When going out to Eat in a foreign country, there are often several problems that present themselves. Some countries, you might get lucky enough to be able to read the menus, other's one is not quiet so lucky.
This is basically how I've learned how to eat out in Korea. It can be extremely cheap--the restaurant I will be showing you is a (I think) a type called snack bars. These serve extremely cheap food. And are everywhere--just look for an orange awing.
You walk in and seat yourself.
Next is probably one of the most challenging things to do--well, you can make it challenging if you want to. I just accept my Waygook (foreigner) status and proceed to do my best.
The waitress will try and hand you a menu--but it's in all Korean. Completely. Luckily, everything is under 6,000 won so no matter what you order it won't be expensive. If you know what you want, you can ask for it. For example, today I was wanting some Ramen. So I said to the lady, "Ramen?" She nodded, said, "Ne" (which is "yes") and took the menu back.
Other times, I have no idea what I feel like. So, I try and get inspiration from the pictures. They literally turn into my picture menu. Here are the options for my menu at this snack bar.
I usually point to something and say, "Mah-she-sigh-yo?" trying to ask if it's delicious. They are pretty honest, usually shaking their head to indicate Yes or No. If now, they usually point to something they like. I usually get what they recommend--as long as it doesn't have obvious tentacles.
More likely than not, I do not know what I've ordered until it arrives at the table. And thats OK. I thought I would be able to really follow and learn what I'm eating, but it's pretty much (right now) a shot in the dark. And I can't communicate well enough to ask what the thing is called. I probably can figure that out pretty easily, but I haven't. It's on my list of things to do--which keeps getting longer and longer the more time I spend in Korea.
So far, haven't had too many complaints. I wanted to go to a place non-snack bar and asked Ms Kim about some restaurants. She was awesome and took me driving around my neighborhood. She even got out of her car at one point, poked her head into a place and proceeded to introduce me as "her friend" who was often hungry, lived around the area, and wanted to know if it was OK if I ate here.
These places are more (I think) BBQs where there is a burner inserted in the table. Usually you have to go in groups with these types of restaurants--which is why I was getting sick of snack bars and wanted some different types of food. Luckily, the place Ms Kim stuck her head in was super friendly, said "absolutely!" and now I know where I can get some hana-sized portions of sam-gyeop-sal (one-person-sized portions).
I am getting more used to the Korean food. I have found some favorites, which is encouraging. I have to make sure that I eat enough protein and try to stay away from the fried stuff. There are lots of fried foods in Korean culture, or things like pancakes that simply cannot be good for you. But...that's why one takes a vitamin, right?!
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