Taiwan Day 11: Eat and Drink at Saute Restaurant, a Quick Fry Shop / 在33區熱炒生猛海鮮邊吃邊喝 (Taipei: Zhongshan District / 台北市: 中山區)

Quick fry stores are Taiwan's way of combining the restaurant and bar.  It is a blend of food and drink that fuses together so many styles of eating that it is not easy to describe the kind of venue that it is.  While it is frequented after work as a venue for a combined happy hour and dinner, it really brings together aspects of Chinese dim sum, Japanese izakaya, Spanish tapas, and American happy hour all under the same roof.  Dishes can range from grilled meat on sticks, both raw and cooked seafood, deep fried pub food, and the ever popular Chinese style stir fry presented on small plates.  All of the food is meant to be consumed with beer or wine.  Art, Diana, and I dropped in to Saute Restaurant (33區 熱炒生猛海鮮) to get our grub and guzzle on.

What goes better with beer than fried chicken wings (南乳炸雞翅)? It's almost obligatory.  Thin and crisp skin on the outside with juicy meat on the inside make for an irresistible starting snack.

Food on a stick is just about as good as anything deep fried when it comes to pairing food with beer.  These cumin lamb skewers (孜然羊肉串) really hit the spot.  They were well seasoned from tip to tail with an earthy spice that begged for a chasing of beer.

Speaking of beer, the three of us were having Taiwan Beer (台湾啤酒).  The national namesake has a special taste as it incorporates the locally grown Formosa rice (蓬萊米) into its brew, adding a subtle hint of sweetness and making it very drinkable.  Taiwan Beer comes in many varieties.  Art and Diana tested out the new mango and grape flavors; they are sweeter and have less alcohol content.  I stuck with the draft version.  Its short 18 day shelf life keeps it fresh.

I have had so much chilled bamboo (鮮竹筍) on the trip already that you would think I have exhausted my taste for it, but this panda food has got such a cleansing mouth feel that it is tough to avoid.  It works as a great palate cleanser between the greasy appetizers and the forthcoming courses.

Being from an island nation that was formerly a Japanese colony, the Taiwanese are big fans of fresh seafood, and nothing is fresher than fish recently hauled in from the Pacific.  We actually saw the restaurant staff haul in a massive tuna fish into the restaurant while we were eating, so we had no choice but to order the tuna sashimi (鮪魚刺身).  We also ordered the salmon sashimi (鮭魚刺身) for good measure.

This happened in the middle of our meal... pretty neat.  It is always good to see restaurants using the freshest ingredients for their customers.  That was one massive monster of a maguro.

A favorite of any Taiwanese establishment, whether restaurant or bar, is three cup chicken (三杯雞腿).  33區 uses thigh and leg meat only in their preparation.  The result is an undeniably juicy soy and wine infused chicken.  The abundant use of garlic, ginger, and fresh basil is simply mouth watering.  Great with rice, great with beer... just so good.

Veggies! It just so happens that the three of us are on the same page regarding the vegetable consumption.  Loofah and clams (蛤蜊絲瓜) is a homey dish that we have all had during our childhood.  While more famously known for its body cleaning purposes, loofah is actually a squash like vegetable that, to me, is like a cross between cucumber and zucchini.  The fresh clams adds a seafood essence to the dish.

As the meal draws to a close, the yearning for heartier and more substantial fare grows.  Scrambled eggs and shrimp (滑蛋蝦仁) warmed us up and balanced out all the cold beer we had.  The greasy eggs and succulent shrimp provided a warmth that we really needed.  But even then, I'm pretty sure we drank some more.

There were two more dishes, but by this time in the meal, we had so consumed so many bottles of beer that it was not easy to recollect the names of the dishes... or even what we had eaten for that matter.  I would bank them being stir-fried seafood dishes though.  Cheers!

