Happy Dol, Matthew!

It's my friend Linda's son, Matthew's dol today. 

So, I decided to dedicate this post to Linda, Sung and Matthew since we wanted to join the festivities in SF, but couldn't make it out...

So what is dol? 

Dol literally means 1st birthday in Korean. 

Dol was celebrated back in the day to rejoice in the baby's surviving the 1st year (since so many babies actually did not survive back then). To celebrate, the family would set up a huge affair with friends, family and neighbors. A dol table is set up with tons of food, most notably duk (rice cake), stacked up high, symbolizing health and prosperity for the baby in days to come. And everyone would shower the baby with gifts, and would take home the duk in return. 

One prominent (and fun) custom at the dol is the doljabi - where objects are laid out in front of the baby which represent different things in the future, like money for wealth, pen for life of a scholar, thread for long life, etc. And the crowd awaits what the baby chooses for his/her future - wealth, long life, etc. This custom has changed with the times, so now there are items like a computer mouse (for tech success, like Bill Gates), golf ball (to become a successful golfer), mini soccer ball (for EPL success) and whatever else that parents want for their offspring. 

Even though the modern era has brought advances in medicine and babies usually survive the first year, the custom is still widely celebrated in the Korean community both in Korea and out. In fact, I think I cannot think of anyone who has not had one and the dol celebration has actually become more elaborate in recent years, becoming almost like a wedding celebration (similar to bar mitzvahs), being held in hotels, banquet halls, restaurants.

Here are some photos of a dol table. Although these days the dol tables are typically bigger than this, this is one of the prettiest, traditional-looking dol tables that I have ever seen. 

Note the pretty decorations made of duk (rice cake)!

(images from my friend Youngsun's homepage. Guessing from her work, La Cuisine?)

Oysters in Seoul - part deux

Since it is Fat Tuesday, I give props to New Orleans for having good oysters and oyster dishes. But, after my oyster experience in Seoul, I would have to say that NO has nothing on Seoul. 

I already wrote about the perfect oysters that we came across on my first night. On the 3rd day, we came across an abundance of oysters that we have ever come across at Gul ma-ul (Oyster village) in Kangnam (fairly close to Seollung subway station). Let's just start off by saying that they have nothing on the menu that does not contain oysters. So if you don't like oysters, you are in trouble. But for those that love oysters like me, this place is a veritable heaven. 

Here's what we had. (Photos are from gulgul.kr since I forgot to take any pics here, but I can attest that the pics are pretty much the picture of what we had there)

We started out with the best of the best- raw oysters. Some on the half shell, some shucked into a big pile. The quality of these were on par with the ones we had at the Park Hyatt- the absolute BEST! Tasted oh-so-amazing. And in such an abundance. (See the mound in the middle? Probably 50+ small oyster pieces.) And the most amazing thing about the raw oysters here was the price. The huge plate of raw oyster---- drumroll, please----- approx $20. Unbelievable!

 

All the other things they did with the oysters were pretty outstanding as well (although my personal preference is raw). See their array of dishes. 

This is just the regular menu and they also had seasonal specials. Pretty amazing, huh ? And most meals were around $6~7. Since there were about 16 of us, we were able to order a variety. The sizzling oyster rice, the oyster soon-tofu, oyster duk-gook, oyster pancakes and the fried oysters. Everything was amazing, although my fav is still the rawww.

Were we oyster-ed out after this? You~ betcha~. But it was so good that I wanted more the next day. 

If you ever find yourself in Seoul and you love oysters, I would highly recommend this place. I think they also have quite a few stores throughout Korea. But I would recommend going in the winter. The raw oysters are only available in the winter. 

Gul Ma-ul (www.gulgul.kr)

Tel +82 2 568-3468

Kangnam-Ku Daechi 4 Dong 906, Seoul 

Oysters in Seoul - part 1

This past trip to Seoul was so short yet action packed. Everything now seems like a blur. The one thing that I will remember since it stands out so much from this past trip to Seoul is the quality and quantity of OYSTERS that I consumed. 

The first oyster encounter happened on our first night.  As mentioned in an earlier post, we arrived in Seoul at midnight and being tired, we decided to eat at the bar at our hotel (Timber house at the Park Hyatt Seoul).  Not many things were available as the kitchen was pretty much closed, so we ordered the oysters. We were somewhat doubtful as to whether the oysters would be fresh. After all, it was after hours. But boy were we surprised!! The oysters that we had might have been the best that I had ever had. (See pic. Sorry about pic quality.)

 I am not entirely sure what type of oysters they were. I think Korean oysters are a type of Pacific oyster? Tastes mineral-y like a Kumamoto, but much bigger and meatier. Maybe 85% size of a Bluepoint? 

The presentation was great too with the shell totally covered. And 3 sauces came on the side, a vinegar, a soy sauce based sauce and a vinegary Korean hot sauce (i.e. cho-kochujang).  No lemon or cocktail sauce.  Everything was so delicious.  Probably because the oysters were so fresh and flavorful.  My husband, Josh proclaimed it the best oysters he had ever had. And I had to agree. They were absolutely divine. 

We vowed to come back there for one more feasting, except that we found yet another place for oysters where the oysters were almost as good, but quite a bit cheaper. (Was not cheap at the Hyatt....) 

Part 2 of the oyster story to come...