Eating and Eating Again: At the Tail End of the Season of Abundance

Autumn is usually called cheongogam-bi, right? Cheongogam-bi (天高馬肥), which means “the sky is high and the horses are fat,” is a Chinese idiom meaning that autumn, when the five grains and various fruits ripen, is a very good season. Maybe that’s why it’s a time when you can enjoy a variety of foods full of mountains-and-sea delicacies. In fact, these days you can taste all kinds of dishes made with different ingredients regardless of the season, but as autumn sets in and the days get shorter, it seems like my appetite increases. I heard that this is because the secretion of serotonin in the body decreases.

Because it’s right after the last autumn rain in the latter part of autumn, the temperature has definitely dropped, and it’s the day before the last day of November, when you can really feel that the weather has turned cold. When I checked how many things I tasted throughout November, I really did eat a wide variety of foods.

Lamb skewers are such an attractive food that they make you think of a level-up. Since they are made by cooking lamb, you might think they taste the same no matter where you eat them, but if you don’t eat them at a good place, not only can the quality of the lamb be lacking, but there can also be a subtle gamey smell, which can ruin your appetite. Sinsa Lamb Skewers is a place anyone would call a great lamb skewer restaurant.

Sinsa Lamb Skewers is not only good for lamb skewers, but also a place where you can enjoy guobaorou cleanly and deliciously, which is why I think I keep going back. The basic lamb skewers are delicious here, but the lamb rib meat and mala pork ribs are also tasty. Even if you don’t like the unique aroma of mala, you can still enjoy the food here, so if you visit, try ordering the mala pork ribs.

Next up is menbosha. Menbosha, which you used to be able to taste only at Chinese restaurants, was introduced by Chef Lee Yeon-bok on a broadcast as a convenient food you can easily make and eat at home. Even so, the menbosha you order and eat at a Chinese restaurant is definitely different. I guess that’s because it’s deep-fried after being completely submerged in oil.

If you’ve been going hard on the mukbang, you should also have a moment to rest while drinking a cup of tea, right?! I visited Hollys after a long time. At Hollys Coffee, it’s cafe latte rather than americano!! And my favorite of all is Vanilla Delight. Vanilla Delight is similar to a vanilla latte, but a little different. I’d say it’s a bit sweeter than a regular vanilla latte.

When the cold wind starts blowing, I think everyone has at least one seasonal food that comes to mind. For me, it’s sashimi and seafood. I’m not someone who especially loves sashimi, but strangely enough, when autumn comes, I feel like I have to eat it at least once before the season passes. These days, takeout and delivery are so well organized that it’s nice to be able to comfortably enjoy high-quality sashimi and a variety of sukiyaki dishes. Seasonal sashimi really is chewy, clean-tasting, and so delicious.

When seafood is in season in autumn, the dish that comes to mind is kalguksu made with various kinds of seafood. Kalguksu with a variety of seafood definitely has such a refreshing, amazing broth that the ones with only a little seafood don’t really satisfy me.

I think samgyeopsal is something you can enjoy deliciously 365 days a year. Samgyeopsal is always tasty no matter when you eat it, and as autumn arrives, with concerns about fine dust added in, it naturally becomes a menu item I find myself reaching for even more. Samgyeopsal sizzling on the grill never seems to disappoint.

I’m always wandering around looking for fun mukbang content regardless of the season, but I think I’m also using the season of abundance as an excuse to eat even more enthusiastically. Winter is now just around the corner. Let’s welcome December happily, wrap up 2022 well, and greet 2023 well too.