It’s been a crazy couple of weeks at my local supermarket. Even though I live way at the edge of Seoul in a fairly desolate area, my GS Mart now has:
- Shallots
- IPA
- Pale ale
- Ricotta cheese
- Kettle chips
It really reminds of just how much Korea has changed since I first arrived, back in the 1990s. Back then, foreign goods usually required a trip to a black market, in Namdaemun or Itaewon or Shinchon. Very few beers or non-Korean vegetables were around.
But now, even the most plain supermarkets offer brussel sprouts, a selection of cheeses and some decent beers, not to mention Vietnamese and Thai sauces. The options are really pretty wide-ranging.
Korean food has really improved, too. There are a whole bunch of good sauces and soup stocks that Korean companies offer.
But for the moment, I’m just really excited about pale ale and shallots.
