This is for you, Rory!
In my In Seoul with Allison post, Rory left a comment, asking me to go eat "sam gyeop saal" and take a picture of it, so he could live vicariously through me. Rory was an English teacher in Kangneung, where Raswan and I used to work. He recently went back home to Australia and is now working and going back to school. Instead of "What Not to Do in Korea", Rory’s blog is now called, "What Not to Do in Australia."
"Sam gyeop saal" is roughly like bacon, but thicker and from a different part of the pig. When you eat sam gyeop saal in a restaurant, you have to grill it yourself at your table. Once done, the meat is placed on a lettuce leaf, and other things can be placed on top before consuming it. This can include rice, sesame oil with salt, three bean paste, garlic, mushrooms, kimchi, onions, hot peppers, or anything else according to your taste. Many foreigners don’t seem to like it because it’s really fatty. I, on the other hand, will happily consume most food… even better if it’s free. The following pictures are for… you guessed it, Rory. I’ll also happily take picture requests from other ex-Kangneung alumni.
Ras poses in front of a sign that says, "fresh sam gyeop sal", meaning that it’s not frozen.
Me, Lane, and Raswan. Mat is taking the photo.
A message from Ras for Rory. I printed this sign to be use for this special occasion.
We had a guy at the next table take a soju shot for you! Behind him is an advertisement for soju.
This group of 16 year olds also wanted to say hi to you too!
What a great meal! Wish you were here!
Oh fantastic, I nearly wet myself.
And now I feel hungry…
Gonna have to look in to a summer camp during my vaccation…
Definitely do a summer camp. I’m planning on doing one too.
Also… I’ve alrady received a request for pictures of dakalbi from Renee. Will work on that one in Seoul this weekend.
Awesome tribute. I miss relating to your sh*t Rory – being a foreigner in these crazy countries.
that looks like half frat party and half serious dinner. but it looks completely delicious
Your blog entries always make me “homesick” for Korea but this one nearly had me booking a flight reservation. If you post the dakgalbi pics I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold myself back. I still dream about that stuff, one of my top four foods for sure!