Seoul Eats

What about Fried Fish Cutlet for Lunch Today? It's pretty good and I love the flaky fish in the panko batter. Comes with rice, shredded cabbage, soup and side dishes. You can dip it in the tartar sauce, but I prefer the Pork Cutlet Sauce. Yum. Sangson-kas

Sujak over by Sadang Station Exit 6 (?) is a wonderful modern Korean bar. The food is flavorful and well prepared and the atmosphere is much classier than the hole in the wall places you see all over Korea. Last Wednesday, YK and I went there to watch the Korea Vs Japan Soccer match. The place was perfect because they had a number of TVs and we could get a pitcher of beer, a bossam, kimchi, and tofu dish, and a chicken salad (it could have been good if it werent for the yogurt and honey mustard dressing- WHAT IS WITH KOREA'S OBSESSION WITH HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING!!!) for about 40,000 won. The tofu and bossam dish was delicious and they had two different kinds of kimchi-a new kimchi and an aged, sour kimchi. Oh, and they start off your meal with 2 sunny side eggs sprinkled with salt. Yum. The food was good, so was the atmosphere, and the best part was that Korea beat Japan in the match. AZA. Sujak Restaurant Sadang Station Exit 6? (Call them) www.yoran.co.kr 02-578-1717

In the last week, I've been revisiting the eateries in my area. Something I haven't done in a while. Most of the time, I've been running around to all the different parts of Seoul looking for these hidden little eateries- in search for the Holy Grail in a way. Most of these places have been quite disappointing. On Friday, I went to Indigo in Haebangchon (down from Noksopyeong Exit 2). I had not been to Indigo for almost 6 months, but my friends wanted to meet there so I went. I ordered the chicken sandwich and I think it had about 3 chicken breasts in there. The meat was a tad dry (it would have been awesome with a bit of lemon aioli or...cranberry sauce). I have to admit it wasn't a bad sandwich at all. My friend Jema got the omelet- also very big and it was shaped a bit like football. They baked the omelet in the oven (or is it the microwave) so it was puffed up like a blister. It was alright, but I prefer my omelets done correctly in a pan. The best sandwich of

St. John's Special: Beef and Lamb with 2 Falafel Balls on Ekmek Bread with VB beer On the corner towards Gyeonidan. A classic. 5,000 won. VB beer 5,000 won

Newspapers for Menus and they have sparling wine in a beer glass Her Own Main has an interesting concept. It's a library that has an Italian Cuisine restaurant in it. Hmmmm....now that goes against what I was taught growing up. My librarian would yell whenever I tried to sneak snacks into the book stacks. Anywho, this restaurant is located at Seocho Acrovista's shopping center, where the old Sampoong Department Store was, and they serve pasta and wine and coffee and beer and... Nothing that blew me away. The menu is a tad expensive, but you're paying for the atmosphere. Free Mussels if you order wine Oh, and if you order a bottle a wine, you get free mussels in tomato sauce. This was the best part of the meal. I ordered the seafood risotto and it wasn't risotto. It's Korean short grain rice in tomato sauce. My friend got the pasta, and this was done quite well (it's pretty hard to mess up pasta.) I do have to say that the service wasn't quite up t

Kim Yu-na Queen Kim (Kim Yu-na), world-renown ice skater and almost-Korean royalty, has (finally) garnered another title alongside her ice skate winnings: an ambassador of Korean cuisine. As the first female figure skater to achieve the "grand slam-" winning the World Grand Prix Final, Four Continents Championships, World Championships and the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics- this proves to be another victory not only for the figure skater, but also for South Korea. Appointed by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Forestry and Fisheries, Kim Yu-na will promote many local hansik consumables. In the past, the MIFAFF has used a number of similar tactics to further the awareness of hansik. Global Hansik, another program under the wing of the Ministry of Food, wants to create a 50 billion fund to open Korean cooking classes to culinary schools, including France’s Le Courdon Bleu and the Culinary Institute of America. Ultimately, the government hopes to advance the number

clockwise from left: egg, kimchi, lotus roots, roasted laver, garlic stems

Jeju Hallasan Soju is a very clean tasting soju that I prefer to the stuff in the Green Goblin bottles. The alcohol is filtered through volcanic rock and it adds a tiny hint of charcoal. It tastes closer to real vodka than the sugarly, poisonous stuff you normally find. Good stuff. Now does anyone know where I can get a bottle without having to travel all the way to Jeju? Cheers, Dan

