If you have been to South Korea, I am certain that most people (especially the older generation) would ask whether you have had some ginseng chicken.
Of course, ginseng chicken is one of the most famous dishes in South Korea, for its healthiness and poshness. But I never liked ginseng chicken. Or put it in a nicer way, I never learnt to appreciate the dish.
However, letting people know that you've been to Seoul for two weeks but never had a bowl of ginseng chicken would be somewhat.. disappointing. Eventually, my friends and I decided to devote our precious dinnertime to try out some ginseng chicken, before we regretted.
Having read our travelling guide, we noticed that this restaurant had a long history of serving high-quality ginseng chicken in Myeong-dong. At one point we were worried that our meal would cost us a lot, luckily it wasn't.
There were not much to choose from in the menu, but since we were already pretty much clear of what we wanted to eat, it didn't take us long til we order.
There were four of us in total, so every two of us shared a pot of ginseng chicken. My friend and I ordered Wild Sesame Ginseng Chicken Soup and Rice. I have always sesame so I thought this dish would certainly be very healthy. When the pot arrived, it was no different to the ginseng chicken I had back when I was young in Seoul. As usual, the rice was stuffed into the chicken in advance before cooking in the soup base. Since ginseng chicken usually took a long time to cook, the chicken was thoroughly boiled and tasted very soft and delicate. As for the sesame soup paste, it was so so thick that I was not particularly keen on drinking it, somehow.
We ordered an extra baby chicken to share, and it tasted nice too, though it was pretty similar to the baby chicken we had back in Hong Kong.
After the dinner, I still disliked ginseng chicken. Probably because I found ginseng too bitter itself (though it was a very healthy ingredient), and the chicken was just like any other chicken in the market. I perhaps need to study more about ginseng chicken.