Wal Mi Do Part 1 - Say hello to Sannakji

*** Wal Mi Do has closed

*** Part 2 of this post can be found here.

I noted in my brief post on Sam's reappearance at Walmido, that Sam had told me to drop by for dinner and he'd have a "surprise" for me. So recently, I did just that. It turned out to be an interesting night. My previous experience with Hwe (Hoe - raw) type dishes has been Hwe Dop Bop, and the occasional Kimbap (a roll).  During my previous lunch time visit, I had a fairly quick meal of Hwe Dop Bop, chatted with Sam and hit the road......

But early on this evening, I arrived, in a much more relaxed state. I took in the rather small sushi bar (7 seats), and the large tank of live seafood residing right next to it.

 

As I took a seat, Sam and I exchanged pleasantries....and our usual share of jokes and insults....questions about family...conversation built up over years of patronage....

A few minutes later, a green salad, some edamame, and miso soup arrived. Sam clapped his hands together and said; "ok Kirk-san, are you ready?" At which point Sam walked out the side of the sushi bar, and back around the kitchen area, only to appear behind tank.

 

I started to say something about not bothering with the live abalone, it's not one of my favorite things, when I noticed it.... Sam, cracking up, said;" look Kirk-san, they know I'm coming, they're running away..." I made some feeble remark how quickly I'd get "out of Dodge" if I saw Sam's face peering at me through a piece of glass as well. Sam brought a little Octopus out of the tank, seething and wriggling out of the tank. After extricating it...or more appropriately removing his hands from the suckers of the baby Octopus, Sam placed in on a plate.

 

Sam told me, "I'll make it just the way I like it....salt and sesame oil." Ohhhhkay.....

You know, unlike the very talented and ever intrepid Eddie Lin(man, I love his writing), I don't seek this stuff out. But put it front of me, and I'll likely, with a few exceptions, eat it. It's a matter of respect and appreciation. Plus, Mom always said, "you have to try it once....if you don't like it, ok, but you must try it once....." Words of wisdom, if I've ever heard any. (Though I've paid sorely a few times over the years....)

 

Plus, Sam rambled on about his love for Sannakji, so you know I had to try it! I guess you could say, I've been "sucked in?"

And so here I was, beyond all the bad puns, peering at writhing segments of suction cups on a plate. The sesame seeds just made things look much more peculiar; pulsating, shiny, smelling of sesame oil.......

   

The flavor is very mild, and most of it came from the sesame oil and sea salt. Knowing the love that Korean's have for various textures, from the stretchy Naengmyun to the crust developed on a Dolsot (stone bowl), I can understand why they love this. It is the ultimate in a meaty-chewy texture, and it moves around in your mouth of it's own, semi-free will to boot! And if you thought peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth was problematic....... 

It is a strange sensation.....you're trying to chew and swallow dinner, while dinner is fighting back in desperation.....it's the ultimate, "You kill me, I kill you right back" moment.

 

I did clean my plate......and only had to pull the little suckers off my teeth or the roof of my mouth a few times. I had a harder time separating the wriggling, pulsating segments. Not something I'll crave, but not terrible.

So, if you decide to have some Sannakji, tell Sam to make sure to get a "lively one"...and chew like heck! It is probably worth trying, and who knows, you may end up loving it. You'll never know unless you try it. And, I'm pretty sure that you can't get this anywhere else in San Diego.

If you thought this was interesting, stay tuned for part two, in which I learn a bit more about the differences between a Japanese Sushi bar, and a Hwe Restaurant. And we delve a bit deeper into the Korean love affair with chewy and crunchy textures.

Wal Mi Do
4367 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

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Comments

[Jenn]

Ahhhh - I've had that! I thought it would be awful, but I actually enjoyed it! I'm looking forward to see what you ate in part two!

[sawyer]

reading this reminded me of when i visited korea once as a kid and had this. i remember chomping down as hard as i could because the moving octopus freaked me out. can't wait to read part 2!

[Trent]

Kirk, now maybe you can be Will Smith's whole-octopi-eating stunt double in Spielberg's remake of the Korean blockbuster, "Oldboy"!

[Kirk]

Hi Jenn - It sounds like you enjoyed it much more than I did!

Hi Sawyer - You've been an adventurous eater since childhood, I'm impressed.

Hi Trent - Yeah, right...I'm a spitting image of Will Smith!! ;o) You've heard of Body Doubles....I don't know what you'd call a "stunt mouth"....

[Carol]

Haha, very cool! Not sure if I can handle a dish like that. Cooked is awesome but live, wiggling and sucking, hmmm.

[Chris]

I saw this on TV recently. Apparently a number of folks die each year (in Korea)as a result of choking. The cups get stuck in their throats. I'll stick to tako wasabi for now.

[Hao]

And here I thought I was going to have to travel all the way to LA's Korea town to try some live octopus. Can't say I'm eager to try it soon, but I'll let Sammy know I'm interested one of these days...

[clayfu]

So is he not serving sushi anymore? Seems to be a whole different cuisine now right?

[Cathy]

Ew ew ew ew ewwwww. You win. I will never be able to do this for a post. No. Not ever.

[Kirk]

Hi Carol - It wasn't too bad...just kinda strange if you're not used to it. It's also veyr chewy.

Hi Chris - That's why you need to chew like crazy! I've seen videos of folks who eat the entire octopus in one bite....I'm thinking that can be dangerous.

Hi Hao - It was a fascinating experience.

Hi Clayfu - Hey, howszit going...hope all is well. Sam still serves sushi, and told me that the quality of fish is the same at Sammy's. But the main focus of the restaurant is the Hoe style. The Owner andy brought Sam in so he could serve his Japanese customers.

Hi Cathy - It wasn't that bad....

[Judy Lee]

"You kill me, I kill you right back"..... LOVE IT. my imagination is now picturing little segments of tentacles climbing up the esophagus.

ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kirk]

Hi Judy - Double "ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!" LOL! Your imagination is already planning a sequel..."Return of the Sannakji" ;o)

[Fred]

I guess I'm a bit tender-hearted when it comes to eating live things; I personally would have risked offending Sammy and passed on the live octopus. I felt kind of bad in Hong Kong when they took live abalone and cooked them right in front of us. But to each his (or her) own!

[Kirk]

Hi Fred - You know, the eating live things, thing...well, no blood (at least not red blood), no noise, I couldn't really see it's eyes, and nothing that made me bond with the creature...maybe if I gave it a name? After all, I've eaten live shrimp, seen live fish thrown on the grill, watched in awe as Hiroyuki Urasawa dispatched a very alive lobster. Live Uni??? It was much more disturbing watching my grandmother quickly dispatch a chicken or once as I watched an elderly Filipino Grandma dispatch a live pig with a sliver of bamboo..... Live octopus is seen as a delicacy.