JOKBAL!!!
I have had a pig's foot before. It was light on the meat and heavy on collagen. Honestly, it was boring and hard to eat. In fact I didn't like it (that is a big deal coming from me). Jokbal was a world away from that. It was pig lover's heaven. Shit it was heaven for anyone with taste buds. I can't express the emotional response that sprung from me when I put that first slice in my mouth. The concept is simple: salt water poach a pig leg from foot to calf. Serve it with some refreshing and delicious side dishes, and cry with happiness.
My lovely did her homework, and took me to (arguably) the best Jokbal spot in all of Seoul. There is a street in Seoul famous for Jokbal. In other parts of town Jokbal restaurants are often named after the street that we had our amazing pig-splosion. On this street several restaurants claim they were the first. Our spot was one of them. Word on the street is this one was actually the original. No matter the origin this place was simple and better pork than almost anything I had ever eaten, and I have eaten a lot of pork. It almost beat out every piece of charceuterie I ever let melt in my mouth. Korea knows pig.
Most restaurants here specializing in a specific Korean dish lack pretension. Which is to say they are not fancy. In fact most of them have a utilitarian ambiance and, for example, the bathrooms are often shared between sexes or are around the block. You are here to eat amazing food, not feel chic.This is not a negative aspect of dining in Korea, but a compliment to the focus on food. God it was good.
Enough gushing, here is a picture of our two pork feat. Skin on; bones to gnaw on. The little old lady proprietor wondered around the restaurant and kept asking if I liked it. Not speaking Korean I motioned to her that I was crying because I was so happy.
Was missing your posts, hope to see some more soon!
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