I hated Korean food when I was younger. I can't stand the pungent smell that emanates from the petri dish of fermented chinese cabbages and dried capsicums. I never understood then that it was a culmination of Korean cuisine tradition and culture for centuries and that it actually tasted good -if done right.
See, I tried to buy kimchi from someone near my place months ago. I bought 2 kilograms of the stuff since it was a lot cheaper compared to the original place that I buy it from (which was authentically Korean made).
Anyway, they were proud of their product, the container even had fancy stickers with Hangul texts to make it look legitimate. I was so excited when I arrived home, grabbed a fork and tasted the motherfucker. I spat some of it out because it was sweet! Why was it sweet? It wasn't supposed to taste like candy! It was an abomination, a Filipinized, bastardized version of the kimchi that I love (we should've stopped at spaghetti.) The seller even messaged me asking for a nice review or feedback and I did not respond back because I was seething with anger for she wasted my money and time. A few weeks ago, she messaged me if I wanted to buy some more.
"sir, bili po kau uli? gbu po :)"
I let her know that I've seen her message through that small "seen" text on Facebook chat. I let it steep for a day or two, then I blocked her altogether from messaging me completely. I hope she got the message.
Today, all-you-can eat Samgyeopsal restaurants have started sprouting left and right like your typical fastfood joints. This was how I acquired my liking towards Korean food (others acquire it through k-pop and k-drama lol) Some would say this is usual but I'd like to let you know that I'm interested to recreate and learn more about their food and cuisine in general. With the help of Youtube videos, I have began cooking the easier types of Korean food at home if the ingredients are accessible. That's how I ended up watching and salivating to Koreans eating their traditional food at 2 in the morning.
I just bought an electric grill a week ago, maybe chopsticks should be next.
