So the other day my coworker Matt and I decided to try this Japanese/Korean fusion restaurant that I have been eyeballing for a long time (it seemed to have character and was always packed full of people…that’s always a good sign). So we go in there and we were handed a menu all in Hangul, which causes us Hangul inept people some difficulties. Luckily a group of drunk middle aged guys sitting next to us were willing to help…but really all they did was call us handsome and give us multitudes of high fives. Eventually Matt and I just ordered whatever they were eating.

So we start drinking some Hite beer and eating our side-dishes (which were really good). Then out comes a whole charbroiled fish still intact with spines and all. The fish was absolutely delicious to the point that Matt and I devoured this fish down to a vertebrae tail and head. This is where the ajumma who was cooking steps in. First, I was suspicious when she sat down next to Matt and started putting on gloves, but I really wasn’t expecting what happened next. She picked up the fish carcass and used her hands to crack the skull in two right down the middle. Next she scooped some sort of gray innards out and dipped it in soy sauce. At this point I knew where this was going but before I could protest a gloved hand moved towards my face with random fish parts. At this point I had two options either open my mouth or that ajumma was going to mash that fish all over my face. I automatically had flashbacks to when I was a kid and hated eating bananas which my oh so loving older brother decided to attempt to force feed me. Well I didn’t open my mouth and that banana was everywhere, in my hair, eyebrows and smeared all over my face. Anyways back to the story and gloved hand full of fish parts was rapidly approaching my face. I had that flash back about bananas and decided it was prudent to open my mouth (don’t need fish guts smeared on me).  To my pleasant surprise the fish parts were delicious!

This proceeded back and forth in turn for both Matt and I. All in all I think we ate brains, swim bladders, part of the jaw (of which I had chunks of fish teeth stuck in my teeth), and some other things that I don’t know what they were. I don’t think I can remember the last time I was hand fed (Mom I think you probable were involved in that…any clues to when that was?). All in all i was another ridiculous eating experience in Korea.