On my last trip to South Korea, I ate some amazing food. Here are photos of some of my favourite meals...
It is worth staying at Seoul Palace Hotel just for the breakfasts, which are heavenly... This is a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables and juicy shrimp from the buffet. One of the best things about Korean food is fresh, healthy ingredients.
On arrival in Jeju Island, I was taken for lunch at an unassuming eatery, where they served this delicious grilled mackerel with sea salt. It was served with sea urchin and seaweed soup, which was also fabulous...
On Ganghwa Island, reached by car in just an hour from Seoul, one of the specialities is eel, which you can have barbecued at your table as above. It's so tender and sweet...
And these are a selection of the side dishes that came with it! Super-fresh and pickled vegetables - you pick the eel off the barbecue and wrap it in a leaf of lettuce or similar, with a touch of sauce, and pop it in your mouth...
On a Sunday in Seoul, a friend took me for soondae-gukbap, which is this savoury steaming soup of a black-pudding-like sausage with beansprouts and other tasty vegetables, served with rice. Hearty, spicy, but clean-tasting too and - again - healthy!
This was afternoon 'tea' if you like at a shop in Seoul that specialises in ricecakes ('Tteok'). They're very subtle sweets that become quite addictive - I started buying them fresh from a place where they made them in Banpo, around the corner from my hotel - and here they were served with pumpkin latte, a rare treat...
Finally, an array of leafy side dishes, which make Korean food so special. I wasn't a big fan of the shellfish this came with, but I could eat marinated green vegetables with mushrooms and hot spicy sauces forever. Thank you to Korea for awakening my taste buds to fantastic new flavours. So when people ask me 'what is Korean food like?' it's hard to know where to begin!
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