A few foodie observations about Seoul

Before this trip, I wasn’t completely sure what to expect in Seoul. The trip was actually extremely easy in all aspects. Transportation was wonderful and the city was easy to get around in. I also found it easy to communicate with my limited Korean. I can say “hello” and “thank you,” which are two of the most useful words in any language when you’re a traveler. Even ordering food was easy, as many restaurants had picture menus or seemed to specialize in one thing or another, for instance pork or octopus or dumplings, so even if I couldn’t say what I wanted, I could point it out easily. There were a few things – as there are in every country – that you notice that are done just a little differently than they are back home. These are just a few of the things that I took note of as I made my way through Seoul:

• Metal chopsticks are the standard in Korea and I found they took some adjusting to! I’m fairly skilled with wooden chopsticks, but you need a slightly different way of positioning the chopsticks in your fingers when they are prone to rolling around like the flat or round (both shapes) metal chopsticks are!
• The majority of napkins are cocktail-sized. You don’t realize that you’re used to a certain size of napkin until it’s not available!
• Even though street food is popular, most people don’t eat as they walk. They eat right near the vendor’s stall.
• There are very few trash cans in Seoul. This might explain the above item.

• Although there were knives in some restaurants, many places cut the food up with scissors and served it with just a fork or chopsticks. This seemed to be more true of bbq places than some other restaurants I ate at. Very effective way to cut food.
• Speaking of splitting dishes, many foods were conveniently cut up before being served. This waffle was cut in quarters, and a burger I had was cut in half.

• At several places I ate mandu (dumplings), the dipping sauces were very heavy on the vinegar, where I expected more soy sauce or similarly salty dips.
• Kimchi is much better in Seoul than it is here, on average. I should note that this did not actually surprise me at all – and I was very glad of it!

• Quite a few coffee shops were at least two stories high, including Starbucks and Coffee Bean. Many were even taller, and all had beautiful seating inside. It’s hard to go back to “normal” coffee shops after that.
• Donuts were extremely popular, with more than a few Krispy Kremes and Dunkin’ Donuts around the city. Dunkin’ even offered a kimchi donut. Fortunately, it was savory, not sweet.
• Finally, even though it was pretty easy to order in restaurants, there were still some things that got lost in translation. This sign read “Happy Virus Menu” for instance. Still not sure what to make of that one.