Christmas Cheer and Kebabs!

As previously mentioned our holiday season is not off to our usual start. Fall proves to be a fickle season here. Since temperatures went from temperate to cold, it froze the leaves where they were. However, we had a brief warm up this past weekend and the gingko trees which line the streets are now a vibrant shade of yellow.

Desiring the need for a cozy evening, Eric and I decided to brave the chilly, blustery evening and head to Shinsagae, the local upscale department store. What makes department stores, especially Shinsagae, nice to visit here are their basements. In the basement of every department store in Korea one can find a grocery store and food court. Because Shinsagae appeals to a higher end of clientele, imported goods can be found in abundance in the grocery and food court sections. Much to our surprise, when we went there in search of some dinner last night we ended up finding two of our favorite things: Christmas displays and kebabs.

Upon entering the store, our eyes were immediately drawn to a red, green, and gold wintery display. In the center of the floor, located between the Burberry and Louis Vuitton boutiques, were a slew of tall trees, twinkling lights and ornaments, and vibrant poinsettias. Standing in front of this quaint display, Eric and I were in awe; eyes wide open and beaming smiles in awe. I am sure this sounds funny to you, but since moving here we have given up any traditions we had. We accepted this as the difference in cultures and generally truck along. But to walk into a store during the fall holiday season and see a Christmas display was so unexpected we knew we had to savor the moment. We’ve both agreed that going to Shinsagae to drink coffee/hot chocolate in front of the Christmas display is a once a week, must do event this holiday season.



After pulling ourselves away from the Christmas cheer, we headed to the food section downstairs. After wandering stand after stand of food stalls we saw them; the chicken kebabs. We’ve perused Shinsagae frequently since moving to Gwangju and we have never seen kebabs. However, last night they made their debut appearance and we could not tear ourselves away. We ordered our savory wraps and wasted no time in biting in. While not fully traditional, the kebabs were crunchy, tangy, and immensely savory. The combination of barbecued chicken, crisp cabbage, and tangy sauces placed me in a state of culinary euphoria. Again, I don’t expect you to fully understand. Even though Korea tries, key word being ‘tries’, to make Western food, the food still always tastes Korean. It will be accompanied by kimchi, pickled radishes, and/or have globs of mayonnaise or Thousand Island dressing. These kebabs were the first sandwich/wrap we’ve had here which did not have any of the above. Needless to say we were in heaven.

I look forward to the next 7 weeks leading up to Christmas. I look forward to sipping hot chocolate, gazing at the Christmas displays, and munching on many more kebabs. ‘Tis the season!