Lakwatsera Fridays: The Best Bulgogi I Ever Tasted

One of the things I miss from my "past life" is traveling. Majority of it was done for business, but what I enjoyed was experiencing different cultures and meeting people from other nationalities. I told myself that someday I'd write about it. Well, that time has come and I promised my doctors I'll write everyday so I can keep my brain well oiled. 

Back in 2019, I found myself in Yeosu, South Korea. It's not a common place for tourists, but I immediately fell in love with it. It's a port/fishing town in the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula. I took a bus from Incheon International Airport to Gimpo International Airport and stayed at the hotel across the airport. I took a short domestic flight the next day and checked in The MVL which had a great view of the bay. 

In the evening, the community brought me to have a walk-around in the city. We ended up in this quaint place that served bulgogi. I left the ordering to them and they got this huge pot of bulgogi. I told them it was so huge we might not finish it. They just laughed at me and said not to worry. True enough, the two pots they ordered was gone in a jiffy. It's the most delicious bulgogi I've tasted in my entire life! Like wowwwww. It was really far from the ones I've tried and cooked at home. Ganun pala ang original. I told myself I'll look for the original recipe and make some at home (note to self!). 

After a hefty dinner, we walked to Yi Sun-Sin Square. I enjoyed seeing the monument of Admiral Yi Sun-Sin, the greatest military general known for his victories against the Japanese navy. I was among teachers so they made sure I understood that part of their history. I loved walking around the square, but soon enough they sent me back to the hotel because they were going drinking. I capped the evening by getting coffee at the hotel cafe.  

Someday I hope I'd be able to visit Yeosu again. Something about being in a fishing town always makes me happy. :)

More about my trip to Yeosu on this blog post: http://aileenapolo.blogspot.com/2020/01/that-time-i-went-to-yeosu.html 

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Happy Tummies in South Korea

Here's a very short vlog of some of the yummy food we tried during our visit to Korea -

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That Time I Went to Yeosu

I had a crazy travel schedule from August to November and one of the countries I visited was South Korea. I had the chance to visit Yeosu, a port city about an hour away from Seoul by plane. I enjoyed my trip because I was able to figure out how to get from Incheon Airport to Gimpo Airport for my local flight.

Yeosu was a sight to behold! Here's the view from my hotel window -

View from my original hotel room.

View got upgraded when they transferred me to the upper floor because smoke was seeping into my room from another room.

I loved the beautiful scenery. It was calming and so peaceful. I could have spent all day just looking at the view, but alas I had work to do. Aside from the beautiful scenery I enjoyed the food. I got to experience eating raw octopus that was still moving. Here's what I ate -

I dropped the poor thing in soy sauce so it was really salty when I ate it. I was so scared it might get stuck in my throat if I chewed it so I swallowed it whole. It was just like regular sushi so I had a few more pieces. I'm always game to try things to experience local culture. I've also tried scorpion in Vietnam and brain in Pakistan.

Dolsan Bridge.

The next evening I finally got to try real beef bulgogi. It was cooked right in front of us and we ate it in three forms: (1) original beef bulgogi, (2) beef bulgogi with rice, and (3) with cheese! Wow! The ingredients were so fresh and tasty. Looking back at the experience is making me hungry right now and I just had dinner.

My trip to Yeosu was short, but sweet. I hope to spend more time there if I have the opportunity to visit again in the future. I'm grateful for my new friends who gave me a great experience of Yeosu.