Japan and Korea
Countries #1 and #2 (Japan and Korea)
Jeju (Japanese and Korean)
College and Olive, Fort Collins
Went with Justin and Caroline for lunch
Charlie: Chicken Curry Don, tuna sushi
Rachelle: Bulgoki
Justin: Chicken Teriyaki, sushi
Caroline: Dynamite, sushi
appetizer: Edemame
Rachelle asked Charlie if he wanted to treat Justin and Caroline to lunch before they headed off to Korea, and Charlie thought it was a good idea, and decided to let them pick where to go. Caroline wanted sushi, so Jeju it was, as Jeju is the closest sushi place to the apartment and Rachelle cannot walk very far due to still recovering from mono. Besides, Charlie and Rachelle had been meaning to go there
for a while.
The atmosphere in the restaurant wasn’t very Asian, as they were playing crazy American covers of jazz songs over the speakers and showing a talk show on the televisions. One thing that added to the atmosphere was a cooler on the counter by our table that had all sorts of different fish used in sushi on display.
Charlie and Rachelle decided to order something from Japan and something from Korea and share with each other to get two countries in one meal.
All four of us each got a bowl of Miso soup, which is a traditional soybean-based Japanese soup with tofu, nori (which is like seaweed), scallions, and negi (welsh onions). The soup was very delicious.
Rachelle can’t use chopsticks, so she luckily had her chopstick helper cheater things to aid in eating. One of the goals of this food eating thing is for her to learn how to use chopsticks correctly.
As an appetizer, we ordered edamame, which is boiled soybeans in pods with salt on them. Rachelle had never eaten them before, but everyone thought they were tasty, and we all ate through them very quickly. Justin’s comment was, “It was good, it was edamame, but…couldn’t they have put salt on more than 3 or 4 pieces?!”
Caroline and Justin ordered a bunch of sushi, and Charlie ordered two tuna sushi as well. Apparently, the California rolls were very good, and the others were as well.
The Korean-bound couple also ordered some Chicken Teriyaki, but Caroline discovered she really wasn’t in the mood for it. Justin thought it was blah, until all the meat and veggies were gone and just rice remained, and then it wasn’t worth it anymore. The sauce just kind of sat there and the chicken just wasn’t up to par.
The Chicken Curry Don was a disappointment. It did not have nearly have as much curry flavor as we expected, and it really wasn’t worth eating. Charlie says, “It was a waste of chicken.”
Both Charlie and Rachelle ate more of the Bulgoki, which was, in contrast, very flavorful and nomable! It had sliced sirloin with various veggies, including mushrooms, which Rachelle immediately discarded, much to Charlie’s delight. Caroline tasted the pickled radish and didn’t have much to say about it. Overall, the bulgoki was
very, very good. We think it was cooked in a wine-based sauce with some soy sauce mixed in as well. It came with a bowl of rice which Rachelle mixed in with the meat and veggies. The bulgoki was definitely the highlight of the meal.
Caroline decided to order a dynamite to replace the teriyaki. Dynamite is made of the leftover parts of fish that can’t be used in sushi. Caroline commented on how good it was, and offered to share it with the rest of us. Charlie and Justin were pleased by this offering. Rachelle hates seafood, so she avoided the dish like the plague and used the time to perfect her edemame eating skills and play around with the
chopsticks.
By the time the rest were done eating the dynamite, Rachelle managed to pick up a carrot slice and a piece of onion with unaided chopsticks, much to everyone’s amusement. “I’m going to learn how to use these things yet!” she said.
Overall, Jeju was a great place to start Charlie and Rachelle’s around the world food eating journey, especially since they had never been to Jeju before.