How to eat with your eyes, the Korean way. :)

My wife and I just got back from eating at a 한전식 (Hanjeongsik) restaurant in Insadong traditional/ entertainment street, and had some AMAZING food.

The food was visually prepared and was absolutely delicious.

In reverse order.

1) Green pancake. (Haemul Buchimgae) Korean Seafood pancake, with the base made from
Buchu (Also known as Garlic chives).

2) Ricecake stuffed with meat (Called a little piece of Poetry). made to look like a calligraphers ink stone ~ not sure the name.

3) Kimchi meets Spagetti ( this was the title of the meal) ~ Kimchi spagetti. Noodles flavoured with octopus ink. VERY well made! NOT TRADITIONAL. fusion

4) Old style (Jeonju style) Banchan. Side dishes. (Mostly namul/ greens) with fried Tofu with Shiitake(pyogo'posot) marinade on the top. NICE.

5) Desert. Red jello made from Omija (kind of berry) (5 flavour berry) centre is made from Pae (pear). Tea is served cold and made from Omija vinegar.


This kind of food is EXTREMELY expensive in Korea. Be prepared to fork out $$$!
Compared to Japanese cuisine, Korean food has more flavour and a little more kick to it.

That looks delicious. I never had Korean food before but seeing this I surely will try it.
I have been to Japan Hokkaido on holiday and it was wonderful.

I lived with a Korean family for 3 years as a kid, best friend in school's mom adopted me when I had family emergency come up This food sound awesome but I have never had ink before does it flavor the noodle or just make it darker and if you can taste it, how would you describe it? Then again the way something looks and smells has a very big influence on taste to me. Seems like it would have a strong taste to be noticed over the kimchi.

I am half Korean.
My mother was born and raised in Seoul.

I love food from all cultures and am always open to new things but by far Korean food is the best!

I have not had the opportunity to travel to Korea but I do have authentic Korean food often (my mother and grandparents who moved to California cook it regularly).
It is definitely not as "fancy" as what you posted here. The Korean food I am used to is more "home-style."

I love the unique combination of flavor and texture and the fact that it is healthy to eat.

Octopus ink? And to think. People here in America are so spoiled and wasteful. (Not all but alot of Americans)

You should try meditteranean, more precise greek food

I really like Korean food. We have a couple of restaurants around here that I try to get too at least a few times a year. I like nearly everything, but I could literally sit and eat the assorted banchan all day long. Yummy!

Was the restaurant a more expensive one? Or was this food a more typical restaurant price?

So where is the food, LMAO?

Looks purdy, but not filling. I'd be done eating in 2 minutes.

At least its not rat's balls, and insects.

Silvershot said:

You should try meditteranean, more precise greek food

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Yup, tried it. Also another favourite of mine. Lots of greek places on South Vancouver Island as the climate is good for producing Bay, Rosemary, Olives, Grapes...

Tech_Junkie said:

So where is the food, LMAO?

Looks purdy, but not filling. I'd be done eating in 2 minutes.

At least its not rat's balls, and insects.

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The point of this food is to eat with your eyes, not to stuff you full. Actually the whole process of bringing the food out takes ~ 90 minutes.
There was a Traditional (Sanjo) performance beside us. Haegeum and kayageum.

Kayageum


Haegeum


This is the kind of food I like. I get to see it, and examine it. Then consume the art. Looks are deceiving. Actually this filled me up quite well. I felt much better than having a massive 2,000,000 cal hamburger.

This kind of food is high end, Korean fare. Hanjongsik. It's usually very expensive.
In a very traditional setting, we would have started with Karbi-tang.
~ the octopus ink is also used in Italian and Spanish cooking. It's not unique to Korea. There is a mild flavour, but it isn't inky. It's got a warm roasty flavour.
quite pleasant.

We have Sonics girls come out on rollerskates. That can be fun to watch. Then, there is traditional pop music being skillfully played by the loudspeakers as you eat your crappy food in the car. So, I guess our cultures aren't too different :crackup:



Kidding of course. Beautiful food, I can almost taste it in my nose!

Tech_Junkie said:

So where is the food, LMAO?

Looks purdy, but not filling. I'd be done eating in 2 minutes.

At least its not rat's balls, and insects.

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I totally agree... I understand that this is a work of art and all that... but if I'm forking out big $$$ for a meal... I want it to fill me up!