> > Ask for vegetarian food in South Korea without an interpreter's help, > and I guarantee that you will see some very strange 'food'. > > For a couple of days back in 2003, I had breakfast in Seoul by > wandering > around the streets and pointing at stuff in the carts. I had no way of > knowing what it was or if I got the right change back, but it was fun > nevertheless.
I guess it's different as we're not used to it. When I was first in India and knew no Hindi or Marathi I used to point at stuff in the stalls and hope for the best handing over my money and letting the guy take whatever he wanted from my hand. One time in Pune I had bought something from a stall on one of my wanderings and then a few days later watched as the wallah washed the pots and pans in a dirty brown puddle. It didn't stop me going back... My colleagues thought me quite mad. I used to go to The Ship in Pune every Sunday and order steak. This became a regular occurrence over many months. When I mentioned this was one of the places I could get beef he said 'Oh no sar, it's not beef'... I never did find out what it was. There was little place I used to go to and have sheep's brains. The spices overwhelmed any taste I was getting from the brain though. And of course, being Scottish I eat haggis every January. Keith
