GRUB

Here in Korea I’m on a temporary diet. Not because I don’t enjoy Korean food, but because I can’t physically get my food to my face. Even after 8 weeks, I still SUCK at using chopsticks. One of the challenges I’ve been facing over here…

A Korean dining experience is different from what we’re used to in the US for a few reasons. First, you often eat a Korean meal sitting on the floor. Also, at each meal the table is given a jug of water that the head of the table is supposed to pour for everyone. It’s considered rude and greedy to pour for one’s self.

 Korean food is actually very good. Every meal comes with a bunch of small side dishes, which are usually forms of pickled vegetables. One of the side dishes is always kimchi, which is Korea’s national food. There’s kimchi everything from kimchi chips, to kimchi ramen and kimchi pancakes. I'm not sure if i really enjoy kimchi because the spice is so unusual, but I’m starting to like it more. I figure if I try one bite of kimchi at every meal, after 365 days of eating kimchi, I will surely grow to like it.

 Luckily, eating out in Seoul is relatively cheap (you can get a good meal for $5…not a bad deal!) so I’ve been able to try a wide variety of meals since I’ve been here. My favorite meal is definitely Korean barbeque where there’s a small grill at each individual table and your meat and vegetables are grilled in front of you. My favorite restaurant is around the corner from our apartment, which we call The Flaming Pig. It serves san gaeb sal, which is barbequed pork. Although it’s delicious, I have to limit myself because it’s basically like grilling a slab of bacon in front of your eyes-probably not the best thing for the arteries…

Another popular meal is bip bim bop, which is like the Korean equivalent to salad. They put a bunch of vegetables in a bowl with rice topped with a fried egg-also very good. Soup is another common dish. You can order individual broth based soups or you can get a family style stew that is cooked right in front of you, which you share with the rest of the table. You definitely can’t survive as a germ-a-phob over here because you share anything and everything with the rest of your table and double dipping is the norm. 

One last cool thing about dining in Korea is that anything can be delivered. You can order one thing under $5 and they will still deliver it. Apparently McDonald's even delivers!