Originally Posted by
Sweet Willie
As far as Jumaleok is concerned, these restaurants are all over the city. High-end restaurants, those with linen tablecloths, will charge an arm and a leg for "kal-bi" (beef shortribs). I find "taeji-kogi" (pork) cheaper and more tender, but that's my personal taste. "Soju" is to Korea what Sake is to Japan. Koreans make excellent beers in my view ("Mekju") - main ones are Hite, Cass, and OB.
I like those small hole-in-the-wall joints. It took a while to get used to seeing rolls of toilet paper on tables for use as napkins. I also prefer taeji-kogi for the same reasons - cheaper and more tender. I wrap the meat in lettuce and add some kimchee for extra taste. Wash it all down with mekju which is pretty good - I prefer OB myself. The variety of side dishes is limited only by one's imagination I suppose - my favorite are kimchee of course, taegu and kon namool.
I also like to visit the local alley markets - stalls selling roasted pig heads, live fish, pine nuts, chili peppers, and grapes side-by-side with stalls selling pots and pans, dress shirts, hangars, and cheap polyester Han Boks. And to think that just 30 miles north of Seoul, across the border, every day people are starving to death.