Seoul Street Food
Round 2
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Tornado fries + hot dog |
It’s my second trip to Seoul, Korea. With my goals more
defined and my eye on the prize, I began my 36-hour adventure on foot. While my
goal was to eat (of course), my mom’s goal was to shop. We arrive at
Myeong-dong, where both of our interests combined into a district full of life.
As we weave our way in and out of shops and boutiques, I reward myself with
whatever street food presents itself to me at that moment.
 |
Various street foods |
First, the famous tornado fries I’ve heard so much about.
The potatoes are peeled right in front of us, coiled around a long skewer,
dunked in batter, then deep fried into a potato chip spiral sprinkled with
seasoning. Like a kid again, a little snacky snack for the baby makes shopping
a lot easier for mommy. ($2 each)
Lunchtime approaches, and we don’t skip a meal. After all, we only have 36
hours to accomplish some unrealistic food goals. We find a small bibimbap
joint. For mom, beef bulgogi bibimbap. For me, spicy kimchi and pork bibimbap.
It comes to us piping hot and we mix it all together with red pepper paste.
There’s something special about bibimbap. Why does this simple dish, that's essentially just rice and veggies, taste so good?!
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Beef bulgogi bibimbap |
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Spicy kimchi and pork bibimbap |
There’s some more shopping afterwards, but not for long. I
spotted the foot long ice cream man! Carefully serving the tallest ice cream
cones I’ve ever seen, this guy is getting quite an audience. I go for the green
tea and vanilla combo. ($2 each)
My gut is cramping, and I don’t think I can take anymore.
But then the famous French-fry-crusted corn dog appears! On a table of fried food-on-a-stick’s I spotted my ultimate
Korean street food goal. I don’t know whose idea it was to dunk a corn dog in
batter laced with French fries, but I’d like to shake their hand. I never
thought anyone would be brave enough to merge the side dish with the entrée! I
bought it, obviously. And we each took a big bite before calling it quits. ($2 each)
After
all, we have to save room for our big BBQ dinner…