Seoul Eats

This weekend Seoul is going to have many adoptees coming from all over the world to attend the G'OAL conference at Sogang University. The conference will be tomorrow and I will be giving a presentation about how I became reunited with my taste buds when I returned to Korea. G'OAL, which stands for Global Overseas Adoptee Link, is an organization to help Korean adoptees in Seoul. So...Welcome fellow adoptees. I wanted to give you some recommendations of places you should eat at while you are in Seoul. I am a foodie and I have been running the website www.seouleats.com for a couple years, so there are a few places you should check out. For Seoulites, who've been here for a while, understand that my recommendations are for newbies and not for seasoned Korean foodaholics. **How to use this list: the places are pretty well known or they have English Speaking staff. Most of the times, you can point to the picture and people will lead you in the right direction. Also, you can

Thanks to Mike Nance for the heads up!

It is a sad day my friends. One of my favorite places to get kimchi chiggae has sold out to the dark side. For those who don't know Omoro is a famous place for using aged, ripened kimchi in their stew. Today that familiar champagne-like taste was not present. Also, in the past, the robust taste of their kimchi was calmed by age-so their kimchi chiggae had a mature note to it. It wasn't sour and pungent, but fragrant. Before, their stew was like a 2005 bourdeux, but now it tastes more like a 2009. At least the rice was nice and the place was air conditioned. ㅠㅠ Sent from my iPod

I was just thinking yesterday that I really want corn ice cream. I don't know why, it was just some urge to taste the icy kernels of yellow corn in a milky, snow-like mix and encased in a crappy styrofoam like case. The thing was, I tried and I tried to find it, but I couldn't. LAME. Hey if anyone has seen this ice cream, please send me a comment. Dan Click here if you want to see the original post

Zenkimchi, Fatman Seoul, and Seoul Eats in Korean Times. By Ines Min Contributing Writer In the past five years, a new Internet phenomenon has begun to boil in Seoul: the foreigner food blogging culture. United by a common desire to explore the international and domestic cuisines found in South Korea, expat foodies now have an outlet for their passion through a community of English-language blogs ― something that was unheard of before 2004. The ``grandfather of food blogs" was FatMan Seoul, according to Joe McPherson of ZenKimchi.com. It was Seoul's first food blog in English, started by a mystery man whose identity was never discovered. Though shut down in early 2005 with the author's departure from the country, its legacy lives on through inspired bloggers ― one of which still carries on the name, with no affiliation. After the Web site closed, McPherson noticed that there was a lack of Korean food blogs written in English, and began his own. He converted his personal

When it gets hot, I like to eat Korean Jang-o. My favorite place is up by Hongdae at a place called Jang-o-rang. I went there like 1 year ago and I think I'll have to go back there soon. Here is a recap of the review: Eel in the City By Daniel Gray Freshwater eel is a summertime specialty. Slowly grilled, the flesh has a marbled quality like a fine rib eye steak, a silky texture that resembles lobster. It melts in your mouth seasoned only with salt, but when lathered with a soy glaze the smell simply wafts up to your hypothalamus and makes itself a permanent fixture. While I was making my excursion to “Jangeorang” in Hongdae, trying to convince my expatriate friends to come join me for grilled eel and soy marinated crab was like trying to pick all the red pepper flakes out of kimchi. When I approached my Korean friends, it was the complete opposite reaction. One of my friends even canceled a date in order to have a meal of eel. This differing reaction made me wonder. Why do some pe

If you happen to have some left over bread crust in your freezer then... Wait a second...I think this post might need a bit of a back story. A couple of months ago, I was asked to cater a Alice in Wonderland Tea Party. I think I made some potato salad, lemon bars, a salad, and cucumber sandwiches with butter. Of course if you are proper, you must cut the crusts off the white bread before dabbing a bit of butter on each side of the bread and then putting your crunchy, thin slices of cucumber in between. Well, I must not be all that proper because I saved the crusts in my freezer and I had been waiting for the day to make some bread pudding. Bread Pudding is reconstituted leftovers, but it doesn't stop people from eating it. (If you have a fussy kid, this might be a great way to get them to eat their crusts.) Ingredients Enough bread crusts to fill a cake pan. 2 cups milk 2 eggs 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 cup sugar 1 can blueberry pie mix cinnamon Instructions 1. Mix egg with the s

Wow.

