So, after the pool, we headed over to "Sam Won Jung" in Jungmun for some "ddong dweji". Dweji means pig in Korean and ddong.... Hmm... I will leave it to your imagination of what it means. One hint, it's what dogs and pigs apparently eat.....
Usually, we get "samgyeopsal" which means three layers of fat. What we got in Jeju was "ohgyeopsal" which means five layers. I know it doesn't sound healthy but who said tasty food is always healthy? Plus, the key is to consume in moderation. No one asked you to eat ohgyeopsal every day until you get "muffintop" as your middle name! The food was good and reasonably priced. The best part was the service. It was warm and friendly. The moment they saw Changunnie, they served a bowl of white rice and miyuk gook without extra charges (and before knowing what we would order) to settle the little one. They didn't frown at all when Changunnie decided to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for everyone. In fact, one of the ajumah went along and they sang ABC together.
Talking about the miyuk gook, gotta share the recipe I learned. Usually, people fry up some garlic and minced beef to form the base of a miyuk gook. It's more milky and salty as a result. In Jeju (the one that Changunnie absolutely loves!) was made without any meat and is clear like a consomme. Instead of using meat, Jeju people use daishima (or Kombu in Japanese) and myul ji (anchovies) as base and then add miyuk and salt. It has a natural sweetness from the daishima. It's not difficult to make at all and can be used as soup base for other dishes.
The food arrived when Changunnie was having her miyuk bap. The cut of the pork was thick, at least 1cm thick, nothing like the stingy ones in HK. I was too hungry and completely forgot about taking any pictures of the pork. All I can say is despite the 5 layers of fat, all we got was collagen and the part closest to the skin was like jelly fish with pork fragrance.
They have Jeju makgeolli. It's a white unrefined rice wine traditionally drank by farmers. If I get to drink it all the time, I don't mind being a farmer. The taste is like sool bak or the white sugar pudding in Chinese (bai tang gao)
We had two orders of pork and that didn't empty out my wallet (and I left most of my cash in the safe at the hotel). A place that I recommend especially after another ohgyeopsal meal later on last week.
After the dinner, we walked next door to a local produce shop to buy oranges. There are two types of famous oranges in Jeju, the mandarin orange (like the Japanese mekan) and the Hallabong (big like a small pomelo). It was a good first day!
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