Cycle 14 – Item 365
5 (Fri) January 2024
Shrimp & Asparagus in White Pepper Sauce
3.0
by me
at home
-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-
with the Family
As with last year, I was again caught off guard, totally oblivious that tonight was the final meal of the Cycle.
****
CYCLE 14 WRAP
Also, I echo last year’s sentiment that the Cycle went by in a blur.
Still, with the pandemic fully behind us, and things at work settling down (no more fights with Mom), I felt more relaxed most of the time.
BEST DISH BY ME
A relatively insignificant culinary achievement per se, but I am so happy to have discovered and mastered this dish. Easy, quick, cheap, tasty, healthy. Already a family classic.
14.301 Paccheri in Sunday Gravy
On the other hand, Sunday Gravy is a major culinary achievement.
14.342 Deep-Fried Snapper in Ginger-Soy Sauce
Ultimately a simple dish but quite a feat to deep-fry such a big piece of protein.
BEST DISH BY OTHER
14.280 Everyday Savory Chili Crisp with Greek Yogurt (+ Potato Crisps + Bagel Bits)
Not necessarily the chili crisp itself but how shockingly well it pairs with other foods, even seemingly unlikely partners, like yogurt.
BEST RESTAURANT DISH
A staple of Cantonese cuisine, Roast Duck Noodle Soup was once my favorite dish but fell out of favor simply because I couldn’t get it in Korea, but now I can.
14.065 Mul Naeng Myeon (with a Medium-Boiled Egg)
My actual favorite restaurant dish, every year.
The best representation of this dish that I’ve encountered thus far – jjambbong may soon overtake mul naeng myeon as my favorite dish of all time.
BEST MEAL
The dishes on their own might’ve won the award but the chili crisp, as well as the vibes surrounding the event, guaranteed victory.
13.315 Omakase (Actually Kaiseki)
The best traditional meal of the year.
Always among the best meals of the year.
MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE
A 10-day liveaboard experience in the Deep South Seas of the Maldives would be the highlight of any year, and the excellent food on the MV Adora made it so much more memorable.
BEST RESTAURANT
14.204 Crispy Rice Flour Rolls (Zhaliang)
Both this location and the one in Coex Mall (see BEST RESTAURANT DISH, supra) continue to impress with authentic Cantonese classics at reasonable prices.
–GYE MOIM–
14.170 Grilled (Salt + Soy) Chicken
Great food – grilled chicken, which would seem naturally to be part of the Korean BBQ tradition, but just isn’t, at least in Korea – excellent service, cheap prices.
A perennial favorite, the restaurant enjoyed renewed attention this year with the introduction of classic sushi items that are inexplicably difficult to find elsewhere, like Negitoro Maki.
WORST DISH/MEAL/RESTAURANT
As predicted in the post: “5 posts into the new cycle, and already we have a strong contender for the worst dish of the year” – nothing else came close.
14.152 (“Korean-Style”) Chicken Burrito (sans Pepperoni) (with Cheese!)
A dish and restaurant that embody 3 major culinary pet peeves of mine, here in Korea: 1) foreign/ethnic cuisines served by operators with insufficient experience/expertise – currently, Mexican and Thai are popular targets; 2) straight-to-franchise chains, typically run by operators with little/no experience/expertise; 3) processed meats, added where they don’t belong, without due notice to the customer.
