South Korea Voyage: The FOOD (Part 2 con't)

NORYANGJIN FISH MARKET

(Note: picture heavy post)

I will never forget the seafood at Noryangjin Fish Market (鷺梁津水産市場). Picture this, fish lying at the side of a market stall, half of its body sliced out to make sashimi, its heart still beating. True story witnessed by yours truly. That is how fresh your seafood is. And no, I did not take any pictures of said fish. I know it sounds terribly cruel and painful, but by keeping the fish alive you are keeping the meat fresh.

Anyhow, that aside, it is seafood paradise. I was flabbergasted at the cornucopia of seafood available. All the stores lined up there sells mostly similar items, so essentially you are just picking out what you want to eat and then comparing the prices between stores. There are huge Alaskan crabs, gigantic lobsters, prawns in a multitude of sizes, a hodgepodge of shellfishes, squirming crawling squids (both large and tiny) and fishes that you have never seen before. It was a breath-taking sight to behold. What is more amazing is that there is no fishy smell in the air! I am very sensitive to fishy smells, which induces nausea and then subsequently trauma (oh I exaggerate). So I am very happy to find that I can survive the market!

The biggest squids I have ever seen.

Smaller squids, yet still considered large.

Look at the selection and various sizes of prawns available! 

Sashimi prepared right in front of our eyes.

After purchasing our seafood, we headed to a restaurant located just behind the market to cook the items. The restaurant was introduced to us by one of the stall owners and the place has no chairs and we are required to sit on flat cushions on heated floors. Traditional way of eating! A lady greeted us and then we were led to a table, where she opened each of our purchases and asked how we would like them cooked. A word of advice, do remember what you bought and how many (if it could be counted). This is because we had one seafood item (which we really really wanted to try) that did not make it back to us. When we asked them what happened to it, they said that it is not in there, which we cannot refute because we did not check beforehand either. We also gave them the benefit of doubt because the missing item was not included into our final bill. However, do listen to their recommendations on how each item should be cooked, because they know better.  There are only three methods of cooking: grill/BBQ, boiled, sashimi-style. It was a scrumptious meal, although I would have preferred to have the prawns boiled instead of grilled. Grilling makes them tougher, dryer and it has lost some of its sweetness. Not ideal for those prawns. Other than that, everything is superbly fresh, juicy sweet and tender. I think I died and went to seafood heaven. I will not say too much and leave you with the following pictures of the freshest seafood I have ever eaten. Saliva-inducing aren't they? 

BBQ abalones. Bad choice as BBQ-ing it made them tough and dry.

Look at the size of that mussel! However, this not uncommon in Singapore and Malaysia.

Our burnt medium-sized prawns. 

Live squid dressed in fragrant sesame oil and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Lobster. Ok I concede that it doesn't look very big here, but trust me, it IS. 

Look at the amount of lobster roe/eggs. Slurps!

Fresh oysters

This is the seafood that we christened 'penis fish' because we have no idea what it is, 'cept that it bears some resemblance to its namesake.

'Penis fish'

Sashimi!

Deliciously sweet scallops. Love. 

See the bags containing some reddish ball-like things on the right? That is the missing item from our purchase. Sad that we didn't get to try them. 

This is the end of South Korea Voyage: The FOOD (Part 2).