Seoul Eats

I'm a fan of Tomatillo's Mexican food and they are having a Cinco de Mayo Party. I'm going to be there. Anyone interested in joining me? Go to Facebook to make a reservation. Dan Come out to Tomatillo's 1st Cinco de Mayo Party! Enjoy your "RED DAY" with us and some of your favorite Mexican Flavors... Food Specials! 2,000won Tacos (pork or chicken) 2,000won Taquitos (Pork) 2,000won Mini-Nachos Drink Specials 2,000won Tequila Shots! 3,000won Margaritas! 3,000won Mexican Beer (Corona and Sol so far...) Also...LIVE MUSICA. Cinco de Mayo Band Line-Up 12:00-1:30—The Kari Vanderkloot Quartet (Latin jazz) 2:00-2:45—Dharma Club (Pop/rock) 3:00-3:45—Gitalottabass (Latin jazz) 5:00-6:30—South Mountain Orchestra (Latin jazz) 7:00-8:00—Mariachi Band and that's not all... We'll have a Kids Zone from 12 until 5pm--so bring out the kids for this event too. And stay tuned for information about our 1st Annual Burrito Eating Contest!!!!!! Date: T

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you know that Toque is having some specials this month. It's a quaint restaurant that serves up homestyle Americana cuisine. I'm a big fan of their brunch, burgers, and chili. They have some other specials as well this much. Be sure to tell them Seouleats told you! Dan Dear Toque Friends,   I hope everyone is enjoying this BEAUTIFUL weather! May in Korea is the "Family Month" of the year and we have some upcoming events for this special month.   1. We have started handing out  Toque Stamp Coupons  this month.  We give you one stamp for every bill over \30,000. The offer is: a free cappuccino or latte after 3 stamps, \3,000 discount after 5 stamps, one free appetizer after 8 stamps and  40% off your bill (excluding alcohol and Chef's Course) after 10 stamps.   Many of our regulars and enjoying this benefit and looking forward to the 40% food discount so come by to get the coupons.   2. May 5th is   "Children's Day"

http://twitter.com/cdcemergency State # of laboratory confirmed cases California 10 cases Kansas 2 cases New York City 45 cases Ohio 1 case Texas 6 cases TOTAL COUNT 64 cases International Human Cases of Swine Flu Infection See: World Health Organization

Pic from The Sultan's Secret Garden I know that you've all done it. I'll admit it. I've done it too. My sister Jenna was the best at it. She once cooked popcorn and set the timer for 3 minutes and it started to burn after 2. The entire family ran to the kitchen to see what was going on and Jenna was there staring at this smoking microwave and not doing anything. I think I turned the microwave off. We asked her why she didn't do the same and she answered, "But the directions said 3 minutes!" Yes, we have all burned something in the microwave and then had to deal with the stench of burnt food. Now the worst smell of all has to be burnt popcorn. I don't know why that is, but burnt popcorn smells like rancid cat urine with a liquid smoke scent. Now, my friend burned something in her microwave yesterday and she asked me how she could get the scent out. The solution that Momma Gray taught me was to take some vinegar and baking soda and coat the walls wit

Yeah, but I don't think he is a big fan of the premium rice custard. Dan

Swine Flu is scary stuff and it seems to get getting worse and worse in America and Mexico. There haven't been any reported cases in Korea- thank gosh and I don't think it'll be much of a problem. Korea uses mainly domestic pigs, so I think they are isolated from the infected masses. Now I'm sure that the visa requirements (i.e. for E-2 teaching visas) for foreigner pigs are so tough that they wouldn't even bother coming to Korea. Plus I heard they feed the Korean pigs Kimchi. Kimchi is the cure all for everything. Apparently that's what kept the Avian Flu away, so I don't think the swine flu has any chance. Oh, and a final note. What's scary about this epidemic is that this flu can be transmitted from pigs to human, so I wouldn't recommend kissing any pigs like in the picture above. Plus, cook your meat to around 70 degrees celcius (140 F). This will kill the virus. Dan

Hey Seoul Eats Readers, I love getting fan mail and I always try to answer them as soon as possible. One reader, Jennifer asked: since last week, i've had this unsatiable craving for pommes frites, but have not been able to find a place that sells belgian fries anywhere. =( do you know of a place you can recommend? oh, and one more question. do you know where i can buy real cheese? i.e. cheese that does not resemble kraft singles slices and posseses actual substantive taste to its existence? i have no cheese(s) to eat with my wine. brie and apples! gruyere! super crumbly blue cheese i always forget the name of! For Pomme Frites, I recommend Mignon behind the Hamilton Hotel. I t has great food and the patio is wonderful to sit out on during the Springtime. I recommend getting the mussels with the pomme frites. If I recall, they might have come automatically as a side. For real cheese, it's around everywhere, but I've been noticing it has been getting expensive. Chees

By Aaron Falzerano On the streets of Hongdae is Penang, a Chinese restaurant of high quality. In fact, I wasn’t even looking for Penang when I came across it, but it gives you this “why look any further?” feeling. So I turned around and went inside, all the time thinking “Well, I’ll just leave if the menu’s too expensive.” Once inside you don’t want to leave, it is definitely the atmosphere that makes this restaurant different. The colors are soft pastels, the ceiling has stucco archways in an off-white...and also, some of the food is incredible. The clientele is diverse, ranging from large families to chatting friends, but one of the great feats of Penang, is that you feel like it is your place. The restaurant achieves a certain harmony, where diners are free to take in the food, music, and each other without distraction. This mood settles on everyone, reflecting from the wait staff, and creates a living peace. If art is the removal of disruption, then Penang takes its space and

