Lunchtime in Seoul (서울)!
We are having lunch today at like four in the afternoon because we've been out sightseeing.
So we are starving.
So so hungry.
And today we're going to be having Samgyetang (삼계탕).
Did I pronounce that right?
Samgyetang (蔘鷄湯).
Yep.
There you go.
And this is a Ginseng Chicken soup and Sam has ordered a variation of the dish so he's
having Ginseng Chicken Porridge (삼계탕죽).
So we're going to show you what those two dishes look like.
So because this restaurant specializes in Korean Ginseng chicken.
There is actually five different ones you can choose from so let's take a look at the
menu.
And you have the one we ordered is supposed to be good for you health.
Now there is another one that is good for beauty.
For beauty.
How come you didn't order that one Sam?
I've been looking a little scruffy these days.
You know what?
I think I could use a beauty enhancement more than anyone else.
A beauty enhancing soup.
Oh my gosh.
And then there is of course the Juk (죽) one.
The Korean porridge version of that.
And I've never had Samgyetang porridge (삼계탕죽) so that is going to be really interesting.
I can't wait to try that one.
Ooh.
Gamsahamnida.
Look at that.
Still bubbling.
Gamsahamnida.
So the coolest thing just happened with our meal.
Like we were planning on ordering the Ginseng Wine which is called Insamju (인삼주) and
she just brought it over as service.
For free.
It is like read my mind.
That is awesome.
So we have some Ginseng wine to compliment the Ginseng soup and Ginseng porridge.
Let's have a taste.
So let's try that Insamju (인삼주).
It doesn't have a strong smell.
Does it taste like medicine?
Or is it pleasant?
Oh wow.
Let me have another sip.
It really tastes like nothing.
Nothing else I've ever had before.
I'm trying to think of a comparable.
It is a little bit fruity, little bit sweet.
It doesn't have a strong alcohol taste and it also doesn't have that strong of a ginseng
taste to be honest.
It tastes hints of it but it is kind of fascinating.
He's fascinated.
Interesting.
So my Samgyetang (삼계탕) has arrived.
Check it out.
So since it is for one person you obviously don't get the whole chicken but if you were
ordering a family sized one the chicken would actually be stuffed with rice and garlic so
I have a smaller portion.
I still there is some inside.
Yeah.
Maybe not much though.
Sometimes it comes with jujubes as well.
Yeah.
So yeah, it is like a very light broth.
It looks like chicken soup when you have a cold.
Yeah.
I know that it is considered one of the healthier dishes that you can have in Korea.
Oh.
It has a lot of health benefits associated with it.
And look at this there is like a teabag but I think it is probably filled with spices.
Yeah.
Look.
That is pretty cool.
That is going to make the broth super flavorful.
And it is a thicker broth.
Is it?
Yeah.
Mmmmm.
That is nice.
How do you like that?
It has a lot of spices.
I mean lots of new spices for me.
A quick question is this your first time to try this?
I had it once before many years ago.
So and it has been a long time for me too.
Yeah.
But this isn't bad.
What do you think?
It is nice.
I like it.
I think I got some of the chicken breast here.
So I'm just going to break it apart.
The chicken still has the skin on it and bones.
Plop that on the plate.
Oh, lots of bones.
Oh my.
Be careful.
I know this is going to be tricky with chopsticks.
How am I going to manage?
Hahaha.
The true test.
Has Audrey mastered the use of chopsticks.
Let's see.
Duh duh duh.
Let's pick out the bone.
This is the wishbone.
Oh my gosh.
So do you want to make a wish?
Let's break that.
First you try some of the chicken and then we'll do that.
Let's save that for later.
Let's put it here.
Save it here.
Oh my, so much going on.
There is so much excitement here.
Okay.
Yeah.
It is a good meal.
I like it.
Chicken nice and tender?
Mmmmm.
Super tender and you know what the food came out so fast.
I think they probably are just working on it before anyone shows up you know.
Because it was here right away.
Yeah, we're not eating at a typical dinner time so maybe they were getting it ready for
the dinner crowd.
For the dinner crowd yeah.
Maybe it was leftover from lunch.
