Korean BBQ = Yummy!!
I am lucky enough to have a little slice of heaven just a 10 minute subway or bus ride from where I live. It’s a Korean BBQ restaurant that one of my Korean co-workers introduced me to a few months ago. Now, I’ve had my share of Korean BBQ since I arrived in Seoul almost 7 months ago…it’s a treat, but this place knocks the others out of the ballpark in my opinion!
It’s located in Cheonho-dong, a district near my home which is featured here on the right. They’ve got lots of bars, restaurants, shops….one big Hyundai Department store which is I-don’t-know-how-many stories tall, complete with an international foodcourt in the basement level which is outstanding. Long story short, Cheonho is a close place to visit and hang out for me, so I frequent it a lot. When I DO head over there though, I always make sure I have an empty stomache and someone to go to this restaurant with me….like I had today!
The fact that I’m making a post about this place should speak to it’s mouth-watering food, but I’ll try to do my best and explain it. The thing to order here is “galbi”, which is marinated pork meat. They bring you an earthen pot with hot coals in it, place it down in a pit in the center or the table, and slap a couple grill plates on top. This was also the first place I’d had bbq at a place in Korea that used coals instead of a gas grill. 
As usual here in Korea, you are brought a wide array of side dishes. Kimchi is one of them of course, others include a lighter lettuce kimchi which has not been fermented and is kind of sweet, red bean paste, pickeled radish strips (I think?), rice, spicy spicy crab, salad mixed with a sweet sauce, garlic, curdled blood soup with spinach (it sounds disgusting, but it’s spicy and I love it, haha), and I’m probably forgetting something else.
Also you’re provided with an apron in the event that you show up wearing white (as was the case with my Korean friend shown here, Woon Ha). What happens next? You just pick up the pork and toss it on the grill, munch on some of the side items while it’s cooking. When it’s almost finished you can cut the meat with scissors (also provided of course) and start going to town. This BBQ is basically for making lettuce wraps….oh yeah, so they bring you a big plate of different kinds of lettuce as well. You can pretty much put anything inside the lettuce, with the meat…wrap it up and eat it whole. The major components however, would be the galbi meat, garlic, red bean paste, and some of the salad with sauce mixture. It is incredible…really I wish you could fly over and have some with me!
I know Korean food may seem bizarre and mysterious to many of you. Heck, I didn’t have a clue what they ate here until a few months before I came over. So I’ll try to make some more installments of my favorite Korean dishes as time goes on. I figured I’d start with this one since it is by far my favorite. In case you’re wondering…this meal filled us up to the point of exhaustion and was 20,000 won (20 USD), so the price isn’t bad either. And that’s actually on the more expensive side for eating out!
Mmm, I’m smiling just thinking about the lunch. A meal like this goes perfectly with the traditional alcoholic drink of the country…Soju. I’ll have to leave that item for an entirely separate blog entry. We didn’t have Soju this time because I had to work after, and of course that would not be a good thing. Funny side note…I have actually heard stories of foriegn teachers who party a lot coming to work while being intoxicated. Or even bringing it into the classroom with them!! Can you imagine?!? Alright, well that’s enough for now. Here are some thumbnail pics to click on if you should so desire:
