Pizza Time!
Friday, March 12, 2010
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Yes, Yeongcheon, South Korea has adopted pizza as its favorite type of restaurant. There are at least 4 or 5 different pizza places that occupy this sleepy town. To put things in perspective, they seem to outnumber actual Korean restaurants. So what is Korean pizza like? I am about to explore that right now.
First pizza place:
I had high expectations, for other foreigners raved how the crust was very akin to Pizza Hut. How does it actually taste, though? The pizza came with a salad and a free Coke, regardless if you are dining in or taking out. That is already a step in the right direction. So here we go:
It seems like a decent value for the 12,000W or about $11. Let's open it up and see what is inside...
That is what I am talking about! Upon closer inspection, what is that foreign yellow substance on my pizza? Also, why do I need packets of ketchup? For those that can't see well, it is in fact sweet corn; this is one of the most popular pizza toppings right alongside sweet potato. I kid you not. There is still a lot of awesome on this pie, though. That darkened meat is actually BBQ ribs. The pizza turns out to be fantastic, and the crust did in fact taste like Pizza Hut's. The salad was lackluster at best, and their macaroni salad was boiled macaroni with low-grade mayo drizzled on top. Gross.
Second pizza place:
My teacher friends from Nashville, TN took me to their favorite pizza place just the other night, and here is the end results. The bar was set pretty high by the last restaurant, but I am going to be as objective as possible. Here's what we're dealing with:
That is in fact a package of sweet pickles tied to my pizza box. Everything is served with pickles here it seems. This just in... pregnant women love South Korea. OK, let's see what the pizza is like.
There you are, old friends, yellow corn and ketchup. My initial reaction was why is the crust off-colored. I found out it's due to the use of red beans (azuki) in the pizza dough. Great, I think to myself. I love red beans and products that contain them. How does it work in pizza? Not very well. It was passable during the topping stages and miserable by itself. This was a shame since the rest of the pizza was decent. It was served with a Coke, but I opted for an alternate beverage.
"Delicious Idea. Rich & full-bodied taste beer. made from all malt and fine cascade hop."
I don't want to live life to the Max anymore. It was a less-than-stellar beer, but it is better than some of its American counterparts when the price point is taken into consideration.
Round 1 easily goes to the pizza place near DaVinci Coffee in the heart of Yeongcheon; better toppings, better crust, better pizza.
