Tasty Eats: Perfect Poultry Luxury Duck

Matteson Knox / Samcheok Samcheok Duck Village is a small restaurant located near the Cheongsol Apartments in Samcheok. Their specialty is, obviously, duck of all kinds. I was introduced to Duck Village by some South African friends, who called it "Luxury Duck," since those were the only English words on the exterior. Every few weeks or so, we'd find an excuse to treat ourselves once or twice. It certainly is luxury. The best dish, in my opinion, is the duck on a spit. The two-pronged skewer slowly turns, cooking the duck to perfection between two racks of charcoal. Excess fat drips to a grease-catcher, leaving your duck brown and crispy and just juicy enough on the inside. Salt, yellow mustard, an excellent pepper sauce, and all the trappings for lettuce wraps are provided, in case you need to dress up the duck a little. Side dishes are generous and consistently delicious as well. The favorite of general consensus is shredded cabbage with a wasabi mustard sauce. One friend was so incredibly fond of it that the woman in charge would bring out a giant metal bowl of it for her without needing to be asked. Service can be tricky in Korea, particularly for foreigners who don't speak much of the language. Although the men and women who work at Duck Village do not speak English at all, they are fluent in pointing and hand-gestures - a skill of its own that is often taken for granted. If you're a spit-grilling pro, they won't hover awkwardly as some proprietors do in Korean restaurants, but if you're a bit confused about the process, they will be extremely helpful and attentive. The price always averaged out to approximately 8,000 won per person, and we all left stuffed and ready to take a nice tryptophan nap. (»ïô¿À¸®¸¶À» ¢Ï033-574-0090)

Duck in a Pumpkin

Paula Gilbert / Heungseong Duck in a pumpkin. An interesting concept to say the least. Now I am not talking about some strange Halloween decoration gone wrong, but rather one of the most delicious and unique meals I have ever had. In the small farming town of Dunnae in rural Gangwon-do there is a restaurant that makes quite possibly one of the most delicious dishes in all of Korea and I am lucky enough to live a five minute walk from this amazing little culinary gem. Hoengseong is particularly famous for Hoengseong Beef and there is even a beef festival every October to celebrate the greatness of the local beef industry. Being a farm girl myself and growing up on a cattle farm in South Africa I like to think of myself as some sort of beef connoisseur, and although the beef is incredibly good it was actually a poultry dish that really tantalized my taste buds. After living in Dunnae for three months I am still always surprised when I walk down the main street because there are so many restaurants for a town this size. Every second or third business is a restaurant of some kind, each with their own specialty, and I have tried a number of them. The one, however, that really caught my attention was the Ori Maeul restaurant which loosely translates to "Ducks' Village". A friend and I were walking in the main street after having dinner somewhere else when he mentioned that there was a new restaurant that he wanted to try: "they have duck in a pumpkin" he told me. Duck in a pumpkin? I had never heard of such a thing but as we passed by the picture outside did indeed show a pumpkin, opened up and filled with delicious looking strips of duck, it looked divine. So that Friday we decided to try it out along with two other friends who were visiting our little town. Like many Korean dishes this one is fairly large and can feed 4 or 5 people The restaurant has many different duck dishes: duck kebabs and duck stew etc. but the most famous and definitely my favorite is the Danhobak Hunjae Gui (´ÜÈ£¹ÚÈÆÁ¦±¸ÀÌ) which means smoked barbequed duck with sweet pumpkin; and don't worry it still comes with all of the traditional side dishes like kimchi and lettuce leaves to make little heavenly pumpkin duck parcels. The restaurant is owned and run by Choi Eun Mi and her brother and they have only been open for six months but if you are ever in the Dunnae area do yourself a favor and try some duck in a pumpkin, you will not be disappointed. (¿À¸®¸¶À» ¢Ï033-574-0090)

Dak-galbi of Taebaek County

Rachel Caruso / Taebaek When I first came to Korea, one of the many things that I was nervous about was the food. In the States, you can have any food you can think of, from Middle Eastern to Mexican. I knew that coming to live in a small town in Gangwon-do would mean not having those kinds of choices. In addition, I had never eaten Korean food. I didn't even know what kimchi was! I have now been in Korea for almost two years, in the rural city of Taebaek. Not only do I love Korean food, but I also have favorites that I can't see myself living without such as, gamja tang, dwaegi galbi, mandu, and japchae. However, my most favorite food is definitely dak galbi. This sentiment is shared by my fellow Taebaekers as well. In an average month we will visit Chuncheon Dak Galbi, our favorite restaurant, up to four times! Dark galbi is made by stir-frying marinated chicken in a gochujang (chili pepper paste) sauce, along with sliced sweet potato, cabbage, onions and rice cake. You can also add your choice of Ramen noodles, wheat noodles (udon), and in some places, cheese. The owners are extremely kind to us and know our order by heart: dak galbi with udon and cheese. There is always a table ready for us and they will stay open just to accommodate our group. The food is cooked in front of us and unlike many Korean restaurants, we don't have to do any of the cooking ourselves. The owners take care of everything from start to finish. There has been many debates among our group as to whether Taebaek dak galbi is better than Chuncheon dak galbi (dak galbi did originate in Chuncheon) and whether we should eat our dak galbi with Ramen or udon, but at the end of the night we all agree that Chuncheon Dak Galbi in Taebaek is the best and we all love the cheese! (Ãáõ´ß°¥ºñ ¢Ï033-552-2726)

Dak-galbi of Jeongseon County

Claire Dicarlo / Jeongseon Although fairly small in size, Gohan (South-East Gangwon-do, Jeongseon County), is a reasonably well-known town, and as such is littered with restaurants catering for the tourists who flock there, often from Seoul, to spend a weekend amongst the mountains. It's easy to find a cheap yet quality meal, and despite foreigners still being somewhat of a rarity in the area, the restaurant staff are friendly and keen to welcome us 'waegookin' with open arms. Hidden in a small backstreet of the town is one of my favorites - the Chuncheon Myeongdong Dak Galbi restaurant. The owner, Sun-Hi, and her husband are the loveliest Koreans you will ever meet. He was previously a weight lifting champion, and his trophies are still proudly scattered around amongst the kitchen equipment. They are incredibly welcoming towards foreigners, and speak a reasonable amount of English, which they are always keen to practice! It's often difficult to find good dak galbi (chicken cooked on a hot plate with rice cakes and vegetables in a spicy paste) outside of Chuncheon itself - but in this simple little place in the country, you can have your fill - and it tastes great. The thing I love, that makes this restaurant a little unique, is that if you ask for it, they will add cheese to the galbi for you. Probably horrifically calorific, but tastes amazing and is great comfort food - particularly in winter. Well worth trying - especially if you are missing cheese-filled food whilst in Korea!! The warm welcome from the owners is what really makes this place worth visiting though. When a recent English teacher friend of ours left Gohan after a year, a group of us were invited to dinner and served with a variety of new delights - including beef - all on the house. Later that week, we also received some more freebies after our galbi was devoured. Not something I've ever experienced back home in a restaurant run by virtual strangers! I'd recommend anyone in the area to pop in and give it a try - go for the cheese - you won't be disappointed! (Ãáõ¸íµ¿´ß°¥ºñ ¢Ï033-591-7757) (Chuncheon Myeongdong Dak Galbi could be slightly tricky to locate for non-locals, as it isn't located on the main street. To find it, simply head down the little street next to the big Family Mart and PC Bang, and turn left. The restaurant has an orange sign on the front and is next to a flower shop.)