Kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of some select vegetables with varied seasonings, most commonly referring to the spicy baechu variety - Wikipedia.

Today is Philip’s birthday, our Korean friend. He invited me along with Allen in their house for a small gathering. It was his new place since his transfer last month.

Just as we expected, Allen and I were the only Filipinos other than Philip’s tutor Ella. There were 7 more Koreans in the house. We came an hour late from the 12nn invitation Philip sent us. But it didn’t matter since the food preparation was still ongoing when we arrived.

Most of the dishes were Philippine cuisines since Ella cooked most of them. Philip’s friend David cooked the “KIMCHI” which got us nosy after a little gaze of how it looked like.

Then the birthday song gushed out. Everyone was seated around a long rectangular table with our knees on the floor. It was a Korean meal table, a fresh start for us. Small introductions among the people ensued. We helped ourselves with the food after, not forgetting the KIMCHI on the list. The Koreans harried with the Filipino cuisines. I on the other hand stretched my arms over the KIMCHI and took the first bite.

I wasn’t quite sure whether it was bland or just right. It seemed fine when Liz tasted it, when Blanka smudged it, when David ate his recipe. Well that was unique so far, the Korean-type they say: weirdly baked with an odd tang of saltiness. It was a cabbage blended with salt and vinegar, and the vinegar was a little bit spicy. Now that’s a Korean cuisine.