Phil's Gastronomic Adventure #6: Seoul, Korea

The Location: Seoul Fish Market

The Dish: Live Octopus

The Ingredients: ummm....live octopus?

Thanks to the mass production of guidebooks and travel channels, eating live octopus in Korea has lost some of its mystery.  But let's face it: it still sounds gross.  After a tour of the DMZ, we headed to the Seoul Fish Market and came across a lady selling small octopi out of a plastic washing basin filled with water. Making a gesture to our mouth with our hands indicating "can we eat that?", the old fishmongress with rubber gloves and boots happily nodded. We shelled out 4,000 inflated Korean Won (about US$3) for a pair of the tentacled creatures.  

We brought the pair in a clear plastic bag to the second floor of the market, where a japanese-korean restaurant accepted our raw ingredients and offered to "prepare" them for us. Two minutes later, the chef delivered a plate of furiously wriggling tentacle pieces.  We dug in, watching the pieces cling on for dear after-life to our chopsticks.  Each bite was an adventure, the suckers latching on to my tongue or the roof of my mouth. We chewed ferociously to put them down, surprised at how good live octopus actually tastes. Like calamari, but with feelings.

Phil´s Gastronomic Adventure #5: Arica, Chile

Location: Arica, Peru

The Dish: Ceviche in a Cup

Ingredients: Tall glass, raw egg, four types of ceviche (raw fish or shellfish marinated in lemon juice), cilantro, onions, scallions, salt, pepper, lemon juice

It comes as no surprise that a country with over 6,400 km of coastline has great seafood (we´ve all heard of the Chilean Seabass, right?). However, while in Iquique for 3 days we had little success finding a cheap, legitimate seafood restaurant. After heading north to the coastal town of Arica, we were pointed towards a Mercado down Avenida Colon. Upon entering, we still felt lost: the place resembled an indoor food court, only three times as chaotic, wet and smelly. Using broken Spanish, I asked a juice vendor which stall made the best seafood. He pointed over his shoulder and said aca ("over there"). We followed his directions to a crowded, sushi bar-esque stall with seven seats and large buffet vats of ceviche. Jackpot.

Auggie and I noticed that everyone kept ordering something in a cup, so we asked for dos copas. What we got was a concoction of raw egg, lemon juice, and raw fish. But it was unbelievably refreshing. I felt like I had just opened my mouth in the ocean. Who cares if it was potentially unsafe, the ceviche was a welcoming change from the heavy meat dishes we´d grown accustomed to in Brazil and Argentina. Following suit, we slurped the remaining juices of the cup after the remaining morsels of whitefish and clams were gone.

Cost: 1,500 Chilean Pesos (US$2.80)

Phil´s Gastronomic Adventure #4

Location: Aconcagua Cafe, Puente del Inca, Argentina

Dish: Lentejas

Ingredients: Lentil, calabash (whatever that is), carrot, sweet potato, bacon, pork sausage, spices

After a quick busride from Pontrerillos to Puente del Inca (two small Argentinian villages on the road between Mendoza and Santiago), we plopped ourselves down at the only open restaurant in town, Aconcagua Snack Bar. With America´s tallest mountain (and the world´s tallest, if you ignore Asia, which I most certainly cannot, lah) as a backdrop, I ventured away from the menu´s Continental classics (sandwiches and pizzas) and tried the only thing on the menu that sounded different: Lentejas. What arrived some 10 minutes later was a green stew, chock full of lentils and assorted pieces of pork. Dipping a small portion of bread shared with Auggie (who ordered Lentejas as well), we chowed down, enjoyed the view, and pretended to scratch the beards that accompanied everyone else´s faces in this neck of the woods.

Phil's Gastronomic Adventure #2

February 20, 2009

Istanbul, Turkey: Lunch at Sampiyon Korokec

We didn't need much to eat, more of just a meal to kill time before a late afternoon of narghile (waterpipe) and backgammon. With that, Duruhan took us to Istanbul's equivalent of American late-night-diner food: the restaurant looked like a clash between Arby's and Mos Burger. I followed all of Duru's orders: Midye Dolma (Mussels stuffed with rice) to start, Kokorec (fried cow intestine sandwich) and Ayran (goat's milk yogurt) to wash it all down. Our waiter presented our food suspiciously quick, but I was eager to wake up the palette. The mussels tasted as you would expect, and the cow intestine somewhere in between fried sausage and caramelized onions. So, it tasted awesome. I could picture myself wandering the streets after a late night of drinking and stumbling into Sampiyon Kokorec for some beer-absorbing fare. The Ayran reminded me of a sour Lassi, and I concluded that goats and cows produce very similar-tasting milk. The meal cost around US$5. Cheaper than Arby's.