7.081 Kale in Oyster Sauce

7.081

26 (Sat) March 2016

Kale in Oyster Sauce

3.25

at Yum Thai

-Sinsa, Seoul-

with the family, folks

Holy Week Holiday, Day 3 (see previously 7.080 Abalone & Garlic).

In Seoul.  Spending the long weekend, including Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, at home.  Flying back tomorrow.

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Phak Boong Fai Daeng (3.5)

Whereas two minutes of googling suggest that “Chinese kale” is synonymous with “Chinese broccoli” or “kai-lan” (see generally 2.221 Gailan in Oyster Sauce), two direct experiences suggest that it’s similar in essence but more intense (see for example 7.073 Chilled Mango Pudding).

Here, in various stir-fry dishes, I detected slivers of what tasted like bitter kailan, which the manager confirmed to be kale.  I requested that the kitchen make a dish of just the kale, in the same manner of preparation as the morning glory.  It worked.  Definitely more bitter, more firm/fibrous — likely why the stalks were sliced into slivers — but good.  Exciting to find a restaurant in Seoul with this vegetable, even if it’s not on the menu.

Curious that the restaurant would use such a rare vegetable, which is not typically cultivated in Korea, as an aromatic, not as a featured item.

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Khai Jiao (2.5)
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Deep-Fried Soft-Shell Crab in Black Pepper Sauce (2.5) : good but too spicy.
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Seafood & Eggplant (2.5) : good but too spicy.

Three and half years since our previous visit (see most recently 3.276 Poonim Phat Phong Kari) — god, how time flies.

Good to see that the restaurant is still going strong, better than ever with new items — new to us, at least — on the menu.

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DJ, starting pitcher — bad news : hammered for 10 runs in the 1st inning; good news : demonstrated the guts to see it all the way thru.
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Catching the very next inning — that’s both resilience and versatility.
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Wish I could watch this every weekend — better than any pro ballgame that I’ve ever experienced, goddamn it.

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