Seoul Eats

Hadonggwang's Gomtang Hadonggwan in Myeongdong Koreans take their beef broth seriously, and nowhere is this more evident than at Hadonggwan, a restaurant that specializes in it. Take, for instance, the owner. The fourth of nine children, she missed out on her younger siblings' marriages and her only daughter's graduation to keep constant watch over the slowly simmering soup. Or consider the case of former president Park Chung Hee, who, craving the rich broth, had it flown from the restaurant to where he was then traveling: Jejudo. To be honest, I don't know if it's really thaaat great, but it is pretty damn good. "It" is gomtang (Gom 곰 means bear, but it comes from "고은다" which means Korean slowly simmer for a long time.) to be precise, a broth made from simmering beef bones, brisket, and intestines for hours. It's the ultimate comfort food for Koreans. In fact, my last meal request would probably be some form of beef broth wi

The Korean Night Dining Tours have been doing quite well. In the last week, I've taken chefs and tourists around some of Seoul's funnest night spots. Last Night I was lucky enough to meet Diana and her crew as we ate the night away. Last night's tour was a tad different because they really wanted to eat live octopus. It was a great night. I'll be doing this tour again this Sunday at 6pm and we have 2 slots open. If you would like to join us, please send me an e-mail at seouleats at gmail.com More information on the tour can be found here: http://www.seouleats.com/p/korean-taste-tours-and-korean-cooking.html Next week, I'll be doing the tour on Friday May 7th, Saturday May 8th, and Sunday May 9th. I or a member of the O'ngo team regularly do these tours and we schedule these tours as we have interested people. If you are a traveler and have a date in mind, please let me know. The King of Kwangjang Market Got K-Food? Barbecued Pork Skin If y

Uh, oh...I'm scared. I know the application isn't perfect. We'll be doing an update as soon as we get a better idea things we need to tweak.  Anyway, thank you Chris for taking the time to write this up. Here's a short excerpt: Put together by Daniel Gray from Seoul Eats and the O'ngo Team , the Korean Food Dictionary app offers a great look at Korean foods. The app isn't perfect, but it's the best on the market as of now. With over 130 different dishes described available, you won't find everything under the sun - but the most common dishes are all here.  Go here to read the rest: Chris in South Korea  If you would like to buy our application, please go here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/korean-fo od-dictionary/id368485615?mt=8

Just another post of what the food bloggers are doing in Korea to market Korean food. I think this is like the umpteenth interview that I've done on this topic and well...it's ok. Does it have any real impact on government policies and such? Honestly, it does. Korea is all about print- they love hard copy. The idea that a internet blog makes it into print means that important people will read it and it gives credibility to the whole blogging...thing. Anywho, Shin Hye-gi did a great write up on it for the Weekly Chosun and you can pick up your copy at newstands now. Look! That's me in the middle! This is what the cover to the magazine looks like. Pick it up today! The pictures are from Zenkimchi. You should go to his write-up because he has a particularly prickly thing to say about the whole "Korean Food the World" project. Here's the link.

These days, the company I work for, O'ngo Food Communications , has been quite busy because we are participating at the 20th Anniversary of the Dragon Hill Lodge. So tomorrow we will be serving food at the Dragon Hill Lodge Hotel- we've spent the whole day today preparing it. We'll also be on base on Saturday near the Discover Seoul Stand inside the hotel. We'll have giveaways and sign-up information about our cooking classes and tours. We'll be opening up our cooking studio by the middle of May and then, we'll be able to do regular classes with Chef Shawn. Oh, the menu for tomorrow is Spicy Korean Chicken Skewers, Tofu and Kimchi, and Korean Pancakes. We will be there starting at 5pm. Stop by if you are on the US military base. Dan Here's the Flyer Look! there's the O'ngo Logo! I'm so proud^^

Seoul Eats is always happy to have people contribute their honest reviews of restaurants. Here is one from Lauren McPhate on La Vert- a new brunch place in Haebangchon across from Phillies. This is her first review (and hopefully not her last). We should encourage her to keep writing and eating by leaving her a comment. And if you would like to contribute to Seoul Eats, send Daniel Gray an e-mail at seouleats at gmail dot com. Lauren and crew I am a brunch fanatic. It's a time to gather friends, hook-ups, and strangers, all around one table to dish about the night before. I joke that I moved to HBC for Indigos. Where else in Korea can you find a complete brunch menu and wine for just 3,000 won?! The problem as of recent has been a lack of accomodation ("NOOOO, we can't substitue salmon for ham on your eggs benedict!") and a lack of space. Ever since they switched back to being open on Sundays, it's always questionable whether or not you and your new 8 best frie

fried hot dog buns fried ramen on a corn dog the fried corn dog family fried donuts w/ mash potatoes, veggies, red bean etc. fried galbi

Nasty, Nasty Coffee: First Colony (It must have really come from the first colony). Sure, it's organic, but they should have added some chemicals to make it taste better. Unless you want a stomach ulcer. This coffee tastes like leftover summer barbecue mixed with a healthy dose of Seoul's acid rain with a hint of...cinnamon. Spend a little more for the good stuff. And if you see this bag at any cafe (because most of the mom and pop joints get their stuff from cosco) run!

