Warning: the following post is rated PG-13.
In Seoul I’m always hungry and full at the same time. I walk around completely full from gorging all day, but I keep coming across such delicious foods that I continue to jam more food down my throat until the top nearly reaches my epiglottis. Any higher and I risk blocking my lungs. I feel like a crack-addict. I’ve hit bottom, but I need more. Just one more dduk; just a one more skewer of odeng; give me that fucking tong dak! Please. Just one more. I promise I’ll quit after this one. A promise I know I won’t – I can’t – keep.
The only hope is to remove the temptation. The only problem is that street food vendors (or “dealers” as I like to call them) are unavoidable. They’re scattered throughout the city, at the exits of every subway station, along every shopping promenade, sometimes by the hundreds, each nudging you to take one more hit. I’m so painfully full but one whiff of dduk bugki – rice cakes simmered in a spicy chili sauce that has just a touch of sweetness – and I submit. I don’t care if it burns me on the way out as I sit on the toilet the next morning – give it to me. Are those hoedduk – chewy rice flour pancakes with cinnamon, sugar, and nuts inside – I hear sizzling? I’ll take one. No… two. Give me two. One for me and… another for my… friend.
You can compose an entire meal as you stroll down a series of food vendors. I like to start with a little amuse bouche of roasted chest nuts – smoky, slightly sweet goodness. Then I dive into some classics: dduk bugki, and a skewer of odeng – fish cakes simmered in a clear broth. My appetite thus stimulated, I go for the fried stuff as my main course. On this trip, I discovered corn dogs with french fries embedded in the batter. It sounds funny, looks disgusting, and tastes like happiness. A meal just doesn’t feel complete without dessert so I find a stall that serves hoedduk, one of my favorite things on earth. Not foods, things. Most stalls serve the same foods and the variance in quality is low so you don’t need to tire yourself out looking for the best vendor. Just walk up to any stall, point to what you want, hand over the cash with a little wink, and take a hit. Feels good, don’t it?
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3 Comments
Strangely enough, I didn’t see as much street food in Seoul as I would have liked. Guess I was just in the wrong part of town… :S
That is strange. Where did you stay in Seoul?
I stayed at the Koreana Hotel in Jongno. Saw few street food stalls outside of market areas when I ventured around the city — but have to say that I saw far more street food stalls in the two days I was in Suwon than in the many other days I spent in Seoul.