What's your favourite Korean food
 

I like Sam-gyup-sal. Its best in very basic restaraunts that have a makshift tables made from an old garbage bins. These kinds of places look like a retro science fiction movie with ducking coming down from the ceiling.

Sam gyup sal was nudged out of first place last year by galbi. I love the style restaurants you are talking about. Some of my favorite memories of Korea are sitting aroung eating galbi or sam-gyup with friends over a few beers. sometimes for hours.

On a side note, i just moved into a new apartment (of course ;) ) and there is a 3,500 won galbi place just next door. everytime i leave my apartment in the evening the smell just envelopes you. it might be a tough place to live if you are vegan but im doing ok :cool:

We didn't get to the top of the food chain just to become vegetarians
Ted Nugent

Ted and his infinite wisdom. ;)
Is he still around?

He's still around and he's touting the right to bear arms. He's a big fan of GWB.

BTW I met someone who was living as a vegan in Korea. Its pretty difficult almost everything here has meat products. When we had our year end party the school tried to be nice and ordered a tofu dish for him. It turns out the tofu dish had shrimps on it and he was a seven day adventist. They don't eat bottom dwellers

Yes, I knew someone who thought she had lived fairly successfully as a vegan, only to find out in the 11th month of her contract that kimchi is made with anchovy paste. Oops! :o

My favourite food here, or meal I should say, is Dol Sot Bab at Kwibin. There are 2 or 3 Kwibin restaurants in Daejeon, but I'm not sure if the chain exists outside of this city. At this place, within 60 seconds of ordering (yes, I counted once) a bowl of pumpkin soup is placed in front of you. Shortly thereafter, the 20odd vegetable side dishes, and for the Ted Nugents of the crowd (I do not know who he is, by the way), also a hot stone with steaming bulgogi (thinly sliced marinated beef, I believe). Of course also a stone bowl full of rice with gingko nuts, jujubes, and a few other grains in which to mix the veggies. And if you're lucky the rice gets crunchy and sticks to the bowl for a special challenge at the end of the meal.

Actually, I love the warm "rice water" drink they make by pouring boiling water into the bowl from which the rice has been scooped out of. I adore this "dessert" in winter. It's ingenious! But I don't know what it's called.

My favorite has to be "Takk-galbi",with some mekju...yum,the spicier the better. :). I have a few vegetarian friends and it's hard for them,they have to make their own meals or find a veggie buffet.Vegetarian mandu is great..have the recipe somewhere if anyone is interested. :)

Takk- Kalbi sometimes pronounced with a d sound is a famous in Cheoncheon in Kangwondo. If you like that try Bull- Takk it is even more spicy. The place to have Bull-Takk is in Shinchon in Seoul. There's a really good place near Woodstocks.

i have seen so many new Bul-dalk places popping up everywhere. havent tried it yet. the regular dalk-galbi was spicy enough for me :p

You'll need plenty of cool beer to put out the fire in your mouth

I'm NOT afraid! :cool:

Then do it!!!! You just might like it!!!

dubu duru chigae
 

My favourite is dubu duru chigae, a Daejeon specialty. It's basically thick slices of tofu in a chili pepper sauce with some vegetables. It's very hot, but I love it. I like anything with tofu - duenjang chigae is another favourite of mine. I also agree with little sage that Gwi-bin is a great restaurant. I'm definitely not a fan of sam gyup sal though, too fatty. I'd rather have duegi kalbi (pork ribs). Beef kalbi is ok, but not my favourite. I guess I like the Korean lunch foods best - chigaes and so on.

Chiggae
 

In winter, sitting on a warm ondol-heated restaurant floor to have a chiggae is something I miss greatly when I go back home. Especially, especially, when the place gives you a fried egg as a side dish. Then I'm happy for the entire day! :)

Do you think floor-seating restaurants would catch-on back home? I think Canadians could learn to appreciate ondol floors in winter. I've wondered if I could sucessfully manage such a restaurant back home.

That, or a TUDARI!!!

It takes a while to get used to it and if you haven't done it for a long time you might still find it uncomfortable standing up afterwards.

What still drives me nutts is those idiots who turn the heat on full and open all the windows.

Don't forget to remind your vegan friends they can't eat it. It's got a sauce with tiny little sprimps in it.

Have you tried Budea chigae. This is a by product of the Korean war. It's a chigea with US army ration packs in it. It contains hot dogs and spam.

I know you can do it! ;)

oh geez! :rolleyes:

I don't have any vegan friends. I think it would be almost impossible to be vegan here, almost everything has either fish powder in it or an egg plopped on top.

I have tried Budae chigae - it's not good, IMHO.

Oak Su Su pego chuseyo
Say this is you don't want corn on your pizza.