Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
A food crawl inspired by food vlogger Mark Wiens
My family isn’t called the “Dinosaur family” for nothing, mainly due to our huge appetite for good food. Our noses always lead us to the best food anywhere in the world. One “dinosaur” saw a food vlog of Mark Wiens, yes, the famous travel and food blogger, on the best Korean dishes to try. After watching almost 20 of Weins’ vlogs about Korean food and salivating in the process, we decided to follow Wiens’ lead, packed our bags, and flew to Seoul for a one-of-a-kind food trip.
With more than 10 million followers on YouTube, Wiens hit the spot with almost all of the dining places he recommended—from Seoul, Jeonju, Gunsan to Busan—for the best Korean BBQ, dak-galbi, street food, chicken ginseng soup or samgyetang, gamjatang, galbijjim, kimchi, and everything mashisoyo (맛있어요) (delicious)!
We arrived in Seoul on March 23 just in time for dinner, and Wiens’ recommendation was the hearty pork bone soup called gamjatang at Sigol Gamjakuk (602-32, Eungam 4-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul South Korea). At first, it looked unappetizing with all the ingredients—bones, potatoes, chili, outer cabbage leaves, and perilla leaves—piled on top of one another in a big pot. But once you dip your spoon into the broth and start peeling the layers of the gamjatang, particularly the fall-off-the bone goodness of the meat, you discover heaven in a broth, and start asking “Why did I just meet you now?” or “Where in the world have you been hiding?” with hearts literally flying off from your eyes. Seriously, the gamjatang is such a comfort food I could probably eat it every day and never grow tired of. Uncannily, we Filipinos have a similar dish we call nilagang baboy, pork meat (ribs, belly or hock) boiled in water in a big pot with onions and leeks and peppercorn until tender and when half cooked, we add chunks of potato, carrots, cabbage, and a dollop of seasoning (fish sauce or salt).
On Day 2, the hungry, roving dinosaurs chose galbijjim (braised beef short ribs) for lunch at Andamiro in Ganghwa. We also tried and loved the air-dried, steamed, and fried fish iconic to the area. We brought our huge appetite to Andamiro after the uber exciting Cable Car and Luge rides at Ganghwa Seaworld. We burned off the calories somehow as we trekked uphill to the Ganghwa DMZ Peace Observatory. We literally found our next stops as the icings on the cake.
Joyangbangjik Café (12, Hyangnamu-gil 5beon-gil, Ganghwa- eup, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon) is an Instagrammable unique café that was built in 1933 as a textile factory and turned into a wonderland of junk, good coffee, and pastries.
Our choice for dinner on Day 2 was Jeju black pork BBQ at Childonga. The pork, flown in daily from Jeju Island, tasted like steak. It was quite tender and flavorful. This meal was truly daebak (awesome)!
The next day, we went to the Korean Folk Village (90 Minsokchon-ro, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea) and it felt like we got off a time capsule and found ourselves back in the Joseon period. Inside the village are booths that sell some of the best Korean street food—tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), odeng (fish cakes), boiled white corn, twisted donut with red bean filling, and tanghulu (rock sugar-coated fruits). For lunch, we had galbi (grilled ribs) in Dongsan.
Dinner was something else. It was fine dining at Samcheonggak of more than 11 courses, an impressive spread traditionally enjoyed by royal and aristocratic families. The Samcheonggak is located on top of a hill near the presidential Blue House. And if its walls could speak, this place is replete with secret deals among high-ranking government officials and negotiations between South and North Koreans.
Our lunch the next day was dak-galbi at Mr. Dakgalbi by the pier to Nami Island. A huge paellera is used in cooking dak-galbi with mounds of chopped cabbage, rice cakes, and other veggies with chicken, the star of this dish. It is a hearty meal in one go and a must-try when in Korea.
We also made a brief stop at the Gwangjang Market for more of the best street food—hotteok (sweet pancakes), sotteok sotteok (rice cake and sausage skewers), kkwabaegi (twisted donuts), and my favorite, pajeon (scallion pancake).
Because we over-imbibed on meat and other food for four straight days, our last meal in Seoul was samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) at Gangwonjeong. The meat of the spring chicken was so tender and fall-off-the bone and the combination of rice and ginseng make up for a truly comforting meal.
On our drive to Incheon International Airport, we just had to stop by C27 (Incheon Yeongjongdo Ocean View Cafe C27 Downtown), a seaside café named after the 27 cheesecake varieties it serves. Yes, all 27 kinds of cheesecake in a beautiful setting where a scene of Crash Landing on You was filmed—Captain Ri Jeong Hyeok and Cho Cheol Gang sneaking their way into South Korea through a secret underground tunnel. The beach is called Yeongjongdo Seonnyeo Bawi in Incheon and you can see this from C27, which is a marvel in itself as it’s a café that practically takes you around the globe.
We only managed to do the food crawl in Seoul. Thanks to our food tour guide Song Youngkwan (+821099155052) and Ikami Travel Walk’s Vilma Guillera (+639178080533), who put together the food trail. Next, we shall conquer Busan, Jeonju, and Gunsan. — Associated Press
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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph
