Fatty Tuesday: BBQ and Bibimbap and More

We ate well in Korea, and although I can't say that it's my favorite cuisine (sorry, Rich!), it was fun being adventurous with food and trying new dishes. 

Our first night, while awaiting the arrival of our travel buddies, Mike and I went to a BBQ spot recommended by our hotel. Instead of BBQ, though, we got a Korean version of hot pot (= various ingredients cooked in boiling broth; the Chinese love it). By the way, this is a frequent occurrence in Asia -- when you don't read or speak the language, and you rely on pretty pictures for ordering, you get lots of surprises when the food comes out. Even though it may not have been exactly what we had expected, it was good! The meat was perfectly marinated and made for a delicious soup at the end of our meal. All of the side dishes were fun too, but, I must admit, I didn't love too many of them (cold soup and iced noodles, for example, and kimchi, of course -- which, I found, I'd prefer to handle in small doses).   

While exploring the city, we happened upon some awesome street food. Not sure what all of it was, but  what we did taste was fantastic -- a fried potato on a stick, some kind of donut with a sweet, nutty filling (not pictured; I was too distracted by its yumminess to photograph it), and kimchi fried rice (served from inside a small hut; bottom photos).

There was some tofu soup -- but I must admit, I like Tofuya's better (our spot in LA) -- and there was some bibimbap, but the highlight meal was our last one in Seoul. After some quick research, we decided on Gae Hwa Oak. It was an adventure finding the restaurant (and we only found it thanks to one very nice Korean cab driver), but when we did reach it, we stayed for hours. We were treated to nine courses (I think, 'cause we lost count after a while), made up of dishes with several ingredients I wasn't familiar with. There was some kind of crunchy root vegetable topped with seaweed and egg white (which rendered it somewhat slimy, but somehow, we couldn't stop eating it); abalone (which I'm not sure I'd order again); there were several different kinds of kimchi, served with thinly sliced pieces of beef and chunks of pork belly; perfectly grilled vegetables; and, marinated meats that could sway the strictest of vegetarians. It was fantastic, more so for the experience than the taste for me, but the perfect end to a great trip.