All that Jazz in Itaewon is a bit of a legend in Korea. In the beginning there were two major Jazz clubs in Seoul. There was Once in a Blue Moon in Apgujeong and All that Jazz. Once in a Blue Moon had very rustic roots, but it's popularity and appearance in many dramas, movies, and other media appearances spurred on it's transformation to become a very upscale Jazz spot. Being expensive doesn't mean that the Jazz acts are all that great. In my opinion, I prefer Club Evans in Hongdae to Once in a Blue Moon. Club Evans gets great bands and the space has a kinetic flow that is electric blue. Now All that Jazz has a humble family feel to the place and it seems to have quite a few regulars. The music is down home as well and the acts aren't pretentious or amatuerish. They're laid back; they're just jazz. I'm calling this guy Grandpa Jazz, because he's just cool like that. He sings, plays the bongos and the beer bottle, and tells jokes. This woman had a Joplin

If you missed it the other day, here is a shot that I got. The Chinese Students in the class said there is a legend that an eclipse is a dragon trying to eat the sun. Dan

Mild SPAM, Cheese SPAM, Garlic SPAM, BACON SPAM! Actually I feel like I'm getting Spammed by SPAM. The Bacon Spam actually made me think of Baconnaise. Have you heard of the stuff? It's Mayonnaise and Bacon. Here's the video:

It also has 2 gun attachment things for playing House of the Dead Overkill and many games. It is chipped with Wiikey. I haven't really played it much since I've got it and I would like to sell it to someone who is looking for a fun party system. 400,000 or best offer. This includes everything. Here is the wii in action: [url]http://www.seouleats.com/2008/06/dishwashing-championship-for-wii.html[/url] Games include: Super Paper Mario, Legend of Zelda, Elebits, Wii Sports Wii Fit, Excite Truck Marvel Ultimate Alliance Wii Play Chipped Games Mario Kart Wii Super Mario Galaxy 2 Resident Evil 4 Mario Party 8 Super Smash Bros Brawl Metroid 3 Corruption Rayman Raving Rabbids 1 and 2 Boom Blox Sonic No More Heroes And many more.

This is why my poor dog is always hungry. These days, I have been cooking a lot more at home. It is comforting and it really helps to bring the household together. My roommate, Lauren, is a vegetarian so my dishes have been geared towards that. Now cooking everyday means that I should set up my kitchen in a way that is fast and efficient. One weapon in my arsenal is my pressure cooker. I use it almost everyday and I find that it can cook food quickly and easily. I mean you can make rice in 5 minutes if you use the pressure cooker instead of the traditional rice cooker. Plus the rice has a distinct pop- it's not mushy like when you make it the other way. Menazala is a stewed eggplant dish. I like to flavor it with smoked paprika. I got this amazing stuff from Zen Kimchi . So here's the recipe. Ingredients 3 japanese eggplant 1 white onion (medium sized) 1 tomato (cut out the seeds) olive oil 1/4 cup water Prep 1) remove the skin of the eggplant with a vegetable peeler 2) Dice t

동동주 is like makkolli which is an unfiltered rice wine. The difference between the two drinks is that Dong Dong Ju has little bit of rice that floats on top. Dong Dong means floating. Koreans say that it goes very well with kimchi pancake Dan

SM restaurant in Yangjae is like a vegan/vegetarian oasis in Seoul. The atmosphere is surprisingly calm and pleasant. The outside is offset by an outside sitting area and patio that is adorned with various plants and flowers. The part-time staff is friendly and welcoming.The lunch service costs 13,000 won. Lunch runs from 12-2:30 and dinner is from 6-9. Both services are usually quite lively. Local monks are usually regulars customers there as well, no doubt drawn by the incredible all-you-can-eat buffet. The buffet features a variety of faux meat dishes such as the smoky vegetarian bulgogi and spicy mixed mushrooms with vegetarian "ham". The best pretender of all is definitely the meatless tangsuyuk- fried vegetarian pork with a sweet and sour glaze. Also on the buffet were delicious tofu and vegetable side dishes. The large buffet incorporates a small salad bar with an assortment of lettuces, nuts, bread and fruit complimented by the restaurant's delicious homemade j

