Traditional cuisines to savor at the World Fair
Published: 13 Jul. 2012, 18:56
Jeolla cuisine has long been considered the best in the country in terms of its sophistication, variety and flavor. Yeosu dishes are the perfect exemplification of the provincial classics, with a few twists of its own.
Gejang, or seasoned raw crab, is a traditional Yeosu dish. As saying goes: Yeosu meals start with ganjang (soy sauce) gejang and ends with yangnyeom (seasoned) gejang. There are other types of gejang such as soybean paste gejang and chil gejang, or gejang with grounded crab.
A cluster of restaurants specializing in gejang is located in Bongsan, eastern Yeosu. Local buses numbered 2, 5 or 18 stop by the Sinmyeong Discount Store Station near the restaurants.
Ssambap, or rice balls eaten with meat and wrapped with vegetables, is available everywhere across the country, but this seaside city provides more options for meat including mackerel or sardine. Local buses Nos. 80, 333, 555 and 777 will take you to the Yeoseo-dong Residents’ Center near Yeosu City Hall adjacent to the Ssambap restaurant cluster called Ssambap Geori.
Jangeo, or eel, is favored as a healthy, invigorating food by many Koreans, and Yeosu is one of the best places in Korea to taste the dish. Practically any recipe you can think of made with eel will be served in Guk-dong Jangeotang Hoejipgeori, a street with raw eel restaurants in Guk-dong near Dolsan Grand Bridge.
Seodae is a kind of flat fish that Yeosu is gearing up to make a representative Jeolla cuisine. Seodaehoe, or raw seodae, tastes similar to sliced raw skate. Seodaehoemuchim, or seodaehoe seasoned with vinegar and vegetables, is recommended to be eaten together with cooked rice, makgeolli and dolsan gat-kimchi.
Dolsan gat-kimchi is a kind of kimchi originating from Dolsan, an island south off mainland Yeosu.
The city is also famous for Daegu and noraemi (greenling) soup.
If you want to taste a whole variety of famous Jeolla foods added with Yeosu flavors at once, head to Eumsik Tteukhwa Geori, a street specializing in the cuisine in Jwasuyeong, near the Yeosu Port Passenger Terminal.
For those who love various hoe (raw fish) dishes, visit Hoe Town in Dolsan or Soho, southwest of the mainland Yeosu area.
Beginning on June 30, the city is operating shuttle buses commuting between the Yeosu Expo site and the famous food streets in Yeosu. They are running between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., and 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
By Moon Gwang-lip[joe@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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