Seven of us had dinner in one of the many tiny restaurants on the fourth floor of a building abutting the fish market. I don’t know how you would pick which one to eat at – our choice was basically made for us because the taxi drive phoned ahead and the owner was waiting by the curb for us. Don’t know what the quid pro quo was here, but some arrangement was clearly made. She waited for us by the curb as we strolled along the street and aisleways looking at all the fish at the market. Thirty minutes later she scooped us up and sat us down. No complaints though, she and the food were awesome!
The appetizers course was a collection of leeche nuts, quail eggs, shrimp, pork, rice with roe, and those shelled things with toothpicks.
Peppers, carrots and raw garlic as a vegetable side dish. There was also a small plate of broccoli.
An array of sauces: spicy ketchup, soy sauce and bean curd paste.
When this plate was brought to the table the whole thing was squirming. At first I thought (and hoped!) the fan behind me was just blowing the seaweed. Nope, it was live octopus. The octopi have actually been cut up just before serving, but that evidently doesn’t slow them down much. Some of the tentacles are tough to pick up because they’re grabbing the plate. Actually pretty tasty, I went back for more.
Fresh raw abalone. The leaf on the left has their intestines, which I didn’t eat, but are evidently very good for you. John explained to me that you can tell the abs are fresh and wild because the intestines are green. I’m sure that makes them taste better, too. I’ll never know.
Though this fish has been prepped, you still get to see what you’re eating. A couple minutes later the waitress took the carcasses away to make the soup with.
Nayoung made a new friend.
Soju is a sweet potato liquor that was our drink of choice for the meal. You actually share bottles and drink out of shot glasses, which is different that what this picture implies.
Jiyeong.
Our waitress sat down with us and rolled up a combination of sliced fish, raw garlic, bean curd, and who knows what else. I shot this picture right before she stuffed it in my mouth.
I’m working on it here after she fed it to me. The flavor was great, but I was having a tough time with the bones that were still in the fish. (They’re left in intentionally – a good source of calcium doncha know.)
The final course of the meal. This soup is prepared with the fish from the prior course.
The aftermath from dinner at the Busan fish market.