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Unique Tanghulu Hallabong And Juice At Dongmun Market
Tanghulu Hallabong
Once I finished up the Hallabong sundae I really thought I was good for the night. I was wrong.
On the way out I passed by what looked like just another Hallabong juice stall. However, something on the side of the stall caught my eye. Glistening orbs of Hallabong on a stick chilling in mid-air will certainly catch your attention. Intrigued by these “Hallabong kabobs”, I walked up to get a closer inspection.
A glossy sheet of sugar syrup coated the floating Hallabong. This sugar coated treat is called Tanghulu.
Originating from China, Tanghulu is a traditional Chinese snack. Consisting of skewered fruits and dipped in a coat of sugar syrup, it’s quite popular. Once the fruit of choice is carefully skewered, the sugar syrup is heated up to just the right temperature. This creates that fabolous glossy shell of sugar that coats the fruit.
The glossy coating, combined with the vivid orange color of the Hallabong, really grabbed my attention. I’ve never had Tanghulu before and figured this would be a nice “healthy” treat after all the other food I had earlier in the night. Sure, it’s sugar coated. But it’s fruit so it evens out right? Let’s not answer that…
The stand convenientely packages the skewers in an easy to go cup so these were easy to transport back to the hotel I was staying at to enjoy throught out my stay in Jeju.
The other thing about the sugar coating is that it acts as natural preservative which keeps the treat fresher for a longer period of time so I could take my time eating it. I couldn’t wait for that first bite.
The Taste Experience
The first bite didn’t disappoint. It had an abundance of flavor with the crispy sugar shell shattering and providing a sugary sweetness combining with the release of the sweet and tangy flavor of the Hallabong and its juice.
They were kind of addicting to be honest. It’s more like candy on a stick since the Hallabong is naturally sweet on it’s own. I had to refrain from eating them all in one sitting, I wanted to make them last a little while longer!
This was the perfect ending to my experience at Dongmun Market. Finishing up with something Hallabong related was fitting since it’s so famous on Jeju Island and really capped off a fun food night trying a bunch of good food stalls at the market place.
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Jungang Night Market, Gyeongju, South Korea
I stopped by this small food market and grabbed a quick bite at a couple of the stalls. This was just opening up so not all the stalls were up and running and there were minimal people there, which was nice!
The first stall I had was BBQ pork. Right off the grill, the pork pieces had that lovely char taste and the sauce was slighlty sweet with mild spice. The pieces were juicy and tender and very tasty. Servied on a bed of shredded cabbage, this was a delicious snack.
The second stall I had served gimbap. It’s hard to walk by a good looking gimbap so I had to give this one a try!
This particular gimbap had some lettuce and grilled pork with some chili sauce in the middle with some ground sesame sprinkled over the top.
Pretty simple ingredients within this gimbap but it was well made and solid tasting!
There were a few other stalls that were open but a lot were still setting up or not fully open yet so I didn’t get the full experience of this night market but was happy with the two stalls I stopped by!