Dubai Restaurant in Itaewon is made by and for Arabian people. It's a large lavish space in the heart of Itaewon and it is on prime real estate: above the Dunkin Donuts and across the Helios. So what does this mean? It means that there is a significant Arab population in Seoul and they built a place to call their own. Dubai doesn't make food for the masses. They will not tame the flavors for its Korean clientele. There was no kimchi to be seen in the restaurant, the rice was the long grain- not the sticky and hearty short grain rice that is ubiquitous in Korea, and the service was relaxed- not bali, bali (빠리빠리). I went with my friends Rami and Mimi. Rami is from Yemen and he recommended the food and the Shisa at this restaurant. He's a big fan of Shisa, which is surprising because he is constantly smoking cigarettes- I would think he would want to give his lungs a break. He started off with the hummus and it was out of this world. It was a very fine light paste with an effe

Let's try something a little new. I take way too much time looking at menus in the restaurant so I want to start posting the menus on my site. This way you can peruse all you want. Dan

I am now just a student and being a student in Korea is awesome. I am studying Korean over at Sookmyeong University. I'm there everyday from 9 to 1pm and then I do some language exchange and I hang out with some very cool fellow students. Raimi is a computer programmer from Yemen that is also studying at the school. He is a web genius and he invited me to eat with him. They made Kapsa. Kapsa is a rice dish that is flavored with caradom, cinnamon, lemon, and some other secret ingredients (I believe that tumeric is in there as well.) The best part of this dish was that we ate it family style with our hands. We just poured the delicious rice on center of the table and we balled it up with our hands and ate it. Delicious. Afterwards we had sweet dates with tea. Man, I love being a student in Korea. I recommend you all try it. Dan

Hey everyone, I am in the mood for some really good homemade Naengmyeon. If you would like to join me and a couple other readers, please e-mail me at seouleats (at) gmail (dot) com. We will meet at Eujiro 4-ga exit 8. I'll have to reschedule this... Here is a write up on the place. Bibimguksu at Ojangdong Hwung-namjip 비빔국수 at 오장동흥남집: It's all about the noodles and you can't get better or fresher noodles. As you eat, you can look into the kitchen and see the chefs making the noodles on site. One man is back stepping on the buckwheat to soften them up awhile another cuts them. There is a third person back there and I figure he must be laying on the magic because the noodles that I slurped were like gossamer threads. Eating the whole bowl was as if I was taking a breath of cool mountain air after reaching the apex. Yeah, it's a bit spicy, but that's what makes it enlightening.Go to Eujiro 4-ga exit 8 and to straight. At Chunggujeong Intersection (중구청), make a left.

My name is Dan and you might have seen me on the Bizarre foods episode. I'm with Andrew while eats Turtle, Eel, and Blowfish. To be honest with you, I haven't seen the episode yet. They haven't aired it in Korea yet. I just wanted to welcome you to my site and introduce you to some of the bizarre things I've eaten (or been eaten by) lately. The first picture is of my hand and feet in a pool of water as little fish eat the dead skin off the bottom of my feet. It's a pretty popular thing in Korea and it does wonders for exfoliation. Then there is kamja tang. It's a potato soup with slowly roasted pig back. The potatoes here are fluffy when cooked and they have an elusive sweetness. Next is Jokbal. Jokbal is slowly braised pig trotters that melt like butter in your mouth. Then there is a fish with a cataract kissing a Korean upside down fish. The cataract is believed to improve stamina in men. JUST KIDDING. It was a fish that I saw at Noryrangjin: the largest comme

This is the message that Joe McPherson sent out: "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern" will premiere its South Korea episode in the U.S. on the Travel Channel at 10 p.m. EST. We at ZenKimchi were highly involved in the planning, research and shooting of this show. Eun Jeong, Dan Gray (Seoul Eats), Chef Hu-nam Kim (Star Chef), and more of our friends guided Andrew Zimmern on his tour through Seoul. If you're not in the U.S., the episode will later air on Discover Networks stations worldwide on various dates. It will likely be available for download on iTunes ($1.99) by next week. I'm also posting whatever videos I can find on the web to the ZenKimchi Korean Food Journal. Make sure to stop by the Food Journal for behind-the-scenes pics and stories. Happy eating, Joe McPherson ZenKimchi Korean Food Journal Joe has a great write up and pictures on his site. Be sure to check it out here. Joe McPherson has been at the forefront of the Korean food wave for yea

Sigh...my good friend Paula is leaving today. I'm quite sad because we've had so much fun. She is going back to Seattle after a week's vacation here. She met up with quite a few of her friends, shopped, and went on a few culinary adventures with me and friends. One of our first adventures was to Noryranjin Fish Market where we got Hwae (Korean Raw Fish), Giant Shrimp (the spoon there has some of the delicious brains, and soup. We finished the night with some Makolli. Yum. I'll miss you Paula and you'll always have a place to stay in Seoul. Dan

Up the hill across from the McDonalds is the little Marakech Nights. The big one is over by the Cheil Building in Itaewon. Sure, it it small, but the food is good and the people are friendly. And they have a wonderful, nutty, hummus. Their eggplant menzala is great as well. I had the lamb Tajine...it was ok. The best meal was the Royal Couscous with the kebap and couscous topped with raisins. Nom.