Seoul Station
Stewed silkworms, Lotte-mart, Seoul Station.
A really, really, big piece of seaweed.
Lotte-mart, Seoul Station.
After our trip to Imjingang on the 10th of July 2005, we dropped by at the Lotte-mart in Seoul Station. It’s a supermarket chain run by Lotte, the chaebol known overseas mostly for its confectionary. I’ve written on Lotte’s greatness in the past. I derive no end of amusement from chaebols; I don’t know why. I think it’s just that I think staying in a hotel run by a company I commonly associate with sweets makes me think of the witch’s gingerbread house in Hansel and Gretel. And doesn’t anyone else have a problem with their money being managed by a sweet-maker? Okay okay I’m being absolutely biased here and I do understand the principals of the corporate veil, and how with a company as big as Lotte would mean that a salaryman in the financial department may never ever have to touch Lotte confectionary…but there you go. Shows you the power of first impressions.
Anyway, somehow after Imjingang we got to Seoul station. I can’t remember how we got there though o.o
It’s big, and it’s new, and it’s really cool. The inter-city trains come here, and it looks a bit like an airport on the inside. I remember being greatly amused by how the Lotteria fast food restaruant employed the same colour scheme as McDonalds, and how we were trying to withdraw cash from the Korean ATMs there (did Ray succeed? Can’t remember. This is why you need a credit card when travelling overseas :/).
Now, I always like going to supermarkets. Maybe it’s my obsession with food, but I really think checking out the local supermarket /wet market is one of the best ways of learning how the locals live. Do locals regularly visit the goongs/palaces? No. In fact Mokeun hadn’t been to Gyeongbokgung since he was …under 10? And Rob and Youngjung hadn’t been to Unhyeon-gung before. But everyone has to go to the supermarket reasonably regularly, right?
It would have been nice to check out the wet markets, but the supermarket is a good second place contender. I found Lotte-mart interesting. There was a wide variety of kimchee on sale (of course). I sampled quite a bit >:D
I bought the crispy seaweed I discovered in the Korean area of Tsim Sha Tsui as well as a packet of instant Naeng Myun for Jamie. I really love that crispy seaweed stuff. It’s made out of clumps of laver seaweed and is heavily seasoned with salt, sesame seeds and sesame oil. Some packets have more sugar than others, for some inexplicable reason. The packet I gave to Jamie was normal and salty (she finished it overnight xD), but the second packet was so sugary! To my great joy some asian grocery stores in Adelaide sell that seaweed. I’ve bought several packets, all of which had varying levels of sweetness. And they are all the same brand, and DEFINITELY are the same type. I mean, I didn’t see any difference in the product title that could indicate it was the “sweet” or “salty” version. And it doesn’t explain why some are so sweet and some are tolerable sweet. The only conclusion I can come up with is that they have terrible quality control at these seaweed factories. Oh yeah, and the Korean grocery stores in Boxhill, Melbourne sell that seaweed too.
I saw canned stewed silkworms at Lotte-mart too. Ugh. I’ve seen barbecued silkworms in Beijing, but the stewed silkworms bubbling away in the open pots in Imjingang definitely were worse. There’s this starchy smell that wafts off. And it just smells of boiled maggots. Ugh!!
Anyway, after our stopover at Lotte-mart, we took a taxi to Sinchon again and had a dish called Bossam Combo…
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