Wow, the NYT’s story finally got out! I’ve been saving pictures of the various restaurants and places that Matt, Zen Kimchi, a couple of other bloggers (ex-pat Jane) and I went. Here are the pics^^
Dan
Here we are at Gaon. Notice the multitude of dishes. Like I’ve said: the dishwasher is the worst job in Korea.
Gaon has awesome jokbal kimchi stew. It’s like spicy cream of tomato soup.
All the plates at Gaon are designed in house.
Spicy Vegetable Salad from Gaon.
I am being attacked by Sang Nakchi (live octopus).
I call this a Sea Callus. You bite and sea water gets pumped out and then you just keep chewing. It’s not my favorite.
Live octopus.
Seafood Soup.
This squid was huge! I’m talking 5 to 6 feet easy.
Some sort of shrimp.
Eye can see you.
Sea Mollusks. Yummmm.
Figs
The Korean Market at night.
Marinated Crab.
Very cool people from the market.
Stingray
Sure they are selling mushrooms^^.
Tornado Potatoes.
Ginko Nuts
Tentacles.
Steak in an icecream cone (too bad the place closed down).
Yum. (It was ok at first, but then the waffle cone starts to turn to mush in your hands.)
Close up. This is the chili chicken pasta cone.
Andong Jjim-ddak.
Bunny sashimi. Delicious with a little soy sauce.
JUST KIDDING!
A picture of Matt and I.
Dan
About the Author
Congratulations on achieving some real world success for your blog! I read the NYT article, and backtracked it to a dude I used to know from Delaware.
Small world.
Keep up the good work.
-Dan Williams
Portland, OR
i’m not too sure if i liked your comment about koreans and wine. it sounded arrogant and condenscending. or did matt gross just use you as you are ethnically korean?…
The wine quote was taken out of context. We started out talking about a friend of mine who started reading the wine manga, Tears of God and how he began to appreciate wine because of the comic.
Wine is relatively a new phenomenon here and I believe that’s what Matt was trying to convey in the article.
Thanks for reading and the post.
Dan
Hey Daniel,
Congratulations on the NYT article! I have a questions for you, since you seem to be eating your way through Seoul. I live in Gunpo (near Suwon), and am looking for a restaurant in Seoul to take my boyfriend for his birthday. Price isn’t a factor. It could be 60,000+ won for a set meal, as long as it’s good. Any kind of food is fine. How was Gaon? Was it worth the price?
I’m looking for ideas, and thanks for the help!
http://www.lao-ocean.com
Great pictures.
Omg. Don’t eat the bunnies! *glares*
They are bite sized though…
Hi, Dan. I’m sorry that I missed the comment you left on my blog, since the domain to which my blog belong trashes any comment in English as a spam. I’ve recovered it from the trash can. What a great blog you have here. Kudos!
Lao-girl, honestly, I wouldn’t recommend you go to Gaon. I feel that Gaon is great for people who have just come to Korea or people looking for an excellent atmosphere, but if you’ve been here for a while then it would seem like very expensive versions of food you regularly eat. When we went to eat, half the people were disappointed. I was a huge fan, others…not so much. If you would like to impress your boyfriend, I recommend Sushi Hyo for sushi. Woo Jae Oak for bulgogi (at Eujiro 5-ga), sanchon for temple food, Doo-rei for Korean emperor style food, a Midi in Samcheongdong for boulliabase, and …look up http://www.sachalfood.com for awesome vegetarian food.
Oh Why do you and cheri have to torture me with Andong Jjim-ddak photos!!!!!!I have never found a restaurant that serves this in the US!!!!I think Im going to have to take another trip to Korea just for this stuff!!! LoL, that’ll be the most expensive meal…$1500 for airplane tickets just to eat Jjim-ddak!
hey i came across a copy of last sunday’s times and clipped the article for you. in case you want it on paper.
re: a midi — that place is awesome, possibly the best french food in seoul.