The Queen of Street Food

That is me. I love buying food from a vendor on the street. I don’t know why. I just do. Anywhere. San Francisco, New York, Cairo, here. Throughout the winter there was a woman with a food booth in front of our school. She sold Korean chicken mcnuggets and in-gap-pan. A fried pancake-ish concoction filled with bean paste shaped like a fish. I loved in-gap-pan. Almost everyday Chanta and I would head downstairs to get a steaming fish. Mmmm. Then one day, she no longer sold the mcnuggets or the in-gap-pan. They were gone. We were sad.

In the place of our beloved steamed fish were hot dog concoctions. We turned our noses at them. How dare she replace yummy in-gap-pan with hot dogs? Ugh. The students would run downstairs in between classes to scarf a hot dog treat, but we boycotted. We wanted in-gap-pan.

Today, hunger won. I had half an hour in between classes. My stomach was growling. I didn’t have time to go home. I didn’t even have time to run to DongA basement to get a quick sandwich or other deli treat. Okay, Ms. In-gap-pan Lady, I’m not happy you discontinued making my favorite food here in Korea, but I will try your hot dog treat. And treat is really the only way to describe it. Imagine this. A hot doggish frank, surrounded by cabbage, ketchup, slices of pear, strips of cucumber, wrapped in a pancake. All for 35 cents. Chanta and I paid her in coins and stepped to the side to consume our dinner. “You take the first bite,” Chanta said. I did. Ooh. This isn’t bad. Try it. “Wow. You’re right.” Minutes later we were back in line, for our second helping. We now have a new favorite treat…