What a restless day I've been having! Just a few more hours and it will officially be the start of the Seollal holidays. Also known as Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year, this is the first day of the lunar calendar year. Date changes every year, since the lunar calendar is different from the Gregorian calendar we normally use. This day, thankfully, it falls on a Thursday - and in Korea, we have the day before and after off as well. That makes it a 5-day weekend! Whoohoooooooo!
To celebrate in advance, we at the office went out all together for dinner. The restaurant of choice is called Hang Bang Yang Yuk Gwan (항방양육관), a place that specializes in lamb (yang means sheep/lamb). I was super hungry and unfortunately forgot all about taking a shot of the entrance. Will include it on the map though, if anyone is interested in visiting!
Anyway, this place is Chinese food. Lamb is not a Korean dish, I think - it's not common here anyway. I don't recall having lamb in Asia before; my only experience was at one of those Halal food carts in New York City, with a gyro and some vegetables & rice. That stuff was seriously awesome. But anyway, back to dinner last night.
Our main menu was lamb chops, grilled over charcoal.
I was told very firmly that I shouldn't leave the meat to burn. Just like steak, it would be best to have it medium-rare, or medium at least.
Halfway cooked... the sizzling sound and the scent was beginning to make my mouth water.
Nearly there! At this point, one of the waitresses will come over with a scissor and slice up the meat for you. You're supposed to pick off the individual bite-sized pieces with your chopsticks, dip it in either salt, or ground pepper, or sesame oil, and eat!
The meat was juicy and tender, with a scent that reminded me of... Halal food carts in NYC, LOL! Which means Middle Eastern, or some Asian food that I probably never tried before.
So. This ground pepper thing was provided in small individual plates for all of us. I just love the scent of this. I have a feeling that quite a few Koreans would not be familiar and dislike it, since it isn't the average smell you get from Korean peppers. However, I don't think there could be anything better to accompany lamb chops!
Guo bao rou, or sweet and sour pork, was next up on the menu. Oh my God. The breading on this thing. I just don't know how to explain it. The pork inside was thinly sliced and delicious and all that, but the breading. The crispiness. The chewiness. The tangy sauce. The warmness of just-fried food. I've had similar dishes before but this was by far the best EVER.
Dumplings were not originally what we intended to order, but once I saw it on the menu I couldn't resist. Dumplings are one of my favorite, favorite foods. Especially the ones with a thick, soft bun. They came in a plate of 5 for 7000 KRW, which is not the cheapest price but not so ridiculously expensive either. I was only allowed to have one, sadly, which did not satisfy by appetite, but it tasted so good and left me longing for more, which means I will need to visit this place again for some more helpings.
This is also a side dish. It's a soup, obviously, but I still don't know exactly what it's called. Let's say egg soup, to be safe, because egg is the main ingredient. That hint of orange you see in the bowl is tomato, but I couldn't particularly taste it. This was a bit salty for my taste but I'd still eat it again if someone brought me a fresh bowl right this moment.
And lastly, what's a Chinese restaurant without Chinese beer? ;)
Hmm. Writing this blog post had made me realize how much I really enjoyed this food. I had nothing fractionally bad to say about anything I ate here; true, I usually don't have a lot of bad things to say about most foods in general, but this place was frankly over the top. I would love to come again with some good company - I am positive that I would enjoy the food just as much as I did yesterday, maybe even more!
With all that aside now, it is now time to prepare my stomach for a Korean traditional food overload, for the Seollal holidays. 5 days off, plates and plates of fattening food, and quality time with family. Can't wait!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
To celebrate in advance, we at the office went out all together for dinner. The restaurant of choice is called Hang Bang Yang Yuk Gwan (항방양육관), a place that specializes in lamb (yang means sheep/lamb). I was super hungry and unfortunately forgot all about taking a shot of the entrance. Will include it on the map though, if anyone is interested in visiting!
Anyway, this place is Chinese food. Lamb is not a Korean dish, I think - it's not common here anyway. I don't recall having lamb in Asia before; my only experience was at one of those Halal food carts in New York City, with a gyro and some vegetables & rice. That stuff was seriously awesome. But anyway, back to dinner last night.
Our main menu was lamb chops, grilled over charcoal.
I was told very firmly that I shouldn't leave the meat to burn. Just like steak, it would be best to have it medium-rare, or medium at least.
Halfway cooked... the sizzling sound and the scent was beginning to make my mouth water.
Nearly there! At this point, one of the waitresses will come over with a scissor and slice up the meat for you. You're supposed to pick off the individual bite-sized pieces with your chopsticks, dip it in either salt, or ground pepper, or sesame oil, and eat!
The meat was juicy and tender, with a scent that reminded me of... Halal food carts in NYC, LOL! Which means Middle Eastern, or some Asian food that I probably never tried before.
So. This ground pepper thing was provided in small individual plates for all of us. I just love the scent of this. I have a feeling that quite a few Koreans would not be familiar and dislike it, since it isn't the average smell you get from Korean peppers. However, I don't think there could be anything better to accompany lamb chops!
Guo bao rou, or sweet and sour pork, was next up on the menu. Oh my God. The breading on this thing. I just don't know how to explain it. The pork inside was thinly sliced and delicious and all that, but the breading. The crispiness. The chewiness. The tangy sauce. The warmness of just-fried food. I've had similar dishes before but this was by far the best EVER.
Dumplings were not originally what we intended to order, but once I saw it on the menu I couldn't resist. Dumplings are one of my favorite, favorite foods. Especially the ones with a thick, soft bun. They came in a plate of 5 for 7000 KRW, which is not the cheapest price but not so ridiculously expensive either. I was only allowed to have one, sadly, which did not satisfy by appetite, but it tasted so good and left me longing for more, which means I will need to visit this place again for some more helpings.
This is also a side dish. It's a soup, obviously, but I still don't know exactly what it's called. Let's say egg soup, to be safe, because egg is the main ingredient. That hint of orange you see in the bowl is tomato, but I couldn't particularly taste it. This was a bit salty for my taste but I'd still eat it again if someone brought me a fresh bowl right this moment.
And lastly, what's a Chinese restaurant without Chinese beer? ;)
Hmm. Writing this blog post had made me realize how much I really enjoyed this food. I had nothing fractionally bad to say about anything I ate here; true, I usually don't have a lot of bad things to say about most foods in general, but this place was frankly over the top. I would love to come again with some good company - I am positive that I would enjoy the food just as much as I did yesterday, maybe even more!
With all that aside now, it is now time to prepare my stomach for a Korean traditional food overload, for the Seollal holidays. 5 days off, plates and plates of fattening food, and quality time with family. Can't wait!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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