I
expect Zooroona to serve the
authentic Middle Eastern cuisine that has the variety of menu choices, and if
that can be true, then this restaurant definitely
represents a “vivid entryway into another culture” for me (Long 1). I’ve never really
experienced Middle Eastern culture or food since most of my lifetimes I have
lived in Korea where there are not many Middle Eastern people live. Although
Indian restaurants are quite common in Seoul, Middle Eastern restaurants are
hard to find in there. Also, my knowledge and experience for tasting Middle
Eastern food are limited, and I don’t really know much about its culture.
From my personal experiences in the past, only representative
food I have known for the Middle Eastern food is Kebab. I saw kebab for the
first time in my life on the street actually, not even in the restaurant. I
smelled roasting Kebab from 15 feet away from
an entry of Myeong-dong station as soon as I got out of there. Of course I didn’t
know where is that smell from, but while walking down the busy Myeong-Dong
Street, I found a Korean lady making kebab which was probably Korean-version of
kebab. Next to the well-done grilled kebab on a skewer, there were ketchup
and mustard. My brother who went to Turkey with my dad told me that these
sauces weren’t supposed to go along with that kebab if this kebab is the
authentic one. It was only five dollar, so I bought it and had a bite. It wasn’t
that great since there were many parts were burned, but since it was cheap, I
didn’t complain. I dipped the kebab into ketchup, and it tasted like yakitori which
is a common street food in Korea and is originated from Japan. The kebab I had
was made of chicken, and yakitori is a grilled and skewered chicken too. The
juicy shreds of chicken were thick but tender.
I expect more than this juicy and tender but burned chicken
kebab when I get to taste dishes in Zooroona. For the dining experience in
Zooroona, I assume that I will taste more authentic Middle Eastern dishes since
I heard that Zooroona’s owner is from the Middle East. My only worry for this
experience is what if I get horrible service and long wait time. I hate waiting
in the restaurant while smelling delicious dishes that I can’t eat right now.
Also, if I’m hungry, that’s worst. I’m sure that as Zooroona isn’t cheap
restaurant, the service will be nice, but I never know! I’m worried about
service because I don’t really know much about the Middle Eastern food, I hope
the waiters and waitresses can kindly and patiently guide me about the Middle
Eastern dishes while bearing my ignorance of what are true Middle Eastern foods.
My hope for this experience is that I will be able to taste
high-quality kebab and authentic Middle Eastern desserts. When I go to
restaurants serving cultural foods, I always focus on desserts since I consider
eating desserts finishes up the journey of tasting whole meal time.
My restaurant review for Zooroona
will be related to Tokyo Redux chapter in A
Cook’s Tour by Anthony Bourdain. Tokyo
Redux is about Bourdain experiencing natto
that he describes as “an unbelievably foul, rank, slimy, glutenous, and
stringy goop of fermented soybeans. It’s the Vegemite of Japan, dearly loved by
everyone there, for reasons no outsider can understand” (152). I might be an
outsider like Bourdain that I don’t understand some parts of the Middle Eastern
food. My assumption of Zooroona is
that they probably serve authentic and traditional Middle Eastern dishes, and I’m
going to face with culturally rich dishes that I might hate to taste. But, I
might love to taste these dishes.
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