Trip Home: Part One

Yechon is a classic Korean BBQ Restaurant in Annandale, VA that is popular for its authentic dishes that are served 24 hours. Whether you're going for a delicious lunch, dinner or even late night munchies you'll be able to experience a big crowd, beautifully dressed waiters in a classic Korean dress (Hanbok), and hear Korean BBQ sizzle on almost every table.

Just to give you an idea of what the waiters wear. Vibrant colors with simple lines. 

I made a trip back home last month and had the most amazing time with my friends and family. Great golf outings with parents and of course delicious food every day. Here is a rustic rendition of fried rice. This dish is called: Haemul Dolsot Bibimbap- steamed rice topped with pan fried seafood served in a hot bowl. Haemul= seafood, Dolsot = Hot bowl, Bibimbap = mixed rice. The dish is also served with vegetables- zucchini and onions. The bowl is made from stone and pre-heated to hot temperatures. When the steamed rice is placed in the bowl, a thin layer of crunchy, chewy rice forms. It's then topped off with pan-fried seafood that is lightly seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil. Once you receive the dish you mix it all up and it essentially becomes fried rice. It's absolutely delicious! Great texture, loads of flavor but still light. You can have a Galbi Bibimbap (Galbi is Korean Beef BBQ) or Kimchi Bibimbap (Kimchi is spicy pickled cabbage). All options are super tasty.

The selection of side dishes that are served with your meal. Top left to right: Potato salad, spicy marinated squid, steamed spinach. Bottom left to right: seaweed salad, kimchi, sweet and spicy tofu. All side dishes are healthy and they are a great way to make your sticky rice even more exciting. 

Mul Nengmyun: homemade buckwheat noodles, pressed vegetables, sliced beef, and boiled egg in cold beef broth. Mul = water and Nengmyun= cold noodles. Just look at it as being a healthy pasta alternative that is served icy cold in a refreshing yet savory beef broth with fresh vegetables. The noodles are chewy and slippery, make sure you eat it with wooden chopsticks! Stir the noodles in the broth, get a chopstick full of noodles and eat away. BUT WAIT! You must get a big slurp of the broth before you swallow the noodles. It's a key step. How? Once there's minimal amount of noodles left hanging from your mouth quickly grab the bowl and slurp some broth and enjoy. It's the most refreshing dish EVER. It's the best when you eat it after some Korean BBQ. 

There's more to this trip, stay tune :)