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Get your heart stolen by Korean food
Here are the most memorable dishes I ate during my short visit to the country.
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Grilled mackerel (JP/Indah Setiawati)
S
outh Koreans are proud of their riverside bicycle trail, which stretches some 1,700 kilometers across the country. Unfortunately, I could only stare at the trail from inside a minibus. Had I managed to rent a bicycle and go on a cycling tour, I would not have gained weight after savoring Korean delicacies.
Here are the most memorable dishes I ate during my short visit to the country.
Grilled mackerel
After strolling around the tourist area in Insadong, we had lunch at the nearby Eomeoniga Guwonjushin Saengseongui restaurant.
The restaurant may have a long name, but in English, it translates to My Mom’s Grilled Fish. Their 8,000-won recommended dish — grilled mackerel — sits on the top of the menu, which is displayed on a glass wall next to the prices.
The fish was grilled to perfection, with a shiny skin, crispy head and tender meat. The savory oils from the fish were scrumptious when combined with warm rice. All that remained by the end of the lunch were bones.
Galbi
Traditional foods tend to taste better in its place of origin. This rings true with the galbi (grilled marinated beef short ribs) served at the KyungBokKung restaurant in Songdo International City, Incheon.
The Korean barbeque dish was served in generous portions, with juicy and savory flavors exploding as the warm cut entered the mouth. Special sashimi, served earlier with a balanced soybean fish paste, was fresh and tasty.
Handmade noodles
We dropped by the Chungsamdae restaurant on our way to the Boryeong Mud Festival to have lunch. Choosing from a list of broth choices for the handmade noodles, I selected the beef bone broth that was served hot and looked milky. The noodles were garnished in a simple style with slices of egg. The restaurant highlighted that it not only specialized in noodles, but also in the broths, which were cooked for hours.
Spicy stir-fried pork
It is hard for Indonesians to live without spicy food, and this stir-fried pork was the answer to my longing for spicy sambal. My friend and I wandered around various alleys near the Lotte City Hotel in Myeongdong where we stayed to find the restaurant, painted in pink, nestled in the alley of Chungmu-ro 33 street. The waiter did not speak English, so we just pointed on the menu to communicate. The stir-fried pork was really spicy just the way I like it, warming my heart on my last night in Seoul.
