It's no secret: I love Korean food. Bring me a meal that's colourful, spicy, and includes a few free sides of kimchi, and I'm a happy gal. So you can imagine the illiterate frustration I experience when forced to bypass the rows of intriguing restaurants overflowing with Korean patrons each day, in favour of a safer option known for its English small-print at the bottom of the menu.
It's one of the downfalls to living in a country where you don't speak the language: simple, everyday tasks (like ordering from a restaurant menu) become an ordeal. It's amazing the things you take for granted in life. I long for the independence to sit down in one of the popular 'local' restaurants and peruse the delicious options until something catches my eye.
This weekend my frustration got the better of me; I decided I'd had enough. No more will I base mealtime decisions around my literary capabilities: I want to try something new darnit! So on Sunday afternoon while walking home from a Dilbert-free gym session, I committed to a new little philosophy called: point, and hope for the best!
It's pretty straightforward really. If I want to eat at a restaurant that offers no English menu or English speaking-staff, I simply accept the fact that I won't know what I'm ordering. I just walk in, point to a random item on the menu, and wait.
I've done it twice already this week, and so far it's working out quite well. On Sunday I enjoyed a delicious bowl of bubbling hot spicy beef soup (or...I hope it was beef) with various sides of kimchi, garlic, and hot chillies for seasoning. Yesterday I popped into a restaurant beside my school for some sort of vegetable stew with an egg on top, accompanied by six sides of kimchi, seaweed strips, and various other seasoned vegetables.
I'm aware that this approach may not always work in my favour. But as of right now, I'm two for two.
No comments:
Post a Comment