Dinner and a Movie

I should have posted this last week but I have surprisingly become very busy.  This is a good thing, I am settling into a routine and I am beginning to feel more at ease here.  

This past weekend we went to a Korean barbecue place followed by a movie. First there are more than a few movie theaters that show first run movies in English with Korean subtitles.  That was a great surprise.  I had assumed wrongly that we wouldn't be able to see movies in the theater unless there were subtitles.  The cost of a ticket is cheaper when compared to the CA prices, 8000 won or $7.80 for a Saturday night ticket.  The theaters are big with comfortable seating and good sound.  The only obstacle is buying the ticket.  Our cashier didn't really understand English or us Korean so she held up her fingers over her eyes like a mask and we all nodded and smiled with a "yes", we want to see Batman!

Dinner was no less of a challenge.  The "menu" was a ticket-sized piece of paper in Korean with no pictures.  We had to ask for a picture menu!  Korean barbecue is as varied here as it is in America.  Some meat is marinated with hot chili paste, there is beef and pork (no chicken), various cuts and bone-in or out.  The only constant is the method of cooking.  The very small table has a hole in the middle and when you order someone brings a bucket of red hot coals, puts them in the hole and covers it with a grill.  The waiter then bring plates of raw meat, along with all the common side dishes, and you then cook your food.  It is a little hot but good company and a cool glass of beer make it fun.

Our meal was beef and pork (resembling large cuts of bacon) and our sides were rice (as always), kimchi, spring onions in beef broth, scrambled eggs (a little odd), potato salad (also a little odd) and a tofu and onion soup (I have no idea what else was in the soup).  Everything was really good, the atmosphere was great and for obvious reasons the service was quick.  

Very small "table", there were 3 of us!

Quick tidbit of trivia, you do not tip in Korea.  Table service is less attentive but still good.