Little tidbits ... Korean style
Just a taste of my Korean little tidbits ...............
Little plates for every meal - yummy! Korean food is fabulous ... nothing like any Korean food I've eaten in the States. How do I even start to describe? Every meal includes at least 6 or more little plates or starters - kimchee always, along with different cold things. What are they? I haven't been able to figure out most of them ... is it fruit, vegetable, noodle, egg, or dumpling. Duh, I can usually tell the obvious ones like green onions and ham, and of course the kimchee ... but anything else ???
At first the restaurants I frequented had pictures or English words on the menu - cool, I can handle that! Then, full of confidence, with a bit of impulse I ventured into this restaurant that was packed with locals, sat down at the communal tables (on the heated floors, sans shoes - so cozy), and realized there was no real menu. Instead there was Korean writing on the walls and that's it. I'm in such big trouble! But a young Korean chap nearby knew enough English to ask me what I liked and pointed around the room at what everyone was eating ... and told the waitress something? Surprise, the best meal ever! Beef noodle soup, with rice (always a given), and the most wonderful little plates. My favorite ... green beans (I think) with little fish ... kind of looked like fried guppies, but maybe sardines?
And that kimchee stuff - I've been gamely trying it every meal, and geesh, it's supposed to be so healthy for you! Red pepper paste is on everything, not just the kimchee. My favorite words (and pantomine) ... no spice, please!
Then there's the chop sticks. No problem! Ah ha, but have you used silver chop sticks with the really slippery jelly-ish noodles? A whole new learning!
About those subways ... Korean subways = A+. They have signs everywhere, spic 'n span clean, and are running rather frequently (can't say whether they run on time, since everything's in Korean characters).
How would I describe the Koreans I've met ... kind, generous of spirit, friendly, want to help in any way, sense of humor ... albeit non-english speaking, which makes for some interesting communication. I can't speak a word and can't really wrap my ears around what I hear ... it's quite the match-up!
Toilets? If you know me, you must not be surprised there's a toilet topic in my blog! What, you ask, are my Korean toilet learnings? There seem to be bathrooms everywhere (with man and woman stick figures) and no worries about not having a place to go! They're all very clean and tidy ... albeit the squat flush variety. At first I thought, oh well, I'll take what I can get. And no toilet paper, and I'm so glad I brought my own!!
Except I then discovered Starbucks! Not only has Starbucks brought over the exact same coffee and pastries that we eat in the States, but they have brought over western toilets and (gasp) really soft cushy toilet paper. Now I wonder what's the Starbucks toilet situation in India!
Little plates for every meal - yummy! Korean food is fabulous ... nothing like any Korean food I've eaten in the States. How do I even start to describe? Every meal includes at least 6 or more little plates or starters - kimchee always, along with different cold things. What are they? I haven't been able to figure out most of them ... is it fruit, vegetable, noodle, egg, or dumpling. Duh, I can usually tell the obvious ones like green onions and ham, and of course the kimchee ... but anything else ???
At first the restaurants I frequented had pictures or English words on the menu - cool, I can handle that! Then, full of confidence, with a bit of impulse I ventured into this restaurant that was packed with locals, sat down at the communal tables (on the heated floors, sans shoes - so cozy), and realized there was no real menu. Instead there was Korean writing on the walls and that's it. I'm in such big trouble! But a young Korean chap nearby knew enough English to ask me what I liked and pointed around the room at what everyone was eating ... and told the waitress something? Surprise, the best meal ever! Beef noodle soup, with rice (always a given), and the most wonderful little plates. My favorite ... green beans (I think) with little fish ... kind of looked like fried guppies, but maybe sardines?
And that kimchee stuff - I've been gamely trying it every meal, and geesh, it's supposed to be so healthy for you! Red pepper paste is on everything, not just the kimchee. My favorite words (and pantomine) ... no spice, please!
Then there's the chop sticks. No problem! Ah ha, but have you used silver chop sticks with the really slippery jelly-ish noodles? A whole new learning!
About those subways ... Korean subways = A+. They have signs everywhere, spic 'n span clean, and are running rather frequently (can't say whether they run on time, since everything's in Korean characters).
How would I describe the Koreans I've met ... kind, generous of spirit, friendly, want to help in any way, sense of humor ... albeit non-english speaking, which makes for some interesting communication. I can't speak a word and can't really wrap my ears around what I hear ... it's quite the match-up!
Toilets? If you know me, you must not be surprised there's a toilet topic in my blog! What, you ask, are my Korean toilet learnings? There seem to be bathrooms everywhere (with man and woman stick figures) and no worries about not having a place to go! They're all very clean and tidy ... albeit the squat flush variety. At first I thought, oh well, I'll take what I can get. And no toilet paper, and I'm so glad I brought my own!!
Except I then discovered Starbucks! Not only has Starbucks brought over the exact same coffee and pastries that we eat in the States, but they have brought over western toilets and (gasp) really soft cushy toilet paper. Now I wonder what's the Starbucks toilet situation in India!
posted by CECILIA at 11:12 AM
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