Lessons Learned- Don't try the 홍어

I learned a very important lesson last night that I should have learned 10 months ago. I went out to dinner with two English teachers, Mihey and Youngran, and the two PE teachers, Mr. Kim and Mr. Ahn. The restaurant we went to was in Damyang, a small town to the east of Gwangju. I was told we'd be having a traditional Korean meal, which didn't suprise me, because they say every food we eat is "traditional Korean food."

The restaurant was on a road in Damyang which is famous for its restaurants. The funny thing was, all the restaurants looked like mushrooms! On the way back, they were lit up with neon lights, of course, so that made them look pretty strange. Anyway, it was incredibly scenic. The light rain and the lush, green mountains made it seem like we were hours away from Gwangju. Here's a picture of the back side of the restaurant at dusk. Our table was overlooking this pond.



This is the type of restaurant where there's no menu. You simply sit down, and they bring out the courses. Yep, courses. We had three courses last night, now lets see if I can remember what all we had!

Appetizer- Best described as a green salad submerged in cold soup, and tea to drink.

First course~


Starting from the very top: crab-in-shell kimchi; Right- ROTTEN fish*, kimchi, and pork pieces; Center- marinated chicken, some sort of pink vegetable, onion, and shredded laver; Far Bottom- mashed potatoes with purple dressing; Left- seasoned shrimp and bean sprouts; Far Left Top- seasoned tofu; Far Left Bottom- green salad.

*Yes, really, rotten fish. Here's the lesson I learned: Don't eat something you're unsure of if not everyone is eating it. For example, Mr. Ahn saw me eat a piece of the kimchi plain, which apparently you're not supposed to do. He demonstrated the best way to eat it- spread a piece of the kimchi out on your plate, place the pork on top of it, and the fish on top of that. Then, eat it all in one, giant bite. Well, I like all of those things separate, so why not try them together, right? Remember at this point, I didn't know the fish was ROTTEN! So, I do just as he says, but as soon as I begin chewing this massive amount of food, I can tell something's just not right. Of course, the four other teachers are watching me expectantly. I'm sure the faces I was making were pretty amusing. The kimchi and pork was good, but I couldn't place my finger on how the fish tasted. It faintly reminded me of how I think nail polish remover would taste. I didn't end up eating the whole thing, it was so bad I literally had to spit out the rest of the fish in my napkin! I also came across some strange piece of cartilage while eating it, gross! I felt bad, but I can't even begin to describe how bad it tasted.

I asked Mihey afterwards what the deal was with the fish. She explained that this type of fish is caught, then let to rot for three or four days!!! Apparently, it's the only fish that can be "prepared" like this. Mr. Ahn was also describing it to me in broken English, and somewhere along the way, he said "ammonia," and that's exactly how it tasted! I'm assuming when the fish rots, it tastes like ammonia!!!! So if you're ever in Korea, don't try the '홍어' or 'hongeo.'

So, on an happier note, here's course two (sorry it's a bit blurry)~



Starting from the top right- seasoned green lettuce to mix in with your rice; Bottom Right- marinated garlic and mushroom; Center- three cooked fish; Left side- different kinds of kimchi. The seasonings in the circle dishes are for your rice.

Not pictured- Course Three: An extra large rice bowl, bean sprout soup, warm scorched rice soup, and milk coffee.

Everything was pretty delicious, aside from that fish. And the best part is, only 12,000 won! At the current exchange rate, that's only $9.99!