December 21: Christmas Time in Seoul

We awoke to a light dusting of snow this morning and you could almost hear Bing Crosby singing, “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” as we embarked on another adventure in our phenomenal food tour of Korea.  Today, we were on a mission to find the best Jajangmyeon (Black Noodle) in Seoul  According to Google, Jajangmyeon is an extremely popular dish with  “thick udon noodles that are smothered in a savory black bean sauce with diced pork, zucchini and onion.” We eventually landed at Palsam (83) restaurant where we were treated to a delicious version of this Korean comfort food. The skilled chefs did most of the heavy lifting in the kitchen but we were required to finish the dish at our table by adding the black bean sauce to a bowl of handmade noodles and mixing until the noodles were coated with the silky smooth sauce. The fresh noodles cradled the black bean sauce and made every bite special, especially the ones with a generous portion of pork.  The onions in the black bean sauce gave it a taste reminiscent of an Italian pasta classic – Genovese. 

At night, we strolled around Seoul and soaked in the holiday vibe.  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in Korea.  We ended up walking down to the Cheonggyecheon Stream, which reminded me of the water fire canal in Providence.