Someone looks a little excited!!
One of the best things about Korea is by far the food and that is coming from one of the pickiest people you will ever meet! Before I came here the first time, my friends would constantly question “what are you going to do for food over there? You don’t eat fish or rice or kimchee or try anything new!” To their surprise (and to be honest mine too) when I arrived home in 2010 my palette had changed quite a bit! I’m still not the biggest fan of kimchee, but I have tried it along with many other dishes that would turn heads! I’ve yet to become daringly adventurous, but this time around it doesn’t matter because Graham is here and that man will eat anything!! Often I will see something interesting, but am way too afraid to try it for fear of some horrid taste invading my mouth! Now all I have to do is pass it to Graham and he’ll happily take a bite not even knowing what’s inside! If it’s somewhat edible and not fishy he gives me the go ahead and then it’s my turn!!
Seoul was the perfect place to kick off our adventure, taste savory native treats and capture some amazing scenic shots! We were lucky to have a few days off before I started work, so we hopped on the super fast KTX and headed for the food stalls and orange shops of the country’s capital.
Graham quickly learned you can’t always trust the vending machine choices on the train or anywhere else for that matter!
Interesting choice…
but not a good one ha ha!!
Sometimes it’s a good idea to just go with a known product like Twix or Snickers otherwise you could end up with some funky rice cake type thing that tastes like burnt rubber and has the texture of a blog clot. Asia 2 and poor Graham still at 0!
What is that?
Of course our first stop had to be a kimbap shop. I had been telling Graham of the sushi like dish for years now and I knew he would love it as soon as he took one bite.
Looking forward to this one!!
mmm kimbap
It’s not my fave thing to snack on as I can’t really stand the taste of seaweed (I’m weird, I know), but I knew it would soon become one of his staples! The shops are not hard to miss as they have bright orange signs and the well-lit interior showcases the menu from the street. We stumbled upon one just down the street from our hotel in Seoul and it was love at first sight.
the orange shop
After some sight-seeing and strolling along Seoul’s busy streets we were drawn towards the neon lights and delicious smells wafting through the air from one of the many food stall alleyways. Graham was still stuffed from the kimbap, but I was craving one of my favourite Korean treats! With so many smiling Korean ladies trying to get you to stop at their cart it was hard to make a choice, but this one had a great little set up and I couldn’t go on anymore without trying some mandu!
deliciousness (or mashita 맛있다 as they say)
Perfectly little fried dumplings of meat, veggies and rice noodles dipped in sweet and sour soy sauce served in a plastic bag in a cup!! Absolutely scrumptious and wonderfully cheap!! We got 3 big pieces for W1000, which is about a dollar back home! One bite and I was in love all over again!! Mashita!!!
mandu served steaming hot right out of a plastic bag…
And for dessert we stopped off in Insadong (one of my favourite streets) to watch these fun guys whip up a little stringy treat! Entertaining and delicious!
These guys gave a great little show!
Dragon’s Beard Candy… 16 000 strings!
Yummy, but tricky to eat!
Sufficiently stuffed and satisfied with all of our delectable findings we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest!! After all, we were still in week one and jet lag was definitely still not our friend!!!