eating around insadong

we relocated to han hung motel, a quaint little motel in the insadong district. it looks like it will be a great place to spend a few nights while we are exploring seoul. after settling in, we took a walk around the area and got a chance to sample some of the street vendor's offerings. one snack definitely showed how cultures are melding, even when it comes to food. alina and i affectionately started referring to it as the 'fish cake corn dog,' a small sausage rolled in a freshly prepared fish paste and deep fried. in true american fashion it was served complete with ketchup and mustard. a little further down the street we found these little mochi flour fritters filled with a brown sugar and peanut mixture, making for a molten hot filling dripping on our hands, sleeves and lips… a little further south, we found our way into namdaemun market, an expansive collection of vendors selling everything from sweaters and socks to chopped, smoked ham hocks and bibimbap. it was enormous and a little over whelming - I don't think either of us thought it would be so big. after getting lost in the alleys for a while we made our way back to a little mandu, or dumpling, restaurant. for all practical purposes, mandu are basically just like Japanese gyoza. the exception to this is the filing that the korean version uses is fiery hot with chiles, kimchi and ground pork. they were served with shoyu and pickled diakon radish - a nice balance to the spiciness. the walking and snacking, capped off with a few sips of soju, korea's version of vodka, and a hot shower made for a nice long nap before hitting the streets for dinner… - david