Join us at Korea Festival August 12th 6-8pm

On August 11th & 12th, there will be the 12th annual Korean Festival in Koreatown, at 5601 N. Spaulding (Kedzie & Bryn Mawr).

Jimthebeerguy and I will be there with our three kids on the 12th (Sunday) to sample some bites for dinner, from 6pm-8pm, and we would love it if any LTHers join us.

There will be parking available at Northside College Prep, and Northeastern Illinois University (4th floor parking lot). I think it's free, but don't hold me to that.

My cell # is 773-512-7348. Show up and give us a call! We'd love to see you!

*bump*

http://www.koreanfestival.org/homePage.html

Zim and I were trying to make a long-deferred adventure to Al-Khaymeih for cornish hen when we drove by the western end of the K-fest and audibled for a change of venue.

We started with a plate of pig foot, had some galbi and rice, and then a sampler of fried food. The food was pretty good, but the best thing was a closing stop in the fruit market for a Korean melon pop.

Actually, the fried squid was really pretty good too. This is definitely a nice festival for its scope and (lack of) crowds. I had to wait a while for the galbi as that booth got kind of suddenly mobbed, but still no serious grounds for unhappiness.
The cornish hen will have to wait for another day...

I headed over to the Korean Festival last weekend for a mere hour and actually didn't get a chance to eat anything (we were entertaining out of town guests and had just nonsensically come from brunch).

But I did get to take some pictures, since I haven't seen any up yet.

Nothing says Korean Festival like Korean wrestling. Apparently anyone could come up, grab a shovel, and help make the wrestling pit.



This lady here was making Korean cookies filled with red bean paste. She's using a sort of waffle iron here to make the cookies. It's very common Korean street food. You can even find them at Chicago Food Corporation from time to time.



The sweet smell of bulgogi was everywhere. The griller on the right looks like he was definitely feeling the heat of the day and the grill!



My father is part of an association for his home province here in Chicago. The province is called Gangwon-Do and they've been recently exporting products from Korea. Here he is showing off some dried pollock.



The reason why I love this street festival is that the Koreans know you need lots of seating so you can sit and eat. There were many tents with tables and chairs so you could enjoy your meal in the shade. I don't know about you, but eating pigs feet or soondae standing up in the 90 degree plus heat and beating sun is not very exciting for me...

Looking forward to next year, hopefully I'll be able to stay and eat longer next time!

Sharona

Sharona wrote:The reason why I love this street festival is that the Koreans know you need lots of seating so you can sit and eat.

Yes, this is exactly what stood out to me as well. It was wonderful to have so much seating choice. There were even chairs set out on the sidewalks.

Your pictures are great. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of my food... which wasn't all that photogenic anyway, except for dessert - bingsoo (or bingsu?). A bowl of ice cream and...other things which I'm not sure of, such as red bean paste, tapioca, and LOTS of fruit. Got that at the Outdoor Cafe on Spaulding & Bryn Mawr, so named because the floor of the restaurant is made of the kind of rocks you would see in a garden, with stepping stones.