It’s actually really cool. You walk into the restaurant, take off your shoes and sit on cushions on the floor. Once you order, your waitress/ waiter brings you about ten different side dishes, one of which is inevitably kimchi (pickled cabbage in a spicy red sauce). They’re all about communal dining here, which is awesome, because it saves you money and you get to try many dishes, in addition to the ten or more side dishes. Granted, it may also be how I contracted the Korean plague (see last post).
Back to the galbi.
Seeing as it was my first galbi experience, they opted to take me for beef galbi. It also comes in pork. Pork is the most common meat here, with beef and chicken being more expensive. So I was getting the good stuff.
We get to the restaurant, take off our shoes, sit on our cushions and order our galbi. And our soju (liquor). And our mekju (beer). Well, Kyle does, seeing as he can do it in Korean. It is then that the side dishes begin to make an appearance. There’s kimchi and soup, corn and salad, this crazy scrambled egg dish (which Caitlyn loves) and several other yummy additions to our meal. And then they bring out crab in a deliciously spicy-looking sauce. Kyle and Caitlyn stare at it in amazement. Apparently this is a new thing. “We must be at one high class galbi place,” someone states. We don’t have much more opportunity to stare at the crab, as it is then that the waitress brings out the galbi. Which is raw beef.
Let me add that in a galbi restaurant, there’s a grill built into your table. I have the Korean plague, not Korean e.coli.
So we’re cooking our galbi and eating our side dishes when Kyle and Caitlyn decide to try the crab. They each pick one up with their chopsticks and Kyle bites in, murmuring “hmmm, softshell” as he’s doing it. Immediately, Caitlyn follows suit. Kyle swallows. Caitlyn swallows. “I think it’s raw,” says Kyle. “Definitely,” replies Caitlyn. Each puts down the remainder of their crab. “I don’t think you’re supposed to eat raw crab. We’re probably going to die.” Kyle suggests trying to kill any possible bacteria by drowning it in soju. It seems like a good idea. I join in.
At this point, I’m laughing pretty hard, secretly gleeful that I’m not into soft shell anything and therefore did not partake in the eating of raw crab. So gleeful, in fact, that as I wonder why I’m having so much trouble grabbing the galbi with my chopsticks (a skill I have recently mastered and been gloating about for days) I look down only to realize that I’m holding them upside down. Out comes the nice waitress with a fork. So much for gloating.
At the same time, the owner has noticed that Caitlyn has put some onions directly on the grill. This, apparently, is a huge “faux pas”, as he quickly gets us a little dish and proceeds to put all of our onions back into it.
Now Kyle starts to laugh, and flail a little (I’m guessing from the soju...) and he knocks the entire bowl of salad off of the table. Along comes the nice waitress to tidy it up. Thankfully, by this point in time, we’re about ready to leave. We pay our bill and, as we leave the restaurant, I proudly state, “Wow! I just can’t wait to get back to New York!”
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