Dear Seoul Eats Readers, Thank you so much for sending me messages and questions and comments. They really make my day and I feel honored that you take the time to read my blog. I'm a social person, so I've used this blog as a platform for interacting with people. The theme this week seems to be: "Where can I go Eat?" I've had several people approach me about vegetarian cuisine in Seoul. Now before I start, feel free to contact me with your restaurant recommendations, tips, and questions about Korea. I'll try to answer them as soon as possible. My e-mail is seouleats at gmail dot com Hello Daniel, I read your blog and am a big fan. I have recently become very interested in Korean food and would love to learn more about it. I am based in New York City. Do you have any sugguestions of what I can do to learn more about the food and food culture? Are there any cook books you can recommend? I am Chinese and would not be able to read any books in Korean. Thank

Good Food. Good Wine. Good Fruit. My lovely girlfriend decided to cook me mackeral braised in Gochujang Sauce. We had this with a nice white wine we got from VinVino. The food was great. Delicious! Amazing (Sorry for the shameless plug, but I don't want to get in trouble. The fish went well with the white wine and it wasn't too spicy.

I hope you've seen Michelle's beautiful pictures on Gostiniy Dvor, if not here's the link . I did a little video on my review of the place. The restaurant is located at Dongdaemun Culture and History Museum: 동대문역사문화공원  (Subway line 2,4,5). Sorry I said the wrong subway line in the video. It's right out exit 7 and go down the alley and look for a red sign with Russian writing. So does it have the best food in Seoul? Not so much, but I love the ethnicity of it. The night that I went, I kept on hearing the microwave go off. I guess it was a slow night (Wednesday) and we were the only table in the restaurant, but I didn't feel like all the food was the best. I mean some things will microwave well (i.e. the stuffed cabbage, but somethings won't POTATOES!). The smoked herring is a dish I wouldn't recommend. It needs to be smoked longer- it had the texture of old bubblegum. The dishes they do very well are the borscht, the dumplings, and the stuffed cabbag

The Tin Makgeolli Cup isn't the most flattering container for Korea's famous rice wine. The AT Center, the Agriculture and Trade Center has had a contest to see who could come up with the most exciting new design. Here's one that just takes my breath away. The cup reveals a cresent moon as you drink the white rice wine. Amazing design. Via Korea.net

Taegukdang Monaka Ice-Cream I hope you've been following Michelle's Ice-Cream Diaries . She has been doing an amazing job of photographing them. When I see her pictures of the ice-cream, I instantly want to go out and eat that ice-cream. Well, finally, I got to eat the Taegukdang Monaka Ice-cream. Sorry, Michelle, but not my favorite. Sure, it tastes clean- but honestly, it tastes like nothing. I guess they are still using the recipe from the 70's. (Still, love you Michelle^^) Dan

So another weekend done and done. I spent the weekend giving culinary tours and cooking classes, so I got the check out quite a few places to eat. I ate a ton of Korean food this weekend and I spent Sunday fasting. My stomach needed a break and it's what I used fast once a week in the past. Oh, it's really not that bad and it really helps you appreciate food more. Anyway, I wanted to tell you some of the best plates that I've had recently, I would recommend you go get them yourself. 1. A Turkey Club Sandwich from Suji's Restaurant in Itaewon. Oh, it's good that I think one day, that I'll write an ode about it. Look at all the luscious bits of turkey there. It's so good and they make the turkey and the bread in house. Yummmmmy. 2. The Vietnamese Rice Paper Wrap Sets at Rau Rau I love Vietnamese food and this place has a vast array of vegetables to make your own Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls. We're talking argula, cilantro, peppers, sprouts, roaste

Korean Chinese Delivery is so good. It's one of my favorite things to get delivered for lunch (but I try not to get it too often, because it's not the healthiest thing). The coolest thing about Korean Chinese Food is that you can "ban ban service" or "half half." You can order 2 half sides of your favorite dishes and they'll serve it in a unique separated bowl. I recommend the Tangsuyok (fried pork in sweet sauce) and jjajamyeon (noodles in black bean sauce). Chinese Half Half Service 1/2 Black Bean Noodles and 1/2 sweet fried pork

Sad Brunch: Runny Omelet, rubbery sausage and salad I don't even remember what this dish was called. So bad. They need bring their A-game, because this is just sad. It looks like it's right out of a elementary school cafeteria or out of an in-flight meal on a transpacific flight. Sad Sad Sad

