Korean Food Experience

At Amherst, I have befriended many international students. In fact, both my freshman and current roommate are Korean, and they have exposed me to parts of Korean culture that really interest me, in particular, food. Though dealing with the smell of kimchi in my room last year was not too pleasant (this only happened a couple of times), I have enjoyed learning about and eating more Korean food with my roommates.

Over Thanksgiving, my current roommate and I, along with a couple of other friends, went to Bann, a Korean restaurant in New York City. I ate delicious Korean barbecue, which definitely converted me into a Korean food fan. My chicken barbecue came with spinach miso soup, potato pancakes, salad, cucumber salad, a mystery side dish (meaning, I didn’t know what it was), and of course, the dreaded kimchi.

Korean barbecue lunch: potato pancakes, kimchi, cucumber salad, unknown, salad, spinach miso soup, chicken barbecue, rice

I tried to put my dislike for kimchi aside, and try it (hesitantly, I might add). Much to my surprise, the kimchi wasn’t half bad. Don’t get me wrong here, kimchi is not the first thing I will order when I go to a Korean restaurant, but I am beginning to see why it is a staple in the Korean diet. (There is an emphasis on beginning to – I still do not fully comprehend the popularity of kimchi). You might say that I have become more accepting of kimchi.

I have gone with both of my Korean roommates on food tours in my home city (New York), and this summer, I plan on visiting Seoul, Korea to get the full experience of Korean cuisine, which may even include kimchi!