Extreme Eating

All of the employees at the school took a vacation to Sok Cho, which is really nice. I would have liked a little more time to take in what the town has to offer, but when you're on a school trip with thirty or forty people, there isn't much time to deviate from the plan.

Aside from the time he got me a box of KFC when we were at a posh beef restaurant, my boss always tries to take care of me when we're out for school meals. He hooked up a nice chicken soup while everyone went for beef, and the rest of the meals were somewhat friendly to my diet. If you know my diet--more importantly, if you know what my diet was while growing up--you'll be surprised to hear what I was eating.

I always said I wouldn't eat live octopus while over here, and I still haven't. I did, however, eat a moving squid tentacle that had just been cut from a live body. It was chewy. I couldn't fight through it fast enough. While the squirming squid was awful to think about, it didn't taste bad. The sea creature described to me by some as a "penis-fish" (apparently it looks like one) was the same. Chewy, nasty looking and awful to think about, but not horrible. The thing that really got me was the sea urchin. The spikes on the outside move and the insides either look like a baby's vomit or stool. Either way, you don't want to put it in your mouth. Since it's soupy, the taste is a total mystery until it's in your mouth. Once it does hit your lips, it actually tastes like shit. After a few seconds in the mouth, though, it somehow seems to get even worse. I don't care how good it is for you, it is the worst thing I have ever put in my mouth.

This is what I don't understand about fine dining. Why we are compelled to eat exotic things that taste like complete ass is beyond me. I understand that some need to eat odd things out of necessity, but if you can afford to eat well, why not eat something that tastes good? I just don't get the logic behind spending loads of cash on a dish that may or may not make you gag. Quite the gamble. I feel as though I could feed a dog some expensive mountain vegetables, let that process through his body, mix it with some white truffles when it comes out the other end and sell it for fifty bucks an ounce. As long as I tell poeople it will make you strong, it will sell.

I like things that taste good, and those things cost 12000 won ($12) per box when delivered to your door in thirty minutes. Eight pieces of pure heaven. Sure fried chicken legs might not be healthy, but if I want to worry about my weight, I can buy some vegetables from one of the thousands of produce markets I pass on the way to work and steam up a delightful snack. Don't take this as me not appreciating the lovely meal the other night. As long as it's not a mammal, I'm willing to try some new things. I just prefer a little fried chicken for a treat rather than something that tastes like poop. I guess my boss had the right idea when he served up some KFC at a classy restaurant.

Rotating (I don't feel like writing descriptions):

Mishaps Happening- Quantic

Can You Get To That- Funkadelic

Dukey Stick- George Duke

Stop On By- Rufus with Chaka Khan