Seoul Eats: 2011

Fine Cuisine at Min's Club

Min's Club in Insadong

Salmon Gravlax at Min's Club

Min's Club is a historical house that used to be the home of nobles. Built in the 1930 it has a Korean traditional exterior but with a modern interior. The space has higher ceilings and larger