Job Discussion Forums

[bosintang]

Perhaps this thread should be renamed Korean food vs Japanese food.

But for my vote, definitely Korean food. On a day to day basis, its cheaper, healthier, and more filling. Most Japanese restaurants, surprisingly to me, give large servings of meat, but few vegetables, and particularly lack green leafy vegetables.
Most things listed in the Noodles, Rice, and Soups categories are available in both countries, but the Japanese versions usually lacks that *zest* that a good Korean cook can add to it. Miso soup vs. Doenjang-jjigae for instance, or Japanese shabu shabu versus Korean shabeu shabeu. Everyond defending Japanese food always bring up sushi and sashimi, both of which are freely available everywhere in Korea, and are the exact same thing, only with much better side-dishes, and at cheaper prices if anything.

But anyways, foods I've been impressed with in Japan:
- Tempura
- Ramen (the one food I think that I've had common to both Japan and Korea, where Japan is better)
- Okonomiyaki
- sushi / sashimi
Foods I've been dissapointed with:
- Sukiyaki
- Shabu Shabu


In Korea on the other hand, the list goes on and on. Only the delicasies are worth listing:
- bulgogi (simular to sukiyaki, Korean-style)
- shabeu shabeu
- dalkgalbi (spicy chicken stirfry)
- galbijjim (steamed ribs)
- samgyeopsal, galbi, etc. (miscellaneous Korean BBQ)
- panjeom (sort of looks like a pancake, filled with seafood, or kimchi)
- sushi /sashimi
- doenjang-jjigae (Korean miso soup, and ok, not a delicasy, more often a side-dish, but so much better than the Japanese equivalent)

... and the tons of side-dishes you always get at good restaurants. Did I mention the thousand variations of kimchi?

[Smooth Operator]

Some Japanese food is quite good but much of it is so bland. How about using some spices and sauces? It can be difficult even finding some good sauces in supermarkets and when you do it's often expensive. I have only visited Korea, and not lived there, but the food was a revelation after bland Japan. Just my 2 pence worth...

[Cshannon]

Man... how annoying, arguing with someone so frustratingly uninformed...

[Cshannon]

[nomadder]

I wonder if Smooth Operator's food description could also be used to describe the people of each country?

[sushi]

OK Ok. I think perhaps that you would probably have to live a long time in Japan to get to know the cuisine. Maybe some of you folk in the know are maybe fluent in Japanese or perhaps married to a Japanese national.

There aren't the ubiquitis restaurants around in Japan serving japanese national dishes the way they are in Korea. They are on every street corner in Korea. Not so in Japan. In Japan there are more of the franchise style junk food serving houses with miniscule menues.

I admit that Japan must have some good cuisine some where, but it's just not available on the street the way it is in Korea. It's probably priced so ridiculously high in some obscure restaurant that your ordinary Joe Blow would never have a chance of finding and tasting it.

I notice on this Japan bullettin copius postings for good eating places with excellent descriptions on how to find them. This is something you would never see on the Korean page, because in Korea it's just not needed.

I am not lying about my Japanese friends and their description and comparison of meat dishes between the two countries. My Japanese friends were on the management level in their jobs and travelled around the world quite a bit. Their comments about food in any context wern't just off the cuff. They were uttered with regret at the quality of their own food.