Jeju Island Black Pork

Yes, I admit, combined with the real time updates, this seems like a never-ending trip. But, our side-trip to Jeju Island was just 48 hours! As much as I enjoy sharing these adventures with you, my primary reason for creating this blog is to have a record of the trip, so I'll still be posting more about the trip to this blog in my spare time for the foreseeable future. Mom is still there so I may have some additional reports from her to share in days to come as well. I appreciate the free photo storage and share sites offered by Shutterfly and the ability to go back through old Facebook posts, but I think a blog does a much better job of capturing memories and a story like this one.

Jeju Island Black Pork

In addition to fresh seafood, Jeju is particularly known for a special type of pork, called "black pork" because of the color of the source ~ small black heritage pigs raised on the island.

On Tuesday, we had an amazing lunch at a place that specializes in black pork ~ grilled right at your outside table. We had sunny weather and a gorgeous day. We lucked out as I understand that Jeju Island can often be shrouded in clouds.

I've brought Hye-Jeong and Hye-Joo back in a video to tell you more:

As you can tell, we had really good company in my two cousins.  The parking attendants at the Shilla Hotel recommended a terrific restaurant (I've always found this a good way to find out where the locals eat, by the way, ask the bellhops and valets and not the concierge), the name of the place written out in English would be something like, "Muk Po Go Ool." 

 Here's a shot of our lunch about to go on the grill:

The cut they use is the pork belly, the cut from the underside of the pig, the same slab that is cured, smoked and sliced into bacon. Grilled pork belly is very common in Korea and is known as samgyeopsal.

That little sauce container in the middle started with some crushed red pepper and garlic and sat under the grill while the pork cooked to catch some of the drippings. In addition to the sauce, another condiment on the table, of all things, was salt. The salt was tasty, but the sauce was fantastic. The other sides on the table were (all-you-can-eat) different types of fresh, spicy vegetable salads.

The manager (owner?) of the restaurant was quite a trip, too.  When asked what else we should eat/what are we may have missed on Jeju Island, having had seafood the night before and finishing-up our black pork lunch, he replied with a straight face, "Nothing.  You've done it all.  Now go home and cook for your husbands."  My cousin, Hye-Joo, not missing a beat, said, "But, I have his credit card and money to spend.  I'm not done here yet!" 

That night (after the visit to the green tea museum) we took a quick stroll through the market area and picked-up some local mandarin oranges and a few other treats, but for the most part, the market was closing up for the evening.

That night we ordered in ~ beer and fried chicken delivered right to our hotel room. This "Chi-Mek" (chicken and beer) is apparently all the rage right now In Seoul, where "Chi-Mek" restaurants line entire city blocks. I wouldn't mind being able to get this delivered at home!