There are so many picturesque things in Korea and I always have my video camera ready to capture something new and exciting. Here is the best (there are many imitators, but this guy is the funniest) dragon beard vendor on Insadong Street. Check out the fun video. Also, 10 magazine is having a video contest. The top prize is a 3 day 2 night stay to Tokyo. The information on the contest is below

The company is Rebtel and they offer cheap calls for expatriates. It's a new service where they will give you a local telephone number so people can call you without complicated codes to put in or having the other person having to use an internet phone service.    Benefits of affordable International  calls for the expatriates Most expatriates experience  a tough phase while moving abroad. Leaving your home and flying to a  land you have never known does evoke the feeling of loneliness. For the older people it’s  more so. Grandchildren grow up so quickly while grandparents might grow  to be less competent than they once were.  Busy with overseas business  or studies can make you feel homesick at a certain stage but maybe hearing  the voice of family or friend is a way to combat isolation. The cost of living especially  for expatriates in another country is a huge cost. And one needs to  maintain a budget that fits in everything inclusive of international  calls.

신문각 I love the signage. I don't know why, but sometimes I just get a craving for Chinese food. Growing up, Saturday was Chinese Food day. We would head over every week and put in our take-out order at the Great Wall Chinese Restaurant. When I was a boy in Delaware (now I'm going to make myself sound like a dinosaur), Chinese food was just getting popular and the Great Wall was the hottest spot in town. In my family, we all had our favorites. Mom liked the Lomein, Jill liked the General Tso's Chicken, I liked the Beef and Broccoli, and Dad liked the pork fried rice. We would always get the sweet and sour soup, an extra box of rice, fortune cookies, and the fried dough things they served with peach colored "duck" sauce. In Korea, I get cravings for American Chinese food, but it's hard to find. I mean there is Ho Lee Chow, but it's not the same. I am developing a taste for Korean Chinese food and I found this great little hole in the wall by Gwanghwanmun

My buddies Jason and Steve are doing another Ka-Brew event. It's called the Electric BBQ. As always, they are out to get you drunk because it's all you can drink. Read more for all the details on how you can sign up.

Dan will do a proper recap of this evening eats, but as an appetizer I bring you photos of our meal. Hope you enjoy. My favorite, they have numbered beer, we had the #7 this night, but can't wait to try the #6.

Friday is a big day for our company, O'ngo Food Communications. We will be on MBC, "Behind Story" will be on air on Friday(21th) 6:50~7:40pm and we'll be on KBS at 7:30pm for a story on tteokbokki AZA! I hope you can check it out. Cheers, Dan

O'ngo Food Communications Cooking Studio Here are some shots of our cooking studio that just opened on May 8th. It's located near Gangnam-gu Office Station (Subway Line 7) I hope you can come one day to take a cooking class. Cheers, Dan Located Near Gangnam Gu Office (Subway Line 7) Our first students in the studio! Thanks Josie and Jin

My friend, Chef Tim likes to send me restaurant tips every once in a while. All of his places have been gems so far, so I wanted to pass the recommendation to you. Now I just need to get a name and directions from Tim. Once I get them, I'll post them up. Cheers. Scallop Here's Tim: A few shots of our meal from last Tuesday. The restaurant is located in the hills above the city, with an amazing unlimited view. The food is pretty amazing too, with a 6 course lunch for W35000 to W38000. The set menu included an appetizer/amuse (scallop that was perfectly translucent in the center), soup, salad, seafood pasta, sorbet and the main. I had a lamb tenderloin, which was amazing. Patricia had some truly massive shrimp with lobster risotto, and my mom had a rib eye steak. The quality of all the courses was great, and they offered a choice of coffee, juice or ice cream after all of that... We got to get you up there! Tim

Tomato Soybean Stew It's good. Add a tomato the next time you're cooking Soybean Paste Stew. Cheers, Dan

Milano Seafood Jjim I've been meaning to put up the rest of my pictures from my most recent visit to Jung Shik Dang. Their new restaurant is over by Shindang near Samwon Garden. You can find directions to their location on their website. I went to this restaurant with Chef Nick Flynn from the Intercontinental and my friend Terry. Good company and very...creative cuisine. This is my third visit to Jungsikdang and I have to say that I am a bit worried about the franchise. The food is beautiful. The setting is stylish and beautiful and the staff and service is top notch. Oh, they have a great wine list as well. In the past, I have criticized the service at this restaurant. Now they have really taken this to another level. The service and atmosphere is actually worthy of a Michelin Star. The food is, well...did I use the word creative already? Let me explain. When Jungsikdang first opened they had a variation of their current signature menu with the foie gras pate with pista