Friday, July 5, 2013

Octopus Ubiquitous

We made it to Mokpo, one of the largest cities at the Southern most point in Korea. Here, we ate smashed octopus (literally) and octopus/beef soup, which we ordered so Jenny and Michelle could eat something. What we came to eat wasn't available, but I'll tell you about it anyways. Around August/September timeframe, baby octopi become more common in the sea. These baby octopi are caught and served alive. To eat them, one must pick up the octopus body, wrap the legs around the chopsticks, dip the wrap in oil and chew thoroughly before the octopus sticks to the inside (or outside) of one's mouth. It's a battle, and there have been many occasions when people died while eating the octopus because it stuck to their throat, and they didn't chew it enough. I missed out. Oh well.

Naturally Nostalgic Part Two

Sorry for the strange lighting this room had. While Jenny recovered from her sickness, we ate some Tong-dak, or fried chicken made in Korea. It's an interestingly different flavor, and the sauce we dip it in is a sweet and spicy sauce made especially for this dish. We ate it with pickled radishes and soft drinks. When I was a little kid, this was one of my favorite dishes. I lived right next to the fried chicken house and it was a common event to go and eat there. Again, this was a flavor I hadn't had the chance to experience in 14 years.

Naturally, nostalgic.

A General's Victory, Fifty Dollar Boat Rides and Synchronized Swimming

While we were in Odongdo, we went on a boat ride, visited the aquarium and watched some synch swimming routines and went through a visual effects gallery. I'm sure there are more photos than this somewhere, so I'll update this post once I find them.