July 22, 2009
Tuna Heaven
This tuna sashimi meal I had in Seoul has to go down as the best meal I had there - and it was for a steal at 38,000 won, which works out to about SGD45. It's all thanks to my Korean friend, J, who brought me to this small sashimi place. Great to know local foodies, ya know? Unfortunately the name card is in Korean so I can't translate the address. The nearest subway station to this tuna sashimi place is Jamsil which is along Line 2 and 8, south of the Han River. Anyway, here's the spread that brought me to tuna heaven. I still dream of it. *sigh*
The chef at work
A small bowl of porridge that was really tasty and smooth
Don't ask me what cut of the tuna this came from - I lost track after awhile. But the tuna sashimi slices were served on a bed of radish, accompanied by some preserved ginger, preserved onions and fresh watercress.
A side plate of salad was included in the meal
Oops...forgot what this was! I only remember it tasted good!
Chives with bean paste
A bowl of miso soup
More tuna
And more!
Tuna sushi
The fatty bits!!!
July 11, 2009
Sanchon 山村
Having read about Sanchon in my guidebook and also based on a recommendation from fellow travellers, I decided to eat there even though I'm not a huge fan of vegetarian food. But I thought, hey, after all that crap I was eating up, some greens couldn't hurt.
The restaurant is located in a small lane that's branches off from Insadong-gil, the tourist-filled street. Sanchon serves Korean temple food and the food served is seasonal. The restaurant was started by a man named Kim Yon Shik who came to know the food during his years as a Buddhist monk.
You first step into the shop, selling dried goods like tea leaves and dried mushrooms. These are stuff that the restaurant uses in its food.
Sanchon's dining area is filled with low tables and lovely lotus-shaped lanterns.
For those who prefer sitting at tables, there are a few tables with chairs available. But I still think one should go the traditional Korean way, i.e sit on the floor, unless of course you can't sit on the floor for medical reasons!
My friend and I went for the lunch menu as it's better than going for dinner. The lunch set costs 22,000 won. I felt like a grazing cow throughout the meal 'cos there are so many types of greens served. I've never eaten so much vegetables in one sitting!
Here are some dishes we had:
Porridge of the Season
Watery plain kimchi
Such a pretty basket! But oh, notice those little dishes at the side of this basket.
Fried kelp
Jap-chae (Korean potato starch noodles)
Jelly
Dessert came in the form of the teok rice cakes and some sweet tea.
The food in Sanchon is healthy and tasty, though it was way too much for me and my friend - we only managed to eat about 2/3 of the food served. It's a great place to have a leisurely lunch without the guilt of having overindulged in unhealthy food!
Sanchon
Jongno-gu, Gwanhoon-dong 14, Seoul
Tel: 82 (0)2 735 0312 / (0)2 733 0709
Open: 12pm to 10pm
Subway: Anguk station (Line 3)
July 9, 2009
Hae Dup Bap (sashimi mixed rice)
One of my favourite dishes in Korea was Hae Dup Bap and I couldn't quite get enough of it while there. It's a pity that I haven't come across any Korean restaurant in Singapore that has it on their menu. I'm sure there are, but they are definitely few and far between.
I had the dish several times in Gangneung and the fish slices that were placed in my bowl that contained a mixture of rice, nori seasweed, julienned vegetables like cucumber and radish, couldn't get any fresher. I saw the fish being fished out of the tank and sliced immediately. Boy did those raw fish slices taste good. The red paste sauce that goes into the mixture is called choe-jang. It is made out of grounded red chilli pepper, bean paste, glutinous rice, salt, sugar and malt.
Hae Dup Bap is a really healthy one-meal dish and it's something that I definitely want to learn how to make for myself for those times I'm going to end up cooking for myself in Hong Kong. Here are some versions I had in Korea.
The rice is served separately in a silver bowl and you have to scoop the rice out of that bowl and place it in the bowl that the fish and vegetables are in. Until i went to Korea, I didn't realise that the Koreans actually ate a lot of fresh greens. The cuisine is really healthy and that's probably why everyone there is so slim!
I had this Hae Dup Bap one afternoon for lunch in Gangneung. I was the only customer there. Maybe they weren't even open for business, but the two middle-aged ladies who saw me looking rather lost beckoned me in when I asked them if I could eat there. Funnily enough, one of the women's niece was an English teacher and she had to call her niece to ask her to speak to me to ask what I wanted to eat. Thank god for mobile phones! And the best part about Korean meals is all the side dishes!
I was also given an extra bowl of clam soup which was delicious! The two ladies and two of their friends had it as part of their lunch which they had at the same time as me. They were having lunch and watching TV. I felt like I was intruding on a family lunch...rather surreal.
There is some slight variation in the vegetables used. In any case, I really liked the generous use of fresh greens in the dish. It made the dish a lot lighter in taste and that complemented the subtle taste of the sashimi.
July 6, 2009
Live Octopus
The most exotic thing I ate in Korea...
Nudge the ones that are lying still with your chopsticks and they'll start wriggling away. The octopus that my friends and I had was a small one so the tentacles were small and thus easier to swallow.
It is served with a small plate of sesame oil which helps add some flavour and also helps it to slip down the throat more easily. Wouldn't want it getting stuck in your throat! Actually the octopus itself doesn't have much taste, the fun is really in trying to wrestle that tentacles off the plate as its suction pads stick to the plate. It's a real test of one's chopstick skills! Takes quite a bit of strength!
The moment you get it off your plate, give it a quick dip either in the sesame oil or the red fermented bean paste sauce. Take care not to let it stick to the plate in which the sesame oil is in otherwise it's another wrestling match! You'll have to be really quick as the tentacle tends to also curl round the chopstick and not let go!
The moment you put it in your mouth, chew as fast as possible to try to break it down into as small a piece as possible so it can be easily swallowed. But really, there's only so much chewing you can do as being raw, it's rather difficult to break down. You might feel a suction pad or two sucking on your tongue or the side of your cheek. It's not painful but it's a weird sensation to have something sucking on the inside of your cheek. Haha. But really, chew and swallow fast enough and it'll be fine.
A very fun and interesting eating experience indeed...I'm definitely game for another round!