As usual, food is what seems to interest me the most.
The most interesting thing I saw I didn't get a chance to photograph, but will just describe.
We went wandering a few miles north of our apartment, I think still in Sodaemun-Gu where Seoul becomes much less modern and much less westernized. Fewer signs on buidlings are in English, there are zero chain restaurants, the buildings are more run down and jumbled together, crammed up against the hills and some impressively steep rock faces, and overall the area has a vibe of Korea.
We found a very large food market that featured a whole area with live butchers in little stalls. Each offered several different kinds and sizes of chickens, as well as ducks, and rabbits killed fresh for you. The smell was memorable.
The most striking thing was the fresh quartered dog meat in the cases in front of each stand. That is not something I have seen yet here. There were no live dogs that I saw in the stands. Each section of dog was the ribcage to the paws. I personally found that pretty intense, I must say. I didn't take a picture because the stands are so small I didn't want the people to think I was gawking.
I bought a small chicken for dinner. I was very impressed with the skill and rapidity with which the butcher (it was a husband and wife team) killed and cleaned it and the other animals. He slit its neck, chopped off the very tips of its claws, and then dropped into into a covered bin where it could flop around a bit. Then into scalding water, a rotary machine that defeathered i very well, and he then gutted it in seconds.
Very efficient operation, maybe just over a minute from life to my grocery sack.
I was impressed with the painfree process and feeling very animal friendly, until I observed his wife grab a bird from the cage and chop off the end of its claws before slitting its throat. Details, details.
The case with the dog also had a huge bowl of chicken feet (a delicacy) and various bowls of organs. Some people came up and bought large bags of feet.
So, this market was a good discovery, as it is not too far from my house, and is the yin the modern yang of our local, modern supermarket "Quality and Belief".
The most interesting thing I saw I didn't get a chance to photograph, but will just describe.
We went wandering a few miles north of our apartment, I think still in Sodaemun-Gu where Seoul becomes much less modern and much less westernized. Fewer signs on buidlings are in English, there are zero chain restaurants, the buildings are more run down and jumbled together, crammed up against the hills and some impressively steep rock faces, and overall the area has a vibe of Korea.
We found a very large food market that featured a whole area with live butchers in little stalls. Each offered several different kinds and sizes of chickens, as well as ducks, and rabbits killed fresh for you. The smell was memorable.
The most striking thing was the fresh quartered dog meat in the cases in front of each stand. That is not something I have seen yet here. There were no live dogs that I saw in the stands. Each section of dog was the ribcage to the paws. I personally found that pretty intense, I must say. I didn't take a picture because the stands are so small I didn't want the people to think I was gawking.
I bought a small chicken for dinner. I was very impressed with the skill and rapidity with which the butcher (it was a husband and wife team) killed and cleaned it and the other animals. He slit its neck, chopped off the very tips of its claws, and then dropped into into a covered bin where it could flop around a bit. Then into scalding water, a rotary machine that defeathered i very well, and he then gutted it in seconds.
Very efficient operation, maybe just over a minute from life to my grocery sack.
I was impressed with the painfree process and feeling very animal friendly, until I observed his wife grab a bird from the cage and chop off the end of its claws before slitting its throat. Details, details.
The case with the dog also had a huge bowl of chicken feet (a delicacy) and various bowls of organs. Some people came up and bought large bags of feet.
So, this market was a good discovery, as it is not too far from my house, and is the yin the modern yang of our local, modern supermarket "Quality and Belief".
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