Aside from having to do some work that day, we were looking forward to getting some local experience and food even though it was Kevin's 6th time visiting. Michelle was kind enough to take us around with the first stop being Noryangjin fish market (노량진수산시장) to have a fresh experience at a wet market.
Unlike Tsukiji market in Tokyo, if you go to Noryangjin market, you can eat everything they have for sale at the stalls. You pick and choose all the fresh fish, seafood and odds and ends - buying them as you would at any wet market; but from there you can pick any one of the restaurants tucked away in the basement or corners and ask them to prepare the food for your right then and there - simply superb.
20 minutes of being hassled left right and center by the vendors, we had gotten ourselves some live blue crab, a few abalones, some conch, 3 octopus and a what we think was a red snapper(??) whole.
We brought the items to Hae Dal (해달식당), a medium size restaurant in the basement of the market, where all our food was prepared.
First up was a huge plate of sashimi from the fish which was swimming around just a few minutes ago. Thick chunky slices dipped in Gochujang is how the Korean's like it:
Then came the prize of the day; San-nakji (live octopus) still writhing around with all its tentacles cut off:
Fresh abalone grilled plain with a touch of butter:
Huge conch also quick grilled:
The remains of our snapper turned into a mind blowing spicy fish soup.. Add in a couple blocks of ramen, and you have a winner!
Something we missed out on... rice stuffed crab shell:
We are indeed happy about dinner:
After the fish market waiting for the taxi:
Pierre Gagnaire a Seoul has been the talk of the town since it opened up last year - unfortunately it has not been about there being good food or great service. But rather, prices on the high side and things not really happening there. We went at around 10pm on a Friday night to check out the bar, and aside from the stunning views towards Namsan tower, it was like sitting in a library:
So we headed for a cozy little wine bar instead:
The wine was great, cheese was so so, but the place was brilliant. Small, rustic and Catalan seem like the right words to describe it..
Next day (May 1) was the so-called labourers day in Korea, an 'unofficial' holiday for labourers, which meant no work! Having come to Korea so many times and ventured no further than Seoul itself, Michelle and Hyemi took us out to Yangpyeong (양평), a county in Geonggi about an hour to the East of Seoul. Surrounded by the mountains of Yongmunsan and Jungmisan, Yangpyeong is completely not what you would expect of a countryside county. Stunning landscapes, lakes, art galleries, farms and unique restaurants are abundant along the 2 rivers which flow along the main roads.
Unfortunately, given that it was still a semi-holiday, the roads out of Seoul were jammed to the hilt, so after picking up Hyemi, it still took us a good hour and a half to get to our lunch spot. On the way, a few interesting sights:
Cow knee soup:
Some weird scientology type advertising on the back of a car:
The sight of Yangpyeong was obvious once we saw the tomatoes:
Our chauffeur:
At around 1pm, we got to our restaurant Sandang (which means a cottage in the mountains) a well known restaurant run by resident chef Im Ji Ho and serving dishes created from ingredients from the wild, including the nearby mountains. As it was pretty full when we got to the restaurant, we got a good half and hour to have tea upstairs and to chill a bit:
As we're driving into the restaurant:
The restaurant:
The ladies looking out at the fermented pots:
Kevin taking a rest before lunch:
All the pots of goodness!
First course - I think it was some kind of barley soup:
Huge cuts of sashimi:
Some kind of radish cake:
Pumpkin sticks with sweet potato balls:
Grilled pork with fermented shrimp paste:
Fresh salad:
A few items I couldn't quite identify:
Mini deep fried crabs with yuzu:
Definitely not a usual meal for either of us, but we were happy that it was a fresh taste on Korean food.
Seaweed oyster soup:
Regarded as an expensive dish:
Chilling out after lunch:
One of the unusual things about Yangpyeong is the large abundance of art galleries in the area - with one of them being the strangely named "Dr. Park Gallery". Founded by a medical doctor and designed by Seung Hyo Sang (승효상). The gallery sits on the edge of Hangang River and was currently showcasing Hwang Seon-Tae perceptual art - something quite different.Dr. Park Gallery:
Do you like Kevin's half mohawk:
This is one called "Ich bin nicht da, trotzdem denke ich", which if my German is not that rusty translates to "I am not here, nevertheless I think":
Most of the art is in the form of 3-dimensional photograph prints encased in frosted glass and then sandblasted to give it depth.
We headed back to Seoul after an hour or so there and headed for some pre-dinner dessert at Meal Top - at the top of Hyundai Department store in Kangnam. Some red bean mochi ice:
As we were completely stuffed, we headed down to the river for a brief stop:
Before heading to have some Korean barbeque, with some of the finest grade beef one can get in Seoul:
Deungshim - the equivalent of Kobe beef:
Some delicious beef blood soup, Sun Ji Hae Jang Gook (선지해장국):
The next day, more interesting food at "Korean Folk Dishes House" a restaurant almost directly next to the Blue House (president's HQ), where they serve home-style beef dumpling soup stew - Soo Jae Bi (수제비), a spicy Hae Mool Pa Jeon (해물파전), some potato pancake Gam Ja Jeon (감자전), and Kevin's favourite - Makgoli's little brother Dong Dong Joo (동동주):
Superb.
After lunch, we continued on our art fueled stay in Seoul with a trip to the Samsung Leeum Gallery, a stunningly designed building in its own right housing some of the finest art in the world. We saw a number of impressive pieces including a couple of Rothko's and Hirst's "Lullaby Spring" - which I can only presume is on loan to the gallery. As ridiculous as some of his art is, seeing the installation in person was interesting.
The Guggenheim inspired stairwell:
Louise Bourgeois' infamous spider:
Back at the hotel, Leeann with the lady in a hanbok:
Leeann with the weird alien dolls in Avenuel:
Along the Changgyecheon (청계천) walk:
What used to be the old sewage repository for Seoul was converted a few years ago into a waterway feature with lighting and pieces:
There happen to have been some demonstrations going on right near our hotel, so we encountered some police resistance.
How appropriate:
Our final day in Seoul started with a visit to Changyeonggung, a palace to the North East of the city with its own expansive garden, ponds and a beautiful greenhouse:
Then with Michelle at the Lotte Department store finished off our meals for this trip.
Kevin's raw beef bi bim bap:
And then it was time to go:
