Seoul Eats

Here are pictures of my students in action during the cooking class I taught last week. Pics of the food are forthcoming. Dan

I went to Daily King's Diner in Jeongja with a couple of friends of mine and my first impression was "Wow!" and then as the meal progressed I just felt like it was "meh." The interior is impressive-it's on the 5th floor of a building and there are beautiful curved windows to look out of. The concept is "The Original American Dining" and it tries to live up to that moniker. The 50's white furniture, hot rod red trim, and stainless steel fixings make you feel like you're in a Quentin Tarantino movie. It's a great atmosphere to have a pleasant chat with friends and it's quiet (something that I'm sure the management is a bit peeved about). Now the food could be better. I mean it's ok, but if I'm going to spend 16-18,000 on a hamburger then I expect it to be premium. I didn't feel like it was. I think could have been tastier. I felt like I was eating a frozen preformed burger. It was of ample size but I want the bite of b...

Simple and healthy. An omelette with a salad topped with Noah's red wine vinegarette, and a strawberry tomato smoothie for dessert. Yes, you heard me correctly: Strawberry tomato smoothie. I'm a big fan. Carol was not. Dan

For a franchise restaurant, it’s not bad. Once you get past the gimmicky name, “Mad for Garlic,” you realize that this is a place that has reliable and fun Italian food- and there are even some standout dishes. This is a great restaurant to take a crowd (the vast menu has something for everyone) and the stylish interior is great for a date. I am a sucker for novelty. And when I went to “Mad for Garlic” I decided to simply have fun. My date and I started out with the Dracula Killer: roasted garlic with anchovies served with baguette. I thought it was a bit too oily, but the subtle sweetness of the garlic paired well with the fish. My date loved it and sent the waiter for more and more bread so she could get at every drop of the garlicky oil. The Sautéed Fresh Mussels was another nice starter, but I would stay away from the Garlic Fondue. The amount of cheese given was an utter disappointment and where were the fondue forks? On to course two: Fresh Spinach Salad. So do garlic, bacon, ...

Dramatic Gopher, Afro Ninja, Diet Coke and Mentos,Leave Britney Alone!, Tay Zonday, Daft Hands and much more! Only Weezer could pull off something this awesome. Dan

The little girl is amazing. I am so envious! I need to study harder! Dan

I'm figuring to Korea in the next month, it will be announced. I will buy one and then I will be happy^^ Dan

Here's a very specific and through evaluation of Dutch Processed Chocolate versus Cocoa Powder. I found it pretty enlightening. Recently I rummaged through my chocolate collection, looking for a snack. As always, the chocolate-bar cupboard was well stocked. There were various Pound Plus bars from Trader Joe's, a Venezuelan 70-percent criollo bar from Chocovic, and some unsweetened Scharffen Berger bars for making brownies. As I broke off a square of Chocovic, I noticed my lone can of Hershey's cocoa powder, and found myself wondering: Was I missing the potential of cocoa powder just because it has zero snack potential? The short answer, it turns out, is yes. And now I have a cocoa-powder collection to rival my chocolate-bar stash, and a new understanding of this neglected ingredient. Here’s the long answer, aka The Mamster’s Cocoa-Powder FAQ. Clockwise from top: Penzeys Dutched cocoa powder, Green & Black organic natural cocoa powder, and Penzeys natural cocoa powder. W...

I'm cooking tonight because I got some decent steaks at Costco. I'm going to make coffee and cashew encrusted steaks with a creme hollandaise sauce, a salad with a red wine and lemon vinaigrette, and chai smoothies for dessert. Pictures will follow. Now the question is: why don't I have a girlfriend? Maybe I should obsess about something other than food^^ Dan

Hahaha! "Kicking it in Geumchon" is the greatest Expat music song ever created. Here are the lyrics^^and a link to the website. Thanks Lofboom Intro: This song goes out to all the waygooks lookin’ for the place to be Chorus: Kickin’ it in Geumchon, Oh, Oh Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo Kickin’ it in Geumchon, Oh, Oh, Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo Kickin’ It, Where? In Geumchon Where? In Geumchon. Where? In Geumchon Where? Kickin’ it in Geumchon, Oh, Oh Verse 1: South Korea’s got Jeju, South Korea’s got Seoul Busan and Ilsan if that’s how you roll But when you work at EV, and live in Paju Then the town to get down is 15 minutes from you, How do I get there? Hop on the 900 bus I use my T-money card so there’s never no fuss Jump off at the station, or shall I say “yuk” Are you fluent in Korean? No I got a phrasebook Pang Pang, now we’re off to the races To the backstreet market checkin’ out pig faces Octupus on sale, squid 2 for 1 Let’s hit the waterpark for fun in the sun, I got my sw...

I am going to be teaching a cooking class at Wein Bakery in Gumi-dong. Directions, map and contact information is on the second poster. Anyway, I'm going to be teaching how to make Yorkshire Pudding, Potato Frittatta, and Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes. I'm going to teach people how to make a basic pancake base and then use it to make a variety of different pancakes such as lemon and green tea, banana and chocolate chip,mango, oatmeal raisin, and whatever else I can think of. I think it's going to be really fun. If you are interested, contact me and I'll give you a special discount. Dan

By the way, I'm in love with Elinza^^ I don't know how she pulled this off, but she did and we had almost 100 people come out to Wein Bakery on a rainy rainy Sunday. Dan

My ex-roommate Ed (WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME ED! :( heard about my pancakes from other guests in my house, but he never got to experience them even though he lived with me for 4 months. It was because a series of unfortunate coincidences. Anyway, the day before he left I made him pancake after pancake after pancake. I think his pancake cravings were appeased. Dan

The Marrekech Nights has moved from it's cozy local (across from the McDonalds in Itaewon). It is now in the space that was inhabited by New Delhi. The upgrade is much appreciated. The food is great and bountiful. My friend Ed and I like to go there for lunch and for 5,000 won you have a choice of falafel, or chicken or beef kebab. Most places would just give you the sandwich and be done with it, but at Marrekech Nights you get a salad dish, french fries, and a slightly spicy, marinated, eggplant dish. Besides being plentiful (and cheap), the food is good. I highly recommend you check it out! Oh, and by the way, the eggplant dish on panel 3 with the bread was an extra order of eggplant that Ed and I had. It was 4 or 5 thousand won. Dan

Ongoing Outdoor Terrace ‘Beer Garden’ at the Renaissance Seoul Hotel. At the Beer Garden, many international cuisines along with cold beer and international beverages are provided daily. ‘Happy Hour’ is available from 6 pm to 8 pm and unlimited cold beer and drinks are provided. In addition, on every Friday, named ‘BBQ Night’, buffet style cuisines are provided along with Happy Hour benefits. Menus include pork barbeque, chicken wings, mini burger with cheddar cheese, and bacon and German style sausage and cabbage. The prices are 12,000 won for the Happy Hour and 33,000 for BBQ Night. Happy Hour from 6-8pm. 2222-8630. June 5-8th Tea World Festival in the Indian Hall at the COEX. Come see and try Green Teas, Oolong Teas, Black Teas, foods and drinks made with teas, and new products made of tea such as medicines, cosmetics, health care items. There will also be Tea Wares and Porcelain. If it has to do with tea, expect it to be at this event. 10-6pm. 6000-8000/6000-8888. teaworld@empal.c...

Here's the article in the JoongAng Daily! Go Elinza and Josephine! It took longer than usual for Alicia Fredericks to bake peppermint crisp mini-tarts and lemon poppy seed cake last Sunday morning. The 25-year-old television actress from South Africa was preparing her favorite recipes for a baking competition later that day in Itaewon, Seoul. The competition, which pitted her against 11 other expats, had alluring prizes such as wine and free meals at expensive restaurants up for grabs. For most of the participants including Fredericks, however, those prizes came second to their desire to contribute to a good cause. The event, a bake-off, was part of the Little Travellers HIV/AIDS Initiative. As part of worldwide social initiatives, Little Travellers, or human-shaped bead pins made by South African women, are sold at events with all proceeds going to help HIV/AIDS patients. Sunday s was the first baking event organized for that purpose in Korea. Even if I had won nothing, I would ha...

Believe it!

Thanks Catherine! Dear all, This year's 4th Annual Expat Beautiful Garage Sale will be held on Saturday, May 24 from noon to 4pm in the Duksung High School gym, centrally located next to Anguk Station (the sale will be signposted from exits 1 and 6). Tables of big and small bargains, the perfect sale for those ex-pats moving on or for passing on spring-cleaned treasures, and a perfect place to buy for everyone else! Sellers keep their revenues, and everything not sold on the day can be donated to The Beautiful Store, a Korean nonprofit organisation that works with the poor (for more info on this organisation, see http://www.bstore.org/eng_new/index.asp). Lots of free parking. For more info and to book a table (15,000 won each), email Susan at 'suseric@hotmail.com'. Kind regards, Hope to see you there, Catherine

May 30th (Friday) from 7.30 pm: Live Classical Fusion Concert at Kabinett Wine Bar rooftop in Itaewon. A unique artistic experience dedicated to the pleasure of all your senses. Price: 30,000 KW, with RSVP, 40,000 KW at the door. Includes buffet dinner and 1 free glass of wine. 2 for 1 offer for all glasses of wine ordered during the evening. Registration to Catherine : cg.hamel@hotmail.com / 010-9497-0343 directly to Kabinett : gmgr@kabinett.co.kr , 02-711-917

Thank you Sena Lee from the Grand InterContinental Hotel for the e-mail. Dan “Pioneering New Frontiers in Culinary Achievement” Team Korea from the Grand InterContinental Seoul took top honors at the MLA Blackbox Global Finals held at the Madinat Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai on May 13 and 14. On May 14, after a grueling day of competition cooking, Team Korea came up as the winner out of 19 international teams competing in bi-annual MLA Black Box Global Finals. Representing the Grand InterContinental Seoul, the team won its chance to represent its country by winning the country heats. The three person team was headed by team manager Chef Bok Jon Dae, and his three team members included chefs Kim Yoo Shik and Lim Ho Teak, both 3rd cooks in the Grand InterContinental Seoul’s flagship restaurant Table 34, and patissier Choi Jin Bok. South Korea also received the awards for Best Soup course, a creamy mushroom veloute, and for Best Main Course. This MLA Blackbox, which first started in Ba...

It's kinda tough trying to decide which place to go. Here's my research on Boracay. Wikitravel Here's a cool blog site I found. I like this resort. It's called the Asya Boracay Resort. Oh...I should probably do some work today instead of blogging all afternoon. Dan

Check out this site! They have great recipes and pictures. I'm going to make the fava bean dip with spinach and feta cheese! http://www.elise.com/recipes/ Dan

It's springtime so I should try to eat more salads right. Here's what I'm thinking. I'd like to make a smoked salmon salad with avocado and cranberry. I think the cranberry and the avocado would pair well. Then I'm thinking a spinach salad with feta cheese, candied walnuts, and watermelon. I should use the Korean chamwei. It's a kind of white melon. I think it would go great with some ham or even prosciutto. Oh, by the way, the Avian Bird Flu scare in Korea has made me a bit paranoid. 15 million chicken were put to death in Seoul. I was going to make a balsamic chicken wrap with sugared pecan but 1) pecans are damn expensive and 2) everyone is scared of chicken in this country. I should make a BLT sandwich. That's a classic that always pleases. I think it would be pleasant with yogurt infused with lemon zest and pepper...hmmmm...bacon tastes good.^^ What else, what else??? I'm going to do a sugared walnut recipe tonight. I'll let you know how they tu...

There are a whole lot of exciting food events this weekend. Tomorrow at 6:30pm there will be a art gallery event at Gasan Gallery in Bundang for artist Lee Jung Tae. The Gallery will have a 4 piece classical quartet play at 7 and there will be a food and wine reception after the concert. The food will be catered by myself and Cafe Di Elena. Yes, that is correct. I'll be partly catering the event. I'm going to make some balsamic chicken wraps with sugared pecans and mandarin oranges and a spicy curry chicken wrap with yogurt sauce. The entire event will cost 30,000. It is in Gumi-dong in Bundang. The map is attached. You can e-mail the gallery at 031-712-1580 or e-mail at gasan91@hanmail.com And on Sunday there will be the Little Traveller's Bakeoff at Wien Bakery in Itaewon. This is going to be an amazing event. Aspiring bakers should come and show off their wares-hey you could win prizes (plus you get to eat a whole lotta cake.) All proceeds go to support women with AIDS. ...

Here is a video of my sister's very cute cat: Marbles.

Sidney Crosby as Cindy. (Instead of Sidney...she called him Cindy AKA he's a girl.) Well...Flyers fans are not known for their wit.

Here are some more Thailand Pics

Is to plan the next vacation. I am currently thinking Cebu in the Phillipines. Here is what my research has uncovered. First of all it is 7th on Conde Nast's most desirable islands. It looks like a very desirable place. Here is a great blog review with hotel information: http://nilatanzil.blogspot.com/2008/05/exploring-cebu-island-philippines.html Hmmm...Here's a classified site. I'll check it out later . Here are some videos of Cebu. Here's an interesting review site on Cebu. Here's a hotel that has Spanish Flair. And here's what the Lonely Planet has to say. BINGO! Here's a blog with price lists of places to stay in Cebu. Here's the Crown Regency.

This is the year I've been waiting for! With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar,Marian Hossa, and Marc-Andre Fleury how can this team go wrong. This is the team that will make hockey cool for the masses again. Mario Lemieux's love and ardor for the city of Pittsburgh has brought the new hockey dynasty to Steel Town. In only a couple of weeks, the Stanley Cup will return to the city of Pittsburgh and herald in the new era of hockey. Philadelphia may be aggressive, but they can't play a lick of hockey. They are simply goons and bullies. Who do they have on their team? Daniel Beardless: the pubescent wunderwhat?; Vinny Prospect: he's the tinman that plays without heart; ummm...Derian Hatcher: Goon; Jason Smith: Goon (Now that I think about it, the entire blueline is composed of goons.). The only person that I respect on their team is Simon Gagne. Now that guy has hands and he can skate. I can't wait to see him play in the series-no, wait!-he was concussed. D...

Talk about fusion. This sounds amazing. Lush, meaty salmon paired with a sesame soy marinade. Salmon "Bulgogi" With Bok Choy And Mushrooms Bulgogi—beef marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, and other seasonings—is a popular Korean dish. Here, we've subbed in salmon for the sirloin. Total: 15 minutes Servings: Makes 4 servings 2 large garlic cloves, peeled, divided 1/3 cup chopped green onions 1/4 cup soy sauce 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry Sherry 1 3/4-inch cube peeled fresh ginger 2 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil 3/4 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce* 4 6-ounce center-cut skinless salmon fillets 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large bok choy, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips (about 7 cups) 4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps sliced Go to the link for the recipe. Thanks Carol for the link.

I'm going to post more in detail about Chang Mai, but for now here is a hint of my time there.

Cafes in Seoul Café Yeon: Traveler’s Hangout This is an eclectic little joint in Samcheong-dong that has the styling of a modern han-ok (Korean traditional house). The café is located in the center of a raised area on the main street. You’ll see a sign for “Toy Kino2” and it is right above that. Even though, it is a bit out of the way, it is always packed and it has the vibe of a hippie hangout. The servers rarely wear shoes (even in winter) and dreads on top of their heads have seeped into their personality. It’s a chill place to grab a cup of tea, a beer, or a bottle of wine. They have a diverse selection of books to browse and the atmosphere evokes existential conversations. There is standard café fare like nachos and beef jerky, as well as, food like banana pancakes and chicken tikka masala. This is a great place to spend a Sunday. Café Yeon: Traveler’s Hangout Samcheong-dong 734-3009 cafeyeon.cyworld.com Bookcafe If books are your thing, then I recommend the “Bookcafe” in Samch...

The first thing that you will notice when you enter the “Aa Design Museum” in Hongdae is the multi-orbed light fixture that looms over head like a spiteful alien from H.G. Well’s War of the Worlds. But as your eyes focus on the spacious interior, you realize that lamp “fits.” Then you get comfortably settled in one of the designer chairs, open up your book, and settle into an hour or two of personal reverie. The high ceilings and bricked walls make you feel like you’re in a converted loft apartment in NYC owned by a very affluent, hip artist. It’s a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of Seoul. The Americano coffee is robust- no complaints here-and it was served in a mug with a very peculiar handle. All their drinks range in normal café prices (W4,000-6,000) and they have a nice selection of beers, including Guinness, on tap. Their wine selection ranges from the affordable to the extravagant and their food is on par to bistro dining in other parts of the world (This is a rare feat...

Eat a Cake and Help a Traveller The newly opened WIEN Cake house in Itaewon will be hosting the first Little Traveller’s BAKE-OFF. Enter your baked goods to be judged and stand a chance to win some awesome prizes. Cakes, muffins, pies, breads, cookies-anything sweet and baked are welcome. Not a wiz in the kitchen? Well, pay 10,000W at the door, receive your Little Traveller and get a chance to sample the cakes and vote for your favorite dish! Doors open to the public at 3 o’clock! (Contestants must sign in at 1 o’clock and must be available for preliminary judging and photographs). For more information on this event and for the entry-form, please visit www.littletravellers.net/little-travellers-korea and e-mail korea@littletravellers.net. Or phone 010-8694-6561 (English) and 011-9029-3094 (Korean).

Like an egg, mango and sticky rice gave birth to my imagination. I would ravage each dish like a pubescent boy and then let the sweet milk linger on the corner of my mouth; It becoming a sculpture, and then lick it off just before my next encounter. My Chang Mai mistress, the city was our bedroom as we romped through the streets, the restaurants, the bedrooms, the hole-in-the-wall cafes, and in private kitchens. Neither of us cared if others stared at our affection. Oh, my love: like the scent of crackling creme bulee; When we had to part, I would see you everywhere. I would see you on the halo of Jesus, the reflection of the sun in a muddy pond, the smile of a child, and each petal dancing in the breeze. I remember, as my spoon hovered over you, how I wished I could keep the image of you whole, while indulging in the flavor at the same time. And when I could, since the spoon is such an inadequate carrier for flavor, I would use my hands to reach into you and let you kiss my lips. How ...

This link is from Miss Koco (whom, I miss dearly). The pictures make me realize that I need to take a photography class and invest in a much better camera. Check it out here. Dan