Come for the Serene Interior. There is a cool shop at this restaurant as well. You will get table full of side dishes. Sanchon. What can I say about it that hasn't already been said by Zenkimchi and Fatman Seoul ? It's good. It's delicious. I love the atmosphere. It was really a blast to eat the numerous mountain shoots and leaves. It's one of the places that must be experienced in Seoul. www.sanchon.com Oh, btw. Here is a KBS video documentary that I appeared on for about 5 seconds with Zen Kimch i, Fatmanseoul , Terry, Mrs. Zen Kimchi, and Kiss my Kimchi.

Jeonju, capital of North Jeolla province and former capital of the Baekje dynasty sits in the middle of the fertile Honam plain in an area also known as the rice bowl of Korea. The south-west corner of Korea is occupied by the Jeolla provinces and in my slightly biased opinion, home to the best Korean food in the country and therefore the known universe. Good, wholesome, traditional, regional cooking at its finest; food that has fed countless farm workers for generations and now serves up delicious, mouth wateringly good food to me. Jeonju however, in amongst the swathe of other cities, towns and villages offering delectable dishes in these provinces, is particularly light on ethnic food. Foreign food if you prefer. We have traditional Australian food (via the USA) in the guise of 'Outback Steakhouse' and when you need a big burger and a goldfish bowl full of alcohol, TGI's can step in and fill your foreign belly and offer a welcome respite from Korea (just hope it isn'

I love my pressure cooker because it can transform food in ways that other methods just can't. For example, take tofu. If you use the pressure cooker to cook it, then the water will leach out and you'll be left with tofu that's almost like feta cheese. People still don't believe me, but it is true. I also found that it's a great way to make tofu and kimchi. I first fry up some kimchi with some pork belly, add about a 1/4 cup of water, then I set the tofu on top and then pressure cook everything for about 15 minutes. The tofu will have a feta cheese like texture and the kimchi will be soft like saurkraut that has been cooked overnight. It's a very fast, nutritious dinner. Dan

All the ingredients are available, so I recommend you make yourself some summer salsa. If you need to find lime juice and cilantro, I recommend the foreign mart in Itaewon. Dan

My note written by my roommate This was a note that I found on her desk. Let me preface that by saying that she asked me to get something out of her room and this is the note I found on her desk. It reads: Dr @ 9:15am Pee in cup! Find Cup

Kneading bread is a satisfying feeling that helps me relieve anxiety. I love the feel of life between my fingers because you feel the yeast moving beneath. After the first rise, it's fun to give your dough a Taekwondo punch. Here are my rolls baking in the oven. I should have made them about half the size because they bake up quite large. Here is my fluffy honey wheat roll served with a side of Shady Maple Farms' Maple butter. The secret to making fluffy bread is to let it rise in a warm place. Here is my friend Carol enjoying the roll. She is studying Sunmudo (Martial Arts Zen Meditation) in Gyeongju and this was the first bread she had eaten in quite a while.

Turkey Icecream with Goat's Milk Originally uploaded by omarobaid This is too funny! I thought I should share this with you. Dan

It has been raining a lot these days in Korea. Afterall, it is the rainy season: chang ma chul 장마철. I find that the best rainy day foods are O-deng and Dukkbokki. Busan: 부산, is known to have the best O-deng in the country and I found this little shop right across from Hyochang Park near the back entrance of Sookmyeong Woman's University. O-deng is basically a fish cake made from the bits and pieces of leftover fish that are pressed together and fried. It's kinda like fish sausage, but without the casing. Don't think about how it's made (if you think about how much of our food is made, you would definitely lose your appetite.). In this picture is one of my favorite variations. It is cheese O-deng, so it has a oozy cheezy center. And you can't forget about getting some dukkbokki when it rains. It's damn good and you can ask nicely, you can get some of the sauce to dip your O-deng in. Here's another O-deng variation: Jap Chae and vegetable O-deng. Another food