Tag Archives: bossam

Insadong and bossam in the rain

Food, Seoul, ,
Insa-dong and bossam in the rain
After a lovely visit to Chungdeokgung Palace in the rain, and rather damp, Anna and I headed off to find something to eat and a good glass of wine. Anna has been in Seoul for about 2 months, so she has started to do some exploring and find her way around. The two little streets of Insa-dong, all lined with tiny little traditional Korean restaurants (and the occasional motel), are a delightful find.
The bus from the palace took us the short distance to the area we were looking for. We could probably have walked but to be honest it was quite nice to be out of the rain for a little. By this stage the heavens had opened and it was pouring and rather cold.
We got off the bus and walked past the immigration office and headed down a little alley. One of the things you learn fairly quickly in Korea is that some of the best spots are down a little alley – and also that the alleys are safe enough to wander down with very little chance of anything going wrong. This little alley opened into a little pedestrian street of restaurants. The first place on the left had a few chairs and tables on the veranda of a little place. We looked for a second and then there was another place on the other side of the road. And another and another. We looked into widows and doorways, at water-features and tiny indoor gardens. Although it was only about 3 in the afternoon, the sky was dark and low with rain and cloud and the lights of the places we passed were inviting but we decided to look around before we picked a place.
About half way down the first little road, we stopped to look at the signboard outside one little restaurant. Anna’s words of wisdom that we should pick a place with pictures and prices outside being a good bet, we were looking for a place like this. At the time, however, the fairy lights outside one of the restaurants further down the little streets lured us on. We kept walking, enchanted over and over again by the glimpses through doorways of the places we passed.
Down the road and around the corner, we wandered back up a parallel road, filled with more these delightful little places. On the right, we passed the entrance to an indoor market, filled with lights and people on a Saturday afternoon. There was also a wine bar with tables and chairs outside, looking a little forlorn in the dark afternoon rain. At the the end of the road was a place almost totally hidden by creepers and trees and flowers, except for a little doorway and a place with a large sign proclaiming it a vegetarian restaurant.
After walking for a bit in the rain and the cold, we found ourselves back outside the first place with the pictures and the prices where we’d stopped. It seemed that this was fated to be our stop for the afternoon. It was a good choice.
The restaurant was delightfully small. The waiter (or perhaps the maitre de) asked if we wanted a room or a table, simultaneously letting us know that we didn’t need to take off our shoes. We followed him to a little table for two next to a row of floor to ceiling glass windows looking out onto a rainy garden with lights scattered through it, a wild garden with plants climbing over each other like a place enchanted.
We ordered some wine (which turned out not to be as lovely as we’d hoped – more proof that Chilean wines are not to the taste of South African girls) and sat chatting over a glass while we considered the menu. Eventually – it really did take us a while to get around to it – we ordered Bossam. As usual in Korea, the meal began with many dishes being delivered to the table – soups and side dishes and dipping sauces and of course kimchi. After that, the main dish – steamed pork with leaves of lettuce and sesame to wrap it in, arrived. We ate slowly and enjoyed the conversation and the wine (a little). The meal was good but, as with most Korean foods, the combinations of flavours are sometimes a little odd. This is not to say we didn’t enjoy it but, as my friend pointed out, it’s not necessarily a cuisine that could be called delicious. It was good enough, when combined with a red wine on a rainy autumn day and the wonderful conversation of a good friend, all in the delightful little corner of the world that is Insa-dong, to make for a delightful afternoon.

After a lovely visit to Chungdeokgung Palace in the rain, and rather damp, Anna and I headed off to find something to eat and a good glass of wine. Anna has been in Seoul for about 2 months, so she has started to do some exploring and find her way around. The two little streets of Insadong, all lined with tiny little traditional Korean restaurants (and the occasional motel), are one of her great finds.

The bus from the palace took us the short distance to the area we were looking for. We could probably have walked but to be honest it was quite nice to be out of the rain. By this stage the heavens had opened and it was pouring and rather cold.

