"Food Glorious Food" - Oliver Twist

Wonderful food cooked right infront of you, and the delicious side dishes that accompany them
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Here's a question, what is your favourite food? The answer you tell me could change while here and that is because all the food is delicious!!! From the side dishes to the main courses...everything is mouth watering...but of course, I was never one to be picky with my food ;)

One thing that is clearly different here than back home is the number of side dishes they have! We may have a few, a salad, maybe some veges, and bread at times; here there are many different side dishes that will take up most of the room on the table. These side dishes range from kimchi (and by George there are uncountable kinds of kimchi), sautéed veges, soups, pancake things, and various kinds of salads. A person can get full from just eating these side dishes.

Eatting the Korean way, sitting on the floor
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The main dishes are all made up of meat! So once again I have to maintain the idea that if I didn't stop being a vegetarian I would have went hungry. One can only eat so much kimchi and rice :P. Even their "sushi" is made with meat, there is a slice of ham in it .. even if you want a California roll (which normally is all vege, there is a ham slice). If you wanted a real California roll you would have to go to a fusion restaurant, one that is half Korean and Japanese. I also looked on the internet to try to find some recipes for vegetarians and I found some but I also found some that said it was vegetarian but an ingredient is "beef slices" hee hee. When I first arrived here I was always asked if I liked spicy food because apparently the food here is spicy...I don't think so though. But than again I was one to carry hot sauce in my bag to make my food taste hotter. Some are spicy but in a good spicy way :P The spiciest food is the octopus marinated in spices and hot sauce...I tried this, not spicy but soo good :) Also many of the restaurants here have the food cooked right in front of you. So picture this, you are seated at a table (on a chair or on the floor) and there is a hot plate / electric stove in front of you and they will bring out the ingredients (eg. meat, veges, hot sauce etc...) and will cook it right in front of you. Although you smell like food when you leave the restaurant, you leave feeling satisfied. So I mentioned that eating on the floor is quite common, and you do get use to it after the first few times. You learn to take your shoes off and different ways you can position yourself so that your legs won’t fall asleep. Sitting on the floor makes the meal seem more authentic! Oh ya! There are pillows provided for you to sit on, mind you they’re really thin, but it’s better than sitting on the hard cold floor.

"Hang over soup"
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If Korean food doesn’t tickle your fancy, there are other restaurants here. In Suwon you can only find Western Restaurants and bars. I live behind a Western Restaurant called VIPS actually. It’s essentially a salad bar :P For 15, 000 – 20, 000 won you can stuff yourself silly with salads and ice cream and cakes :P… I don’t know where they eat in the West, but I think there is more food to be found than lettuce and desserts hee hee. Other Western Restaurants here in Suwon are The Outback Steakhouse and many fast food joints. Warning, some of the burgers at these fast food places have rice patties instead of hamburger buns. There are more Western bars though, so that could be a plus to some of you out there. As I mentioned in my last post, the cost of imported beer and liquor is significantly higher than what you would pay in say, Snooty Fox or any bar on Hess. But knowing that you are able to get a Miller, corona, a Sex on the Beach, or Long Island Ice Tea is wonderful seeing that you can get tired of the same old Soju and beer you have every night.

Hang over soup again...I heard it actually works :P
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If you want something quick and already made there are many food stands on the street…and I literally mean on the street. They park their “food wagon” (a table with an electric stove on it and a canopy protecting them from the sun/rain) on the side walk and sell their delectable treats. I haven’t tried anything from the street so I don’t know how good they are, but everyone I talk to say it is safe to eat the food they are selling and that they are as good there than any other place. They usually sell chicken stir fry on a hotdog bun (I see this couple selling it everyday and night, I have even gotten to the habit of saying hello to them … and listening out for the man to say hello in English back J), dapoki (a spicy rice dish with veges), and many many many different types of meat on a stick (Pogo’s being one of them).

With Christy eatting Korean style
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So I have covered appetizers (side dishes) and the main meal, now I will talk about desserts. The desserts here are not like the desserts back home. We are so familiar with finishing off a meal with something sweet like a piece of cake or cookie or a bowl of ice cream, here there is none of that. Dessert to them is coffee (not tea as some may believe…coffee is the drink of choice here. You will always see them drinking coffee; if it’s not hot then its cold coffee OR coffee flavoured milk), or nothing at all. :S This was an adjustment I had, and still am trying, to make. I love my sweets! As all of you know I just love and adore them :P so coming here and having nothing sweet was not a good adjustment to make :P When my coworkers bring in some “sweets and cakes” and share with me, I am filled with happiness (haa haa simple things make me happy) and anticipation that the first bite will fill my mouth with sweet sweet sugar…but alas, that would not happen. Their cakes here are nothing but salty dough and some filler like white beans, red beans, or sesame seeds L booo. There are bakeries so I just go there for my sugar fix :P hee hee.

The chicken to be added into soup to make Sam Getang (chicken soup with rice) and one kind of kimchi
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So, because food in restaurants is really cheap many people opt to eat out more than eat at home! When I go to work to teach my night classes all the restaurants (some have outdoor patios) are full, even when I get out of class! They eat at different hours here, not a set time frame like we have back home. One thing that amazes me is that the Koreans eat a lot! They area always eating and drinking, leading me to believe they all are bottomless pits J.

In conclusion (because all this talk is making me hungry and I want to go get some lunch), the food here is very good. Whoever may come here will enjoy what Korean kitchens have to offer!