SOME of my Korean classmates way back in college several years ago introduced me to Korean food. It was an experience that left a lasting impression. Since then, some college friends and students have joined me over some spontaneous craving for the "anything Korean" on lazy Thursday food trips after class or work hours.
The culture shock is still fresh with every explosion of Kimchi that comes with our favorite Ramyun (noodle) dish somewhere in downtown Angeles City or in the food strip of the Friendship Highway near Clark Freeport.
Koreans, for their thirst to learn English at a cheaper price and for other mysterious or multitude of reasons, have invaded Angeles City. And like most foreigners who have contributed their individual marks on continental Angeles City (e.g. the Americans for the business atmosphere and white-skinned Kapampangan half-breeds), the Koreans have brought with them their food culture.
Colonizing the area near Clark Freeport from the early 2000 with businesses selling everything Korean - from toiletries to toothpicks - it did not take long for Korean restaurants to also open shops in the city. Fortunately, a restaurant near the university offering Ramyun (Korean noodle) was also established.
If there is anything that is universally appealing to other cultures when it comes to Korean food, it would always be their noodles and, of course, served with the popular-Kimchi. Kimchi, also spelled gimchi or kimchee, is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings, most commonly referring to the spicy baechu variety. Kimchi is the most common Korean banchan, or side dish, eaten with rice.
In downtown Angeles City, there are two restaurants owned by Koreans but being managed by Filipinos offer affordable Korean food. They also sell Korean items and food ingredients.
The nice thing about Korean noodles is that it is blended with flavors depending on the region where the dish originated. At a price of less than P50, one can enjoy a bowl of beef noodles and a generous serving of Kimchi. The Kimchi opens the mouth for the flavor of noodles. It serves as an aphrodisiac - that whenever we eat the Kimchi first, the taste of the noodles becomes more refined. Eat it in between slurps of the noodle soup and the taste becomes too foreign, oriental to taste but pleasing, nonetheless.
My Korean friend Kim Min-Young, a perpetual assignment and project partner in college, said that Kimchi is in the list of top five "World's Healthiest Foods" for being rich in vitamins, in aiding digestion, and even possibly retarding cancer growth. Eating Kimchi is like ingesting Korean culture.
No Kapampangan food, or Filipino food for that matter, is similar to Kimchi in taste and texture. But it never tasted good for me without the noodles. Eating Korean food is always accented with side dishes. Much like their culture, Korean food is a conglomerate of taste and detail. (IOF)
