Soju tasting and an 8 course meal

Last night we went out to a fancy restaurant that served eight courses. We wish we could tell you what all of those courses were, but unfortunately, many dishes were a mystery. There was a lot of raw fish, there was even a "rotten fish" that smelled like ammonia. There was duck, beef, pork, chicken, noodles, rice, pickled vegetables and for dessert, some dates sprinkled with sesame seeds. It was nice to be out and to experience this kind of dinner, but we didn't think it was really worth $30.

After dinner, we went to a "Soju tasting party" which basically consisted of 30 different kinds of Soju. Soju is a very popular (and cheap) Korean alcohol that tastes a bit like Vodka but comes in many different flavours. It has a pretty strong taste and isn't something either of us would drink on a regular basis. You can buy it anywhere, even in the convenience store for about a dollar.

The popular Korean beer is called "Hite" but is pronounced "hite-uh" because in the Korean language, you cannot end a word with a consonant sound, so the word bus for example is pronounced "bus-uh." Anyway, we both actually like the taste of Hite which is weird considering neither of us drink beer with any regularity at home. Beer drinkers here tell us it is horrible tasting and really watered down so maybe that's why we don't mind it. It could also have to do with the fact that when you go out to eat, there's always water and beer and when you've just put something really spicy or gross into your mouth, beer gets rid of that taste way better than water!

Today one of my students has invited us to the "Outback Steakhouse" for dinner. She's 9. We're not sure how common this is, but she has been asking us for the past few weeks and we've run out of excuses. At first we really didn't want to go because we assumed that her whole family would be there and so we'd feel a bit awkward since none of them speak English. Then we found out that it would just be her and that her parents would give her the credit card to pay for our meals.

Anyway, we'll let you know how it goes. It should be interesting to say the least!!