the Korean addiction

kimchi love

Not so long ago I finally got my first taste of Korean cuisine. And now I'm addicted. When we're thinking take out, all I want is Korean despite not being able to get it on the Darkside. I even started making the stuff at home. I pretty much crave it all the time. There's just something about kimchi, all fermenty and delicious, that keeps me wanting more. And the Korean version of chili sauce, gochujang, is my new favourite thing. If you haven't heard, it's totally the new sriracha. Like for real.

We've already checked out three local Korean joints: Arirang in Clayton Park, Song's on Quinpool Rd and last week, Seoul in downtown Halifax. What I love most about all three is that every menu is different. Sure there are things you'll find at each place, like kimchi fried rice and bibimbap, but certainly dishes unique to each. And if there's one thing I love, it's variety. 

the Seoul feast

While it's bibimbap, a rice bowl with a myriad of toppings and fried egg or egg yolk all smothered in a gochujang based sauce, that has held my affection lately, at Seoul I decided to mix things up. Instead, I went for the bulgogi, a sweet sesame marinated beef, accompanied by rice, salad, and miso. The salad was of the standard iceberg variety akin to Japanese restos although the tangy rice vinegar heavy dressing added a load more flavour. The miso was well, miso. Other than making it too weak, how can you really mess that up? The bulgogi itself was tender and flavorful, being sweet and savory all at one. But, standing next to Brent's spicy pork (I think called jayuk bokkeum), my bulgogi ranked second. That pork was incredible. It was all about the spicy, sweet sauce that most definitely had guochang at its heart. See what I mean? I would literally put that shit on everything. I even got it on the side and added it to every single bite. Like I said, addicted.

While Seoul wasn't my fav local Korean joint, it certainly was delish. No doubt I'll be back again soon. Most likely for that pork. Hell, it's not the worse additcton I could have.