We got off the bus, walked past the immigration office and headed down a little alley. One of the things you learn fairly quickly in Korea is that some of the best spots are down a little alley – and that the alleys are safe enough to wander down. This little alley opened into a little pedestrian street of restaurants. The first place on the left had a few chairs and tables on the veranda. We looked for a second and then there was another place on the other side of the road. And another and another. We looked into widows and doorways, at water-features and tiny indoor gardens. Although it was only about 3 in the afternoon, the sky was dark and low with rain and cloud and the lights of the places we passed were inviting but we decided to look around.

About half way down the first little road, we stopped to look at the signboard outside one little restaurant. Anna’s words of wisdom that we should pick a place with pictures and prices outside being a good bet, we were looking for a place like this. At the time, however, the fairy lights outside one of the restaurants further down the little streets lured us on. We kept walking, enchanted over and over again by warm glimpses through doorways.

Down the road and around the corner, we wandered back up a parallel road, filled with more of these delightful little places. On the right, we passed the entrance to an indoor market, filled with lights and people on a Saturday afternoon. There was also a wine bar with tables and chairs outside looking forlorn on a rainy afternoon. At the the end of the road was a place almost totally hidden by creepers and trees and flowers, except for a little doorway, and a place with a large sign proclaiming it a vegetarian restaurant.

After walking for a bit in the rain and the cold, we found ourselves back outside the first place with the pictures and the prices. It seemed that this was fated to be our stop for the afternoon. It was a good choice.

The restaurant was delightfully small but all wood and warmth with two chandeliers. The waiter (or perhaps the maitre de) asked if we wanted a room or a table, simultaneously letting us know that we didn’t need to take off our shoes. We followed him to a little table for two, next to a row of floor to ceiling glass windows looking out onto a rainy garden with lights scattered through-out, a wild garden with plants climbing over each other like a place enchanted.

We ordered some wine (which turned out not to be as lovely as we’d hoped – more proof that Chilean wines are not to the taste of South Africans) and sat chatting over a glass while we considered the menu. Eventually – it really did take us a while to get around to it – we ordered bossam. As usual in Korea, the meal began with many dishes being delivered to the table – soups and side dishes and dipping sauces and, of course, kimchi. After that, the main dish – steamed pork with leaves of lettuce and sesame to wrap it in – arrived.

We ate slowly and enjoyed the conversation and the wine (a little). The meal was good but, as with most Korean foods, the combinations of flavours are sometimes a little odd. This is not to say we didn’t enjoy it but, as my friend pointed out, it’s not necessarily a cuisine that could be called delicious. It was good enough, when combined with a red wine on a rainy autumn day and the wonderful conversation of a good friend, all in the beautiful little corner of the world that is Insadong, to make for a delightful afternoon.

Food adventures

Daegu, Food, , , ,

In the past couple of weeks I have done very little exploring. Work has been quite busy. I’m now teaching a variety lower-level classes as well as the higher-level classes I normally teach, so it takes time. It’s also less fun. The higher level classes require more prep and concentration but are definitely preferable. Because the students’ English is better, it’s possible to explore more interesting topics, rather than being limited by their limited English proficiency. With the lower level classes, I quite often feel as if I’m spending the whole lesson desperately trying to make myself understood.

In spite of the lack of fun exploring, I have had the opportunity to try some new foods and restaurants (mostly thanks to my colleague). The first thing he introduced me to was Naengmyeon. First let me say that Korea can sometimes be a rather strange place and the food is no exception. This dish is basically noodles and vegetables and sometimes a slice of cold meat and/or egg. Fairly standard in a lot of cultures, the difference being in the flavours and spices. This dish is also distinctive because of the ice. Naengmyeon is basically a bowl of ice with noodles and vegetables floating in it, or at least that is how it seems at first. The story goes that it was first eaten because there was no water to make the meal, only snow, so the noodles were eaten in a bowl of fresh snow. My sister’s comment was that having to make do without hot water in a particular situation doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it. In fact, Naengmyeon is pretty good. The noodles are buckwheat noodles, the ice they’re served in is really a light iced broth (possibly vegetable broth) and the julienned vegetables are fresh and raw. It makes for a filling and rather refreshing summer meal. The biggest problem I had was that thin buckwheat noodles and julienned vegetables served in iced broth are particularly difficult to eat with chopsticks when you’re as inept with the chopsticks as I am. The noodles are increadibly long and slippery even when cut up, as ours were. I eventually gave up but I am determined to go back for more (because it was really tasty and refreshing) just as soon as I’m better at the eating implements.

