Korean-style sashimi

While walking through the backstreets to Hongdae we decided to stop for dinner at a cute Japanese place - we're pretty sure it was Japanese. The decoration and style of the small space was definitley Japanese: lots of lanterns and pumping cat fists, but the menu was in Korean and the sashimi was served in the Korean style (Hwe).

The menu was entirely in Korean and lacking the convenient pictures that are pretty common on most menus in Seoul. With no other options we pointed to a fried croquet on a table across from ours and then ordered some drinks. While waiting we were able to read that the specialty of the restaurant was 사시미. Sashimi. We decided to order some without knowing what kind of fish it was and how much of it we ordered. We like sashimi so we didn't really think twice about it.

When it came to the table the sashimi was presented on top of the fish carcass it came from. Head and tail intact. (We've heard about this style of sashimi and have seen restaurants that specialize in it but were reluctant to try it.) M felt a bit queasy about the whole thing because our fish was alive a few minutes ago and it was staring right at him. Once we got over the initial shock of seeing the fish flesh presented that way the head and tail of the fish started moving around on our plate. Our fish was still alive! M jumped out of his seat and was scared to come back to the table. It was both hysterical and sad at the same time. Of course I realize that in order for me to eat a fish, said fish needs to die. I didn't realize that it would die on my plate as I ate its flesh. It took a few minutes of poking, taking pictures, and hoping the fish would finally stop moving before we took the "when in Rome" approach and attempted a taste.  Once we got started we never stopped. We ate the whole thing and it was really tasty and well, really fresh.

Here are the pics:

When we were done with the fish they took the carcass outside to dry it out. I'm guessing the bones will be used for some kind of stock. Our fish is the small one on the top that isn't hanging.

The fried curry croquets were delish! Golden and crunchy on the outside and crisp, curried veggies on the inside.