underneath it. She picked up the small menu and asked us what we wanted...or at least that's what we assume she said. We were both stumbling around with our translation books trying to figure out what we wanted. She was not very patient, turned our fire off under the grill and walked away.

After motioning to her several times, she returned to our table. We decided we wanted to order beef and chicken. We asked her in Korean...and she said, "No, only pig." OK. Pig is good. She pointed to a tray of "pig" that looked like pieces of bacon all rolled up and displayed on a tray. She brought us a tray and it turned out to be frozen pork strips...bacon-like, not smokey flavored. It cooked fast. There was a bar where you could go get vegetables to cook on the grill with the pig. We got pickled onion, shredded onion and bean sprouts, chili paste, kimchee (of course), and sliced garlic cloves. We put that on the grill all together and it was delicious. The server brought us a bowl of rice (to share), and some small sides. One looked like salad, so I took a chopstick pile and put it into my mouth, only to discover it was onion. Oh well...bad breath ensued! The people next to us got a bowl of chopped meat, which came to the table boiling, and was served with lettuce leaves. We ordered one of those as well. It was really delicious and nicely seasoned...very messy to eat, as all the broth ran out of the lettuce leaves. There were also the clear noodles in the bottom of the bowl. We didn't want to know what kind of meat that was...it tasted good though.

The server brought the check and it was a grand total of 9,000 won ($9 equivalent). Wow...all that for only $9. It's a very social place...many large groups there. I'll do that again.

Today, my home stay mom took me to a local restaurant near their home. We had to remove our shoes when we entered...they have shelves for you to put them by the door. Everyone is walking around in socks (better not be hiding holes in your socks). Angela ordered for us. They brought us a small bibimbap...which was like a salad with barley, bok choy, and a small amount of lettuce. To eat it you add red pepper sauce and stir all the ingredients together. It was delicious. Angela also ordered a soup and she was talking about their homemade pasta. The noodles were just like the homemade noodles I love in chicken soup...big and thick and chewy. However, the soup was nothing like chicken soup. It was a clear broth with a few jalapenos floating in it and, are you ready for this, octupus! When the bowl arrived (large bowl, about 12" wide), she picked up tongs, which are on every table, and scissors, also on every table, and proceeded to snip off all the tentacles.

OK, so all of you that know me are groaning already, knowing how I am feeling about all of this preparation. Angela served me a bowl, served herself a bowl, and then I was faced with what to do. I think, despite my trying not to make a face, I was looking rather forlorn. She asked me if I liked it, and I said I don't normally eat octopus. Further probing and my final answer was, it's not that bad. She laughed and said, that means you don't like it. Anyway, I ate two tentacles, enjoyed the noodles, there were also two pieces of potato in the soup. Yippie.

Boy did I feel old after lunch was over. I'm not used to sitting on the floor with my legs under a low table while I eat. So, my joints were kinda creaky once I got up. I'm so thankful for tables and chairs, of any height!

As I have many more days to enjoy Korea, I'm sure I'll have many more stories. Bon Appetit!