Another delightful culinary adventure was the first time trying Bossam. For many traveling to Asia, the joy of the food lies in the vegetable-heavy rice and noodle dishes and the very spicy foods. I’m a home-grown South African carnivore. I really do like meat and three vegetables. So the vegetarian meals and lots and lots of rice are unlikely to enthrall me, although I’ll definitely try and enjoy it. I’m also still not entirely comfortable with the way in which Korean food is served (purely because it’s foreign to me) –  each person gets an individual portion of rice and/or soup or a small plate and the mains and sides are spread across the table to share. I’m never sure exactly what everything is or how to put it all together. This meal is less intimidating than most. It is also protein-rich and a complete delight to anyone who is a fan of pork. At the restaurant where we were, the meal started with a soup made from some sort of leaf (or perhaps seaweed). I’m not sure at all what leaf (perhaps sesame?), but it was good. That was served with bread, followed by the main spread. We each had a small plate and chopsticks. Side dishes included various pickles, including of course kimchi, some tiny, salted shrimps and dipping sauces. The main meal was a platter of sliced, steamed/boiled pork belly as well as some tofu and steamed duck. Alongside this was served a platter of different leafy greens, including lettuces and sesame leaves. This meal is eaten by wrapping the pork belly in the leaves with kimchi and dipping it into the sauces. It is yummy. I adore bacon and this is a variation on that theme, except with the added freshness of various lettuce leaves and picked cabbage or (which I prefer) radish and sweet/hot/slightly salty flavor from the dipping sauces. Our platter included two varieties of pork, one of which had been beautifully smoked. The duck was also delicious. I was less keen on the tofu but I tried it in the spirit of culinary adventure. I imagine some people would find the pork a little fatty and some pieces definitely were, but there were also bits which had less fat, and even those that were fatty were good with the leaves and pickles to cut through the heaviness. Of course eating this all with chopsticks (except the soup) was the usual struggle, but it was far easier than noodles and worth the effort for the taste.

Today we had been considering an even more exotic experience – there had been comments about live fish. Wednesday late lunches have become a bit of a tradition. In the end we settled for (settled on?) Italian food. My colleague wanted to try out a new restaurant or perhaps visit one he hasn’t been to in a while. When we reached the area, we noticed, across the road, somewhere called Table13. It caught my eye across a paved square complete with fountains and edged with gardens. My colleague mentioned that he knew it before it moved to this location. On a whim, we headed a cross there and were not at all sorry. Table13 lived up to all you’d expect from a restaurant at a large, rather fancy-looking art gallery. The setting is elegant and formal. There are many spectacular restaurants in the world known and appreciated for their quirky and unusual approaches, but nothing beats the good, solid, old-fashioned charm of a civilized restaurant with white table-cloths and coloured overlays, heavy silverware and sparkling glasses. Our table looked out over the paved square with fountains just outside the window. The eating area was backed by rows of cellared wine-bottles. The menu was heavy and elegant. The set menu for lunch included an aperitif, pasta and a salad as well as a main (I had grilled salmon with tagliatelle) followed by coffee. We didn’t have all that much time because my colleague had a class but it was a lovely meal. Later on, (we had several hours between classes) we popped up the road to a coffee shop called Ti-amo and had gelato and cappuccinos. Mmm, chocolate ice-cream.

The absence of other adventures is something I want to rectify but the adventures in food, both Asian and European, is still a fantastic and fascinating part of living in a foreign country.