Beef Soup for the Korean Seoul

In the last week I have been feeling a little uneasy about the cuisine here. My cold has kept me from being able to indulge in the spices in the food that I crave. Yesterday Dr. Yu, my director, invited me to a teacher luncheon at a traditional Korean restaurant. I had no enthusiasm as I haven't found any food to blog home about. My fellow teachers and I took cabs to the restaurant and as I stepped inside to kick off my hemp sanuks at the door, I smelled magic. I did not know what the smell was that was making my mouth salivate but I wanted a taste immediately.

The luncheon it turned out was not only for the western teachers but for the Korean as well, to top it off I met my boss' boss. As Erica and I sat cross legged on the floor with the leather cushion serving as our chairs, the fun was about to begin. They bring a giant pot over and four people share the pot and the table. First they fill the broth with a small amount of mystery meat and then begin chopping up huge fresh pieces of spinach, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, bok choi and many other veggies. Next to our cauldron of crazy is a stack of very thinly sliced sirloin. As we waited paitently for the veggies to cook, we dropped in the beef. From there its a feeding frenzy as Kim, Erica and I took to the Asian stew like pigs at a trough. Everything I was eating had the most incredible flavor with perfect seasoning and spice. I was in Asian food heaven. Oh and did I mention the University pays for these outings?? Of course had we come on our own the three of us would have only paid collectively less than thirty dollars US, I'm really starting to love this country....