Sadong myeong-oak is an institution in Insadong. It's down one of the alleys just before Ssamzie Art Department Store. They are famous for their Enormous! Enormous dumplings. They look like little babies fists just after a hot bath with their wrinkled skin- not that I'm saying that you should eat babies' fists! Anywho, the food is good. And since words are leaving me. So, I'm going to ask my friend Caveman to finish this post. Here's caveman. Sadoong Meyeong-oak is good. Me like. Me think it make Caveman powerful. Me go there and eat lots and me don't have to hunt first- it dead already. Sadong Myeong Oak Sign has pretty letters. Me one day want to learn to make letters. Now, fire is better! Fire Fire! Mandoo Jeongol Soup with Dumpling good. Fire very good! Seafood Pancake Me like seafood pancake. It don't run away! It flat like I smashed with club. Dong Dong Ju Caveman like rice alcohol. It make me horny! After cup, I chase me wife. Eat

As most of you know, it's CRAZY out there! But apparently in Korea, when it rains you run out into the rain and eat some soojaebe(수제비), a sister to kalgooksu (칼국수). Usually soojaebe is made with hand torn dough, but today my mom and I went to one of the oldest and most famous soojaebe spots in all of Seoul, Samchungdong Soojaebe (삼청동 수제비). We ordered the wild sesame seed, sticky rice soojaebe (찹살수제비), the broth had more of a nutty grittiness to it (because of the wild sesame seed) than the regular anchovy based soup, the sticky rice dollops aren't like the hand torn dough, but ok. Not sure if it's the best-of-the-best in my books, but it was a windy, drizzling, late afternoon date with my mom in Seoul, and that's enough for me (cheesy~). Awesome name for a restaurant, "Second best in Seoul" (서울에서 둘쩨로잘하는 집). hehe. Very un-Korean. :) happy to be hanging out with my mom + good eats + good talks.

Our iTunes application has finally been released! It's got over 130 different Korean foods that you can search for by category, name, taste, or photo. There are also recipes for Korean food favorites and a helpful phrases section. Check it out! You can download by clicking on the icon below. It only costs only $1.99. And as a special promotion, I'll give you a free copy of the application if you would be willing to write a review on a blog or a website. Contact me to get your promotional code. Thanks, Dan PS. This application was designed and made by myself and Michelle Min. We can design and build your own iPod application. Contact us for more details. e-mail Daniel Gray Here's the link http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/korean-food-dictionary/id368485615?mt=8 Searchable by Category, Taste, Photo and by name Here's the Taste Scroll Wheel Search by Photo Helpful Korean Phrases

A recent lesson in my elementary class turned to a Korean drinking lesson for me . The vocabulary word "party pooper," described a person who ruined the fun at a party. One of my eleven year-old students, however, felt it necessary to educate the class (and myself) on the actual Korean definition. Through a series of chugging and gagging pantomimes, she instructed matter-of-factly that the party pooper is the one who vomits when drinking. Although I felt confounded with the astute observation- and the precocious thinking- my pupils nodded their heads in agreement and at the normalcy of the response. It’s no secret that Koreans are heavy drinkers. Although countries like Luxembourg and Ireland beat Korea with the highest per capita consumption of alcohol, Korea ranks 16, which is higher than both Japan and the United States. In 2006, it was estimated that the average adult Korean (older than 20) had consumed 90 bottles of Soju that year.

Kimchi Fried Rice made with Brown Rice and pork, topped with egg. It tastes great on a sesame leaf

Crane

O'ngo Food Communications with Seoul Eats has been developing Culinary Tours to introduce Korean Food to travelers to Korea. We have several different tours including the Night Dining Tour, the Market Tour and Cooking Class, and the Temple Cuisine and Tea Tour. We are looking for tour guides that can speak English or Japanese and Korean and wish to learn in depth about Korean food. You will be trained to give a tour from food specialists: Daniel Gray and Professor Jia Choi. Ideal candidates don't have to be absolutely fluent in English or Japanese, but they should be able to talk about Korean food and culture in a way that is insightful. A college degree is not necessary- this would be a perfect part-time job for university students. This is a great way to meet travelers to Korea, practice speaking English or Japanese, and to learn about Korean Food. Contact Daniel Gray for more details at seouleats @ gmail. com

The last Seoul Eats Meet-up was a great success and we had 7 people come out to OK2 Kitchen for a special menu made by Chef Susumu and his staff. The special grand prix menu with 3 bottles of wine cost only 77,000 per person. Everyone said it was too cheap for the excellent cuisine we enjoyed that evening. Thank you so much OK2 Kitchen for the great meal. For those interested in coming to the next Seoul Eats Meet-up join the facebook page by clicking this link. Menu Amuse Bouche: Fried anago & Foie Gras Ball Appetizer: Seafood Plate: Yellow Tail, Snapper Ceviche, Razor Clam, Herring, Oyster Polenta Cake with arugula Salad with Truffle Oil Close-up of the Polenta Cake Parmesan Gelato with Home made Hame with grissini Pasta Course: Potato Gnocchi with Amatriciana Sommelier