小時候我爸會帶我們稍微走遠一點去一家小小的韓式料理餐廳。如果只是簡單吃個午餐，我們會買韓式烤肉便當，依稀記得有牛肉豬肉雞肉可選，我最喜歡的一直是烤牛肉。如果是去吃晚餐，我們則常會點銅盤烤肉作為餐桌上的主角。
My dad used to bring us to a small Korean restaurant a bit out of our neighbourhood. For a quick lunch, we would grab some bulgogi lunch bentos –– bulgogi, rice, some veggies and sides of the day. For dinner, we usually ordered a fancier version of bulgogi, grilled on a copper hot plate alongside with cabbages, tofu, and mushrooms, as the main character of the table.
幾年前我在赫爾辛基市中心找到一家小小的韓式家庭餐廳，隱身於一家咖啡館之後，由兩個韓國阿姨經營。兩位阿姨待人溫暖，總是充滿耐心用鼓勵的眼神聽我練習使用韓文點餐結帳。暖黃的燈光、溫馨的環境和美味到我會特別外帶回家的料理讓我在那一年冬天去光顧了好多次，獨身一人、三五好友，有一次剛看完牙醫、有一次是剛拍完畢業照。那裡就像是除了家以外最溫暖的地方。
Few years ago I found a small Korean family restaurant near the centre of Helsinki, hidden in the back of a café. It was run by very warm and friendly Korean ladies, who was always so patient and encouraging when I tried to speak Korean with them. More importantly, the food, as well as the vibe, was so nice and heartwarming that for that winter when I visited so many times, alone after my dentist appointment or with friends after my graduation photoshoot, it felt like the cosiest and warmest place in the city except home.
描述空間時，溫馨的另一面經常時窄小和擁擠。需要經過咖啡館才能到達的空間的確不大，擺不了幾張桌子，確實不是理想中適合長期經營的地點。那年冬天過後，她們暫停營業進入休眠期，一邊著手尋找新的店面，一邊轉做線上訂購。夏天的早晨我運動後在瑜珈墊上一邊拉筋一邊滑手機殺時間，看到她們開放線上訂購的消息時，興奮瞬間抑制住了內向的本性，手指顫抖地私訊訂購了辛奇和已經醃製好，回家只需要炒一炒就完成的烤牛肉。約好時間，我特地跑一趟市中心，在她們夏季打工的冰淇淋攤車交貨。
However, the place was small with limited tables and a tiny kitchen. Not to mention that customer had to pass through the café in front to enter. It was only meant to be temporary. They closed down the restaurant after winter and started to seek for a new location. During the hiatus, they switched to online ordering. In summer, one morning I was stretching on a yoga matt and scrolling on my phone to kill time, I saw their post about opening online orders. Immediately, my excitement surpassed shyness. With my fingers slightly shaking, I messaged them and ordered kimchi and, most importantly, bulgogi that they had marinated, which I just had to sauté myself at home to recreate the restaurant experience. To receive the order, I went to meet them at the ice cream truck where they worked their summer jobs in the centre.
美味的料理和溫暖的服務注定了她們的成功。接下來的一兩年內，她們從一個大店面搬到了更大的店面。無法避免地，隨著規模一步步地擴大，關於這家餐廳我喜歡的特點也一點點消逝。方便的地點、溫暖的寒暄、精緻小巧的家常菜都因餐廳的轉型而逐漸被取代。漸漸地，當我思考午餐和晚餐選項時越來越少想到它，好像不需要為了簡單的一餐專程跑去一個周圍沒有其他事情可做的地方。去年朋友從臺灣來找我，我特別安排在去西貝流士公園的時候繞過去吃午餐，的確，和記憶中的模樣相比已經是完全不一樣的另一家韓式餐廳了。幾週前當我地毯式搜索我儲存在 Google Maps 中的地點，計劃我的「餐廳+咖啡館」城市之旅時，錯愕地發現她們的頁面顯示永久停業。震驚之餘我快速找到我仍然跟隨著的餐廳 Instagram 頁面，最新的一則堤阿文也已經hi好久以前了，網站也不再運作。我持續嘗試搜尋試圖找到蛛絲馬跡，但無功而返。雖然我不習慣餐廳到了後期的變化，但停業的消息仍然讓人失落嘆息。
With the extraordinarily good food and warm service, there's no doubt that they were going to succeed. They moved to bigger and bigger places, but at the same time more and more away from the centre. Less and less it popped into my mind when considering lunch and dinner places simply because there were nothing nearby, I basically needed to go there specifically. Another reason was that, as the scale of the restaurant increased, the menu changed, the warmness faded away inevitably. It started to feel like just another restaurant to me. Few weeks ago when I was planning my "restaurant + café" city trip, I clicked on their pin on my Google Maps, it showed permanently closed. Their Instagram page hadn't have new updates for a long while, their website is down, devastatingly. I tried to search around, but in vain eventually. Although I hadn't adjusted to their change, I still felt a sense of losing something precious.
韓式烤牛肉帶給我一種溫暖的舒適感，而這也是我將其加入居家料理定期輪替菜單的原因。從超市買韓國品牌的烤牛肉醬和切好的牛肉條，加上洋蔥絲，簡單快速拌炒一下就完成。我一定會搭配櫛瓜煎餅。先切片撒鹽出水後吸乾，包裹麵粉和蛋液下鍋中小火慢煎至兩面金黃。有點費時費工，但對我而言是櫛瓜最美味的料理方式。我還會再清炒一道青菜，通常白菜或青江菜，如果幸運冰箱有辛奇，剛好拿來點綴。
To me, bulgogi brings warm and cosy homeliness. I included it in our home food rotation to have it once in a while. I use store bought bulgogi sauce from Korean brands and beef strips that are easy and quick to cook. And I'd add some sliced onions for some different textures and extra sweetness. Hobak jeon is the must-have side dish for me when it comes this. Slice a zucchini into round pieces, sprinkle some salt to let out the water and later dry them. Coat with first a thin layer of flour and then eggs. Pan-fry them with medium-low heat until golden on both sides. It takes time to make but personally I think it is the best way to cook zucchini –– crispy on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside. For extra vegetables, I would add a simple boiled or stir-fried cabbage or bok choy. And if I am lucky and have kimchi in my fridge, I’d also add some.
我發現對我來說療癒的食物中很多是韓式料理，烤牛肉、泡菜鍋、韓式餃子、最唾手可得的韓式海鮮辣泡麵。我一直覺得這件事很有趣，猜想可能是因為韓式料理總是在我人生中的重要時刻冒出來掌管舞台的緣故吧。
It is interesting that a lot of my comfort food is Korean, like bulgogi, kimchi jjigae, mandu, and the most easily accessible one, spicy ramyeon. I guess it's probably because Korean cuisine has always popped out to take the stage in my important life moments.
