One of my most favorite things in Korea were the tea shops. The first one I went to proved to be the loveliest of the ones I chanced upon – however the free flying parrots in the second made for an interesting visit!

I found the tea shops I visited in a neighborhood of Seoul named Insadon. This was the quaintest spot full of fun shopping, restaurants, and of course – tea! There is one main street which is closed to cars on the weekend, but off the primary street are many walkways lined with shops. It was late afternoon when I ventured down this walking alley:

I’m not even sure how I knew I was headed the right way (can you read those signs??), but somehow I found myself inside a warm and inviting tea house! There was a traditional table available where you sit on a pillow or mat on the floor with a short table in front of you. I ordered a green tea and this was my table after I was served.

I found the traditional way of pouring and drinking the tea to be a real joy. In the back there was a thermos full of hot water. First I was told to pour the water into the small bowl with a spout. This measure just the right amount for the tea pot. Next, using the little bamboo spoon, I measure out a small amount of green tea from the pot with a lid, into the tea pot. After this it was ready for the water which I poured in from the spouted bowl. Quaint no? After steeping a few minutes it was ready to enjoy! Then I added more tea leaves and steeped another pot!

The snacks in the back were very interesting – they were not sweet, but had more of a sesame savoriness to them. The three poofy ones were almost light as air – a bit chewy & crunchy. The white bar looking snack was actually a sesame flavored gelatin type snack. I noticed it was very popular and I did enjoy it though the flavor was very subtle. I cannot really remember the orange snack but I know I ate it first!

Read part 1 & part 2.

One fascinating component of Korean dining is the utensils. Each diner is given a set of flattened metal chopsticks and a metal spoon. These were traditionally made from silver but now most often are simply stainless steel. The spoon is used for soups and for the rice, whereas the chopsticks are used for the central shared items and anything else that should be picked up to be eaten. It is generally poor form to use your hands at the table. Additionally each diner is given an individual bowl of rice. The rice served in Korea is short-grained and has just a bit of stickiness to it. It has a very nice flavor and of course is always perfectly cooked. Finally, food is served family style and placed in the center of the table for everyone to take from. It is a very genial way of eating and encourages a fun meal.

Back to the food! On Saturday Brad was able to take a full day break from working and we spent some time shopping in a huge outdoor market, then had a lovely dinner together. Brad had only been out with work colleagues so he was unaccustomed to ordering, though he gave it a whirl! One side note here, traditionally the men order for the table so I was not given a menu or asked what I wanted by the wait staff. Brad made some great choices on the food her ordered, but little did we realize we would be getting a veritable feast! It was great fun to try so many dishes though and he shared the leftovers with his work friends the following day.

Though I do not have a great shot of just the side dishes, I can say we had many unique and particularly delicious ones during this meal. However the large dishes Brad ordered were also fascinating, and, well – large! The first dish he ordered was more or less a series of pancakes:

In the front was some type of fish pancake, then an egg & vegetable omelet type of thing, a sausage, more omelet, then off to the side were chili peppers with egg batter. This was served first and I think would be considered more of an appetizer plate.

Our second dish was a dried fish that is rehydrated then cooked in a chili sauce. It was incredibly moist and tender – you really wouldn’t have known the fish was once dehydrated!

I think that missing piece of fish is all we could eat considering how much food we had! You can also see the spoon and chopsticks in the back of that photo. Our last large dish was a meat. Let me note, Koreans LOVE their meat! Being a vegetarian here would truly be challenging even though they do eat many many vegetables.

This picture shows some of the carnage from the meal along with our final main. The main shown here is the classic Korean bulgogi – which thinly sliced or shredded been marinated in soy sauce & other condiments. To the left of the bulgogi is a shredded & marinated meat side, then an acorn jelly. Both very interesting.

After that we stumbled through the cold back to our hotel with the leftovers. What a perfect and fun meal this was!

Read part 1 & part 3.

Brad was working (extremely hard!) in South Korea for just under a month, and I was lucky enough to pop over for a week. This was my first visit to Asia and I not only had a fantastic time, but I found it fascinating and exciting! Though this will not include any recipes, I thought over the next few days I would share some of the food I sampled and enjoyed while I was in Seoul. Everything I had I truly enjoyed – though the spiciness can definitely get you! So let’s jump in! I have some fun food to share!

This was my first Korean meal. I met Brad and his co-workers for lunch my first afternoon in Seoul. Apparently this meal was very standard lunch fare and after having it, I can see why. Each day the menu offerings change. On this particular afternoon they were serving: kimchi soup, tofu soup, and a fish soup. There may have been another few choices but those were the soups we all ordered so that is all I remember. Additionally the options were translated for me since I do not speak or read Korean.

The black bowl of red soup was my tofu soup order. It was tasty, spicy, and literally boiling hot when it was delivered to the table. Of course this photo cannot capture the liquid at a rolling boil, but you can see the steam wafting around! I believe they use a silken tofu in the soup because it was extremely flimsy (i.e. my chopsticks could not be used to pick up the tofu, it simply split apart).

As you can see though, there are many dishes on the table, and those are standard in most Korean meals. First the small silver container to the left of the soup was a bowl of rice. All the smaller white dishes in the center of the table are shared for everyone. And if the table tends to prefer any one of them, it will frequently be replenished. The center dishes are primarily vegetables, but sometimes different meats or fish will sneak in. For example, the round orange-y items right behind my soup were a type of sausage. The sausage was sliced then thinly egg-battered and lightly fried. Moving counter-clockwise, behind the sausage were fish cake strips. They were outstanding! At the far back was a classic kimchi. Though kimchi is most commonly made with cabbage and spices as shown there, it can also be made with other vegetables such as daikon radishes (delicious and crunchy). Finishing the circle is another fish cake, another bowl of sausage pieces, then finally bean sprouts in a dressing. In the middle was a very spicy seaweed salad dish.

All these little dishes are amazing accents to the meal and can be eaten with rice or just plucked up and eaten alone. You actually do not even order these sides, they appear either as soon as you are seated or after you place your order. And each restaurant has their own selection and version of these – as you will see in the coming days.

Read part 2 & part 3.