노량진 [Noryangjin] Fish Market
Tonight Laura invited me out to go to the Noryangjing fish market! What an awesome experience it was.
What happened tonight?
Well, I got there first and I decided to wander around the train station, it was one of those cool outdoor ones (maybe not so cool, but I was amused). As I was walking up the steps to a bridge this dude came tumbling down along with this giant box he was carrying. He nearly clipped my legs and brought me down with him! Anyway, I busted out the little Korean I knew and asked if he was alright and helped him up. Held out my hand and as soon as he took hold it felt gross and smelled. I realized the guy was completely wasted and probably had leftover puke on his hands. After a goodbye that lasted way to long (him holding my hand tightly and bowing over and over) I rushed to the bathroom to scrub my hand off. Poor guy though, wherever he was going was too far and he had a box that was way to heavy for his drunken state, oh Korea.
Anyway, Myra shows up and as we waited we decided to bust out our cameras (not really, our cameras are always out…) and photograph the trains passing by.
Laura arrives with a party and we head into the fish market! You definitely know you’re going the right way with this place because you could smell it from a mile away! If you like seafood, the smell will get you excited, it’s all really fresh!
As you walk down this aisle theres tank after tank of fresh fish, crab, octopus, and other weird looking squishy’s I’ve never seen before.
If you’re interested in buying something they will pull the [insert sea creature] out of its tank, flopping and splashing all over so you could see if you like it. If so, they throw it (live) into a black plastic bag. I was telling Myra that it’s like buying pets, except you’re going to eat them shortly.
So, you take your fish to a nearby restaurant and they prepare it all for you. It’s really awesome!
I finally had some of that live octopus that every Korea blogger has blogged about (here’s mine I guess). Same reaction I guess, it was really chewy and sticks to the inside of your mouth as it’s going down. If you get a chance to have some I’d say go for it, it’s a fun experience! Let it sit in your mouth for a bit before you swallow it and wait for it to squirm around.
This is Laura about to destroy that little squirmy octopus tentacle.
Washing it all down with some soju and beer, all in all it was a great meal! We also got some fresh fish that they chopped up into sashimi. And also some crab and prawns (I’m allergic… fml).
Hmm… why did I start writing this like it was some kind of guide? It wasn’t, lol. Anyway, go check this place out if you like seafood or edible aquariums. Cheers.
