Last Updated on April 28, 2010 by Nancie

Here we are for another week of Wanderfood Wednesday kindly hosted by Wanderlust and Lipstick

Last Saturday found me in Seoul once again, and on another “foodie mission”. I attended the Korean Tasting and Tea Tour offered by Seoul Eats.

Tour description:
First, visitors will be taken to a Korean Restaurant to enjoy a custom tasting menu of over 20 different Korean dishes paired with several traditional alcohols. The dishes are small, so you can enjoy a range of different tastes, styles, and textures. While you are enjoying your food, the guide will explain the dishes you are eating and offer interesting tidbits of information about Korean history and culture. Our guides are experts in Korean culture and cuisine so you will be able to learn and eat at the same time.

After the tasting, there will be a brief walk around Insadong to show you where you can find the best restaurants, eateries, and bars that are off the beaten path.

Then you will go to a Korean teashop to have a tasting of several different Korean teas and learn about the tea culture in Korea while enjoying different tea snacks.

The afternoon, the food, and the tea were most enjoyable. Here are a some of the traditional Korean dishes that we sampled.

#1 Wild Sesame Seed Soup

This is probably one of the nicest soups I have ever eaten in Korea. Made with sesame seed, mushroom, onion, and tofu, I loved the soft creamy texture and subtle flavours.

#2 Green Salad with Soy Sauce Cooked Chicken

The greens for the salad were “wild” as in picked from the forest. These greens are only available at certain times of the year (like spring)and are for sale at traditional markets. The soy sauce gave the chicken a very distinct flavor.

#3 Totori Muk (Acorn Jelly)

Acorn jelly is often served as a side dish in Korean restaurants. By itself it’s not really that interesting. In this dish with the greens and the sauce it’s quite nice.

#4 Pork Dish (I never managed to write the name down.)

This was a very pleasant dish. What you do with this dish is take a piece of the kimchi (the white stuff),
grab a piece of pork, add some of the two other sides on the plate (red and black) (I didn’t catch the proper names.) Then add a bit of salted shrimp. Koreans believe that pork and shrimp go well together.
This dish is full of flavors that delight the taste buds. I definitely want to try this again.

#5 Pumpkin Porridge and Water Kimichi

Next up were these two soups. The pumpkin porridge/soup is served hot. The soup is creamy and very thick. Personally, I’m not a fan of this soup. However, if you like pumpkin, give it a try. The kimchi water soup is more to my liking. The flavour is a bit tart. This is a wonderful soup for a hot summers day.

#6 Wild Vegetable Rice

I loved this dish. The rice and vegetables are wrapped in a lotus leaf, and then steamed. The steamed rice is a little chewy, and although steamed, almost appears to be roasted. This rice is so yummy!

The Korean Tasting and Tea Tour is a perfect introduction to traditional Korean food. The price is a little bit more than the average budget traveler may want to spend (Approx. $80./head). However, if you are foodie, and can afford a splurge, then go for it. Contact Dan at Seoul Eats.

Next week I’ll talk about the tea tasting part of the tour.

Restaurant’s garden……………….

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