We're kind of in between the lunch and dinnertime.
So Sam here ready to dig in?
Yeah, let's check out what the Juk (죽) form looks like.
Okay so you can see that it is a lot thicker than mine.
Yeah, it is very thick.
So I'm going to give that a good stir.
Yeah.
And you can tell that the chicken has already been de-boned.
I can of like that.
It is less work for you.
Yeah, less work.
So let's try that.
It looks really hot.
Piping hot.
I'm going to blow on it.
Don't burn yourself.
I also noticed yours had um black sesame seeds on top.
Mmmmm.
How is that?
Oh, wow.
That is delicious.
Yeah?
Yeah.
It has got like it is such a thick juk (죽) like broth.
The porridge-y broth and then I really taste a lot of the tastes like the shredded chicken
and then I think I had something like pine nut in there.
Oh, so that was really tasty.
Nice.
Look at that.
Going in for another bite.
Yeah, and it is just a really nice meal to be having in autumn when it is cool out.
Good stuff, huh?
I'm a big fan of this.
I have to admit.
I wasn't coming in with the highest expectations but this has won me over.
Okay, so we are going to swap dishes.
Sam is going in to my bowl.
So I've been able to located where the rice is in the middle of the chicken.
Oh la lah.
So that is going to be my first bite.
Rice has been located.
Oh, that is some special rice.
It has got a flavor to it.
It is not plain and it is extra sticky.
Extra glutinous.
Yeah.
That is just delicoius.
I'm loving it so far.
That is cool.
And you know what else I noticed?
Since this is more of a simple dish they've also given us a sauce over here.
Yep.
I think that is a ssamjang sauce (쌈장) and it looks like we also have kimchi (김치)
and we have peppers.
Want to try some of that?
Yeah, I'm going to try some of that with chicken.
Okay.
Okay, time to try some of the chicken.
And I don't know if you're supposed to do this but I am putting it in to the ssamjang
(쌈장).
That is how you're doing it.
That is how we're rolling.
I'm sure we could probably just plop some of it in the soup as well.
So that has got red pepper paste and also soybean paste.
So it should be a little bit of spice.
Mmmmm.
Wow.
Yeah.
It really tastes good with the ssamjang sauce (쌈장).
.And that chicken is really tender.
I know.
It is so good.
Now I'm going to taste the porridge.
The juk (죽).
So look at that.
A lot thicker.
It looks like there is some nuts and seeds in there.
Alright.
You're going to like this.
I just have a feeling.
Mmmmm.
Isn't that good.
Oh my.
The pine nuts.
That is where the magic is happening.
Isn't that good?
What a nice addition.
And you know what?
I think I also had a raisin in there.
Yeah, that might have been a raisin or it might have been the jujube.
Kind of like a date.
Mmmmm.
Tasty?
It is really good.
I think I may like yours better.
Hahaha.
Of course you do.
I always order the best one.
You do.
Time for the wishbone break session.
Make a wish.
One, two, three.
Wait, I haven't made a wish.
I forgot to make a wish.
One.
The wish.
One, two, three.
Uh.
Try again.
One, two, three.
Oh, you got the long end.
I got the wish.
What is your wish?
Well, I can't tell you.
Hahaha.
Don't worry it is good for both of us.
I hope so.
Boop.
Alright, so we are done at this point.
That was a very filling meal.
And I have to say like I am sweating profusely from this.
And I remember when I tried this in the summer like many years ago I was doing the same thing.
I was sweating even more but this is definitely a kind of meal that makes you sweat afterwards.
It is just piping hot and just the types of ingredients they have.
But anyways on to price point.
So it was both of these dishes were thirteen thousand Won (원).
So in total twenty six thousand.
₩26,000 KRW.
Which is about roughly twenty two, twenty one US dollars.
So it was good value.
I mean we're leaving full.
It is not as cheap as some of the other Korean soups or stews but when you consider the ingredients
involved - the ginseng, the chicken and whatnot you can see why it is is a bit more expensive.
But definitely something we highly recommend and we came here not sure if we were going
to like it or not and we're leaving big fans.
I think we would come back again soon if we can.