we visited the noryangin fish market on our last afternoon in seoul before heading south to daegu and andong. the fish market, located across a short pedestrian bridge from the noryangin metro station, proved to be an experience for all five senses. full of bartering fish mongers, salesmen, restaurateurs and housewives preparing for the evening's dinner, the market was definitely alive in more ways than one… fresh and saltwater tanks bubbled, teaming with varieties of groupers, snappers, flat fishes, eels, every type of shellfish and snail imaginable and an array of octopuses from 2" in length to some that must have weighed over 50#. some of the most interesting stalls were those selling stingrays. whole stingrays, weighing around 5-10# and prepared stingray sashimi platters made up their displays - something i had never seen before, not even in the enormous tsukiji fish market in tokyo, japan. the market made for an interesting afternoon and gave us a better understanding of korean cuisine.
after strolling the aisles for a while, alina and i decided that lunch was in order. again, unlike tsukiji, there was a limited number of restaurants around the market, so we made our way out into the neighboring streets to find a bite. after wandering around for a while, we stumbled upon a korean fried chicken and hof (beer) restaurant. we had heard lots of good things about korea's version of one of our favorites (being from kentucky and all…) so we thought it time to give it a try. we were not disappointed, crispy, spicy and piping hot from the fryer, the chicken uniquely korean while still reminding us of home. dried, ground red chiles (the same used for kimchi) gave the chicken a hefty bite while pickled diakon radish and a cabbage slaw provided cooling relief. seasoned salt and a version of sweet mustard were provided for dipping. delicious and cheap (6000 W or about $7.00), i am sure that we will find our way into another chicken and hof joint before heading to china. - david
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