Until next time, get your drink on.  Let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

33區熱炒生猛海鮮 (Area 33 Quick Fry Seafood)
台北市中山區長安東路一段63-1號
No. 63-1, Chang An East Rd., Section 1, Zhongshan District, Taipei City

An equally authentic establishment in Los Angeles:
Uncle Yu's Indian Theme Restaurant
633 S. San Gabriel Blvd.  Suite 105
San Gabriel, CA 91776

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176. Taiwan Day 7: Tokyo Style Italian at Bellini Pasta Pasta / 日式義大利餐在 Bellini (Taipei: Da An District / 台北市: 大安區)

One of my favorite things about eating in Asia is the availability of fusion food.  The abundance of fusion fare comes not because the culinary world actually works to blend different cuisines but because it is almost inherently in their nature to do so.  The Japanese and Taiwanese especially have an affinity for Western cooking but use local ingredients to mimic dishes from their own culture.  These such blends are apparent in the dishes at Bellini Pasta Pasta, one of my favorite Asian inspired European restaurants, and I make a visit each time I visit Taipei. 

From spaghetti with shrimp tempura to sauce using squid ink or yuzu and mentaiko, there is a plethora of choices when it comes to Japanese-Italian fusion pasta.  One of my favorites is the spaghetti with shrimps & mushrooms in basil pesto sauce (羅勒青醬鮮蝦蘑菇起司麵).  At first glance it does not quite seem Japanese or Asian at all, but it does not appear to be authentic Italian either.  The creaminess of the pesto sauce, the use of full basil leaves, and the length wise cuts of the mushrooms create the Asian essence that the pasta exudes.  I love that toasted pine nuts and red chili flakes have been tossed in with the noodles already, and the sauce has a lightness that distinguishes it from other heavy cream sauces.

Since Japan and Taiwan are island nations, there is a heavy use of seafood in their traditional dishes.  This is reflected even in the fusion cuisine that they produce.  The pizza that we ordered, a mentaiko with calamari & tuna (和風明太子鮪魚中卷比起司薩), is another favorite.  The thin crust is toasty and crisp, and the cheese is light and does not take over the pizza.  The best part, though, is that nori is tossed over the top of the pizza right before serving.  With the tuna and nori combined, all that is missing is a bit of rice to make a sushi roll.  Yum!

We also ordered the Caesar salad, a beef carpaccio, oven baked clams & mussels, soup and desserts.  It's tough to contain myself here because all the dishes are made so well.  Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Bellini Pasta Pasta
台北市大安區忠孝東路四段98號4樓
No. 98, Zhongxiao East Rd., Section 4, Da An District, Taipei City
Bistro 98 Building, 4th floor
MRT: Zhongxiao Fuxing Station, exit no. 3 / 捷運忠孝復興站, 3號出口

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161. The One and Only Maruhide Uni Club (LA-South Bay: Torrance)

Happy new year, everyone out there in the blog world.  It is safe to say that 2013 was filled with moves on the career front, changes in my personal life, and discoveries in the culinary world that made the year quite memorable.  I can only hope that 2014 will be full of unforgettable moments as well.  Before we traverse across to the delicious things I've already eaten so far in the new year, I want to finish off a post from my birthday in November and a series of posts from my trip to Taiwan in July.

I had been eagerly anticipating the gigantic bowls of fresh fish, seafood and uni over rice for the longest time.  My bowl, in particular, was stocked with both salmon and tuna, scallops and sea cucumber, fresh, boiled and salted sea urchin roe, salmon roe, and sweet Japanese tamago.  It is a big, big, big bowl.  Come hungry, and come early before the massive lunch crowd arrives.  Thank you to Vickee, Kevin, and Brian for treating me out the entire weekend.  Maruhide Uni Club was a great start to my 28th birthday.  Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

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140. Tokyo - Tsukiji Outer Market: Early Breakfast at Bentomi Sushi / 寿司弁富 (Tokyo: Chuo-ku, Tsukiji / 東京都: 中央區, 築地)

Immediately following the tour of the tuna action, Ken and I went on a hunt for authentic Japanese rice and fish.  With the long lines at some of the most popular sushi restaurants, we selected a relatively busy spot that looked more traditional based on the lack of English and just a bit of racial profiling.  The menu at this spot featured Edo style sushi as well as donburi (丼), which is basically rice in a bowl with food covering it.  Thinking about Yoshinoya? Yup, those beef bowls are also considered donburi.

We each got donburi bowls filled with fresh tuna sashimi and other fish, seafood, and assorted deliciousness.  There were at least two grades of tuna, including both the more common maguro (マグロ) and the more fatty toro (トロ).

Mine consisted predominately of sea urchin (uni / うに), which is a personal favorite.  The freshness of the seafood was pretty much guaranteed considering that many of the restaurants from the Tsukiji Outer Market purchase their products directly from the wholesalers in the Inner Market.

Even the egg (tamago / 卵) was freshly made.  It could almost be described as buttery smooth even though I can almost guarantee that there was no butter used in the preparation.

I still could not believe that Ken and I were having sashimi for breakfast.  It was not even 7:00 in the morning yet.  This meal was definitely one of the highlights of my time in Tokyo.  Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

寿司弁富 / Bentomi Sushi
築地中央卸売市場内 8号棟/ Tsukiji Market Central Wholesale Building no. 8
東京都 中央區 / Tokyo Metropolis, Chuo Ward
築地 5-2-1-8-4 / Tsukiji District, 5 Chome 2-1-8-4

Bentomi opens at 5:00 a.m. every morning, and they are closed on Sunday.  For more pictures of our breakfast bowls, check out my Flickr set here.

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139. Tokyo - Massive Maguro: The Tuna Auction at Tsukiji Market / 築地市場 (Tokyo: Chuo-ku, Tsukiji / 東京都: 中央區, 築地)

Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market (東京都中央卸売市場), more commonly known as Tsukiji Market (築地市場), allows a maximum of 120 visitors to tour the world famous tuna auction each morning.  Registration for the tour begins promptly at 4:00 a.m.  These 120 spaces on the tour are coveted spots, and registration for each tour is only allowed on the day of.  As a result, tons of Tokyo tourists queue up at the tour office before the sun even rises.  In anticipation of this race to Tsukiji, Ken and I hailed a cab and set out to the market around 3:00 in the morning.

After putting our names down for the tour, we were herded into a waiting room along with the other tourists to await instructions and details about the auction.  Many visitors were sleepy, and some were still inebriated from the night's festivities, but there was a general buzz of excitement in the room.  We met some fellow travelers from America's Midwest that were just as eager to see the maguro.

The first group of 60 set off around 5:20, and the second group took off just shortly before 6:00.  We followed the guide directly to see the tuna auction in progress.  Several auctions were being prepared while we entered, and they were organized into sections around the warehouse.

Each section of the auction house has its own caller, and each of them have their own individual style and flair to the way in which they shout out the prices just like how our own American automobile auctioneers have their own unique method of calling out bid amounts.

As soon as the giant tuna is sold, it gets hauled away immediately, and the auction on the next fish begins.  That was the cue for us to leave too.  It was time for us to find a traditional Japanese meal of fish and rice.

Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

築地市場 / Tsukiji Market
おさかな普及センター/ Fish Information Center
勝どき門 / Kachidoki Gate
東京都 中央区 / Tokyo Metropolis, Chuo Ward
築地 6-20-5 / Tsukiji District, 6 Chome 20-5
晴海通り / Harumi-dori Street

See more pictures and video from the early morning auction on my Flickr set here.

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Post 104: San Diego Restaurant Week - Marina Kitchen (SD: Marina/Harbor)

San Diego Restaurant Week, an increasingly popular showcase of the best restaurant menus in the Whale's Vagina, came around once again this past January.  The week long event has been so frequented by both locals and tourists that it now happens twice a year.  The last time I dined at a SDRW restaurant, I was a recent Triton graduate.  Needless to say, it has been quite a while.  It was due time for a visit.

Fellow Triton alum Angela and I decided to try out the menu at Marina Kitchen, which is located inside  the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina right by the water.  Marina Kitchen stood out the most because its menu was one of the few that did not feature roasted beets or miso marinated fish, both of which seemed to be on every other SDRW menu.  For just 40 per person, we could piece together our own three course dinner.  And for an additional 25, the sommelier put together wine pairings to complement each course.  This is what we ordered.

Pre-course: Charcuterie.  Bresaola, coppa la quercia, la quercia speck, shaft's bleu, truffle gouda.
This was not on the Restaurant Week dinner menu, but Angela and I have been looking for a meat and cheese platter that bests the charctuerie from Bow & Truss that we had last fall.  Of the meats and cheeses available, the clear standout was the truffle gouda.  It was so smooth, creamy, and buttery that we wanted to take some home.  No joke.

Michael's first course: Sesame crusted seared ahi tuna.  Uni sauce, chili oil, micro arugula.
Wine pairing: Paul Goerg Champagne Blanc de Blanc Brut.  Champagne, France.

The crust was crisp.  The tuna was tender.  And the uni sauce was rich, creamy, and delicious.  I was glad that there was such a disproportionately large pool of uni sauce on the plate because it was just begging to be lathered up.

Angela's first course: Bresiola carpaccio.  Arugula, shaved toma, truffle oil.
Wine pairing: 2008 Biondi Etna Rosso Outis.  Mt. Etna, Sicily, Italy.

Michael's second course: Jidori chicken & black truffle pot pie.  Leek and Yukon gold potatoes.
Wine pairing: 2010 Equis St. Joseph Syrah.  Northern Rhone Valley, France.

I have loved pot pies since childhood, albeit it was usually the Marie Callender's pot pie that I loved until I came across the handmade pies from The Pie Hole, but I have cherished the compact little baked comfort food for quite some time.  Seeing that Jidori chicken was being used only heightened my curiosity for what was inside the pie's crust.  The black truffle was not as apparent in flavor, so perhaps a drizzle of warm truffle oil would have enhanced the taste.  But I still really like the fresh leeks and earthy potatoes in the pot pie.  The chef did a superb job at conveying a warm sense of comfort with the pie.

Angela's second course: Local seared diver scallops.  Stinging nettle sauce, Jerusalem artichokes, crosnes.
Wine pairing: 2009 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Prelude.  Margaret River, Western Australia.

When we were eating this I had no idea what nettles and crosnes were or what the difference was between a Jerusalem artichoke and the kind that is usually in my spinach dip.  But whatever the chef used to make the sauce and to top off the scallops was delicious.  Nettles, so I later found out, are those little screw like twists that somewhat resemble a mutilated escargot.  The scallops were cooked perfectly too... seared but still rare in the center.  It was an elaborate dish with a beautiful presentation... and it ended up being one of our favorite dishes of the meal.

Third course: Valrhona milk chocolate caramel candy bar.  Guanduaja chocolate center, white chocolate ice cream.
Wine pairing: Ramos Pinto 10 year Tawny Port.  Douro, Portugal.

Third course: Meyer lemon chiboust.  Blood orange, milk chocolate.
Wine pairing: 2009 Donnafugata Ben Rye Late Harvest.  Sicily, Italy.

We liked the white chocolate ice cream in the flower petal shaped cookie shell, and we liked the drops of blood orange too.  The carpaccio was not bad, but it would have been better if there was more meat to shaved cheese ratio.  At the end of the meal we still wanted to take the truffle gouda home.  It was that good.  The seared scallops and ahi tuna with uni sauce were definitely the highlights of the meal.

The next San Diego Restaurant Week will begin September 15 and will feature 180 restaurants.  Without a doubt I will head back down to Daygo to try out some more restaurants.  And I know food fanatic Angela will too.  Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

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Post 101: Peruvian in SF - La Mar Cebichería (San Francisco: Embarcadero)

Okay, enough talk about sweets and cupcakes.  Let's switch back to some real food.

Back in November my brother and I headed to San Francisco for a quick 24 hour trip.  Our parents had gone on their own weekend getaway, so we thought we would treat ourselves to our own trip too.  Our main goal was to eat.  And eat we did.  The highlight of our meals was lunch at La Mar Cebichería Peruana, an oceanfront restaurant specializing in Peruvian style ceviche.  My friend Diana who had recently returned from working abroad joined us.

As we sat down at a table on the patio we were presented with a bucket of chips.  Every occupied table in the restaurant had a complimentary bucket of this house made appetizer along with a duo of vibrantly colored dipping sauces.

There was a mix of crisp potato slices, sweet yam curls and plantain strips in the bucket, all of which tasted great with the dipping sauces.  The yellow sauce was made primarily of aji amarillo, a Peruvian chile pepper.  It was blended with oil, cheese, and crackers, surprisingly, which made it mildly spicy and creamy at the same time.  The red sauce was made with aji rocoto, a much spicier chile pepper, and vinegar, red onion, and garlic.  This sauce definitely burned my tongue a little bit, so the combination of both sauces created the perfect blend of heat for me.

What's a good meal without a good cocktail right? While the orders were being prepared, we ordered a number of cocktails, the first of which was a pisco sour.  This cocktail was made with pisco quebranta, which is an alcohol distilled from Peruvian grapes also known as Peruvian brandy, along with lime juice, simple syrup, egg whites and bitters.  I really liked that the ingredients were not just shaken together but that the bitters was splashed against the foamy egg white to paint an aesthetically pleasing picture.

Of the six different Peruvian cebiches on the menu, we ordered five of them.  It sounds a bit insane, but it did help that La Mar offered a tasting of four cebiches on the menu.  The first of the four was the cebiche clásico with California halibut, red onion, cilantro, habanero, giant Peruvian corn and yam in leche de tigre.  Also known as tiger's milk, leche de tigre is the acidic liquid, usually containing lime juice, that cooks the raw fish in the cebiche.  The classic cebiche was a great start to the meal.

The next cebiche we had was the cebiche mixto, which was a combination of Mexican yellowtail, calamari and shrimp.  Also mixed in was an aji amarillo leche de tigre, a spicier version of the classic tiger's milk, which gave the cebiche a more potent flavor.  The remaining ingredients of red onion, cilantro, habanero, Peruvian corn and yam were the same combination of ingredients in the cebiche clásico.  The highlight of the cebiche was the tender rings of calamari in the spicy marinade.

After the cebiche mixto, we tried the cebiche nikei, which was a play on Japanese flavors.  There was fresh tuna topped with red onion, avocado, Japanese cucumber, daikon radish, nori and sesame seeds.  The leche de tigre here was sweetened with tamarind, which was a successful way to represent the sweet and salty flavor that is characteristic of Japanese cuisine.  This was a favorite at the table.

The last of the tasting was the cebiche chifa.  This yellow cebiche had more flavors in Chinese cuisine such as peanuts, scallions, ginger, pickled carrots and daikon.  Strips of deep fried wonton skin and cilantro garnished the fish dish.  The sweet and sour sesame oil flavored leche de tigre rounded out the cebiche well.  I really enjoyed the crunchy textures and the rawness of the scallions and ginger.  We thought that it tasted like a sophisticated version of a Chinese chicken salad.

The cebiche tasting was so good that we decided to add on a full order of the cebiche barrio.  This variation of the classic cebiche was probably my favorite because it had some of my favorite seafood... yellowtail, mussels, clams, scallops, shrimp, and deep fried battered calamari.  The red onion and cilantro with the spicy rocoto leche de tigre provided a crisp freshness and spicy yet creamy flavor.  It reminded me of Sriracha mayonnaise used in many Asian fusion dishes.  I could have done without the cancha, the toasted corn nuts, but the fried calamari more than made up for the jaw breaking corn.

After a whirlwind tour through five unique cebiches, it was time for more drinks.  We ordered a bottled sparkling grapefruit beverage and the blood and sand cocktail.  Made with Dewar's scotch whiskey, blood orange, Heering black cherry liquor, and drambuie, this was more to our liking than the pisco sour.  We could taste the whiskey in the drink, which is quite important to some.  It was a bit stronger but also sweeter than the pisco sour.  The blood orange and black cherry liquor blended well to make an alluring cranberry color and a smooth and deep fruit flavor.  The swirling clouds on top of the glass really did make the drink look like blood and sand.

Since we ordered the tasting of cebiches, we thought we should do the same for the empanadas.  Although there were only three of us eating, we really did try to eat just about everything on the menu.  The quartet of deep fried deliciousness was served with the house panchita sauce, another condiment that had crackers and chile peppers in it.  That was the second sauce that was made by blending crackers with oil and chile peppers.  Our eyes were opened to new aspects of Peruvian cuisine.  It was not just lomo saltado anymore.

First, we had the empanada de aji de gallina, stuffed with a Peruvian chicken stew and aji amarillo sauce.  The chicken was shredded but not dry in the least, and the sauce made the inside very savory and hearty.  

Next, we tried the empanada de lomo saltado, and it was amazing.  The soy and oyster sauce flavored beef was beyond flavorful.  It blew my mind that an empanada could contain lomo saltado, a classic Peruvian dish of stir-fried beef and potatoes.  Seriously, amazing.  

There was also an empanada de k'apchi, which was stuffed with pisco flambéed crimini mushrooms.  The shell of this empanada was the crispiest out of the four, and the filling really warmed me up like only a comfort food can.  

The final one was the empanada de tomalito verde filled primarily with sweet corn and blended with queso fresco, cilantro, and more sauces.  The sweet corn had a consistency more like mashed potatoes and the sweetness of yams.  It was a smart way to finish off the four empanadas.

Another sampler round of Peruvian appetizers was on its way down to digestion, which meant that another round of drinks were to be ordered.  This time we decided on the house sangria at the server's suggestion.  We liked it because the taste of the wine was still prominent, but the fresh fruit was present as well.  Our glasses were quickly dried out.

Of all the items on the menu, my brother was the most excited for the anticuchos de corazón, grilled skewers of beef heart.  Knowing my brother he probably thought eating the heart of an animal was primal and masculine, and I guess in some ways it really is.  But after Diana chomped down on some of the grilled heart, I knew it did not seem as primal as it seemed.  Diana's palate is very, uh... how do I say... uh... ladylike.  Yes, ladylike.  So the tender beef muscle was not daunting.  The fried potatoes served with it were like rounds of flat potato wedges.  So fried and so delicious.  What's better than grilled meat and fried potatoes? Oh, and there was some seriously gigantic Peruvian corn piled on the plate too.  Gigantic.

Our stomachs were pretty packed by this time in the meal.  We had spent almost three hours at the restaurant by now, but there was still one more item that we wanted to try.  Peru is a country that is home to many Chinese and Japanese immigrants, and so much of its cuisine is influenced by the culinary cultures of China and Japan.  We wanted to taste some more of the Asian influence, so we ordered the rollo nikei.  We liked the flavors of the cebiche nikei so much that we chose a similar taste for the sushi.  The roll had dungeness crab inside with avocado and cucumber.  On the outside tuna tartar was dropped over the top of each slice, and crispy noodle strips garnished the entire plate.  I liked the mix of meaty and crunchy textures, but it simply just tasted good.

I was really looking forward to the end of the meal because I had noticed the neighboring tables being served little drops of purple sorbet on spoons.  They were actually spoonfuls of chicha morada sorbet.  It was icy.  It was sweet.  And it was made with Peruvian purple corn, strangely enough.  It was more pleasing to the eye than to the tongue, but it was not bad at all.  It, probably due to the color and the sweetness, sparked a unpleasant memory of Welch's grape juice from my elementary years.  But no matter it was an eye opening experience nonetheless.

La Mar was definitely a favorite meal during our quick trip to San Francisco.  And I was more than delighted to see an old friend who I had not seen in a long time.  Thanks Diana for braving the Sunday Embarcadero traffic for us and rushing us to the BART station in time to catch our flight for the airport! Just barely, might I add.  Oh, yes, and happy birthday, Brother.  Until our next quick trip, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.
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Post 77: Fun Size Korean School Food (LA: Koreatown)

My roommate recently introduced me to School Food Blooming Roll, a restaurant that makes food that Korean students would typically bring in their lunch boxes to school.  This concept is quite unique, so I was eager to gather some friends for some famous Korean fare.  We ordered School Food's two most popular dishes, a super spicy tteokbukki and an epic platter of nine different kimbap. 

The rice cake typically used in tteokbukki are tubular and cylindrical, but School Food serves their version in a shape more similar to marshmallows, tater tots or fun size Snickers bars.  It's as if the restaurant purposely cut the size of the rice cake down so that elementary school children would enjoy their lunches more.  Who doesn't like miniature versions of everyday food?

The flavor profile is not just spicy but a melange of sweet and spicy together.  The thick, crimson sauce from the first taste of the tteok is sweet, but the peppery spice penetrates the taste buds soon after.  This wasn't the spiciest tteokbukki I've ever had, but it was pretty damn close to it.  We all know that gulp after gulp of water doesn't help, but I think that the spiciness led to a bit of temporary insanity because that's all I did to relieve the pain of the spice.  It wasn't until I munched on the kimbap and the accompanying sweet mayonnaise that my tongue calmed down and my ears stopped ringing.

Our massive platter included the following types of rice rolls: beef, garlic and bacon, anchovies, squid and squid ink, smelt roe, Spam, tuna, spicy anchovies, and kimchi.  And just like the tteok, the kimbap were bite sized too.  Korean style rice rolls are usually bigger than Japanese style sushi, so it takes more than one bite (depending on the size of your nom) to munch on the entire thing.  Luckily, these itty bitty kimbap were junior sized, which meant that popping a rice roll into your mouth didn't require much effort.  Hmm... is this the lesson we want to be teaching in schools?

My favorite kimbap were the ones that had tuna, Spam, and squid ink wrapped inside.  The tuna and Spam weren't anything out of the ordinary, but the saltiness of canned tuna and canned lunch meat really complemented the neutral flavor of the white rice well.  Japanese sushi relies heavily on the freshest raw fish to taste good, and since Korean kimbap focuses on ingredients other than raw fish, I found that the stronger the flavor, the more I ended up liking the kimbap.  

The squid ink kimbap, on the other hand, didn't quite have a strong flavor.  In fact, the squid was subtly sweet, and the flavor of its ink didn't really shine.  We all liked it just because the rice was black, and it seemed almost like a novelty food item.  It was unique, and we have the evolutionary bodily function of a certain cephalopod to thank for it.

After seeing the dishes, I could really imagine Korean school children carrying the fun size versions of tteokbukki and kimbap to class.  The food wasn't amazing delicious, but it was definitely fun to eat.  It was almost like revisiting the school cafeteria to have some of those nostalgic chicken nuggets, fish sticks... or for those of us from AUSD... crispitos! By the way, where can we find crispitos? Simply reminiscing about those school lunches from the good ol' days isn't going to cut it for me.  I'm going to need to munch on some real crispitos real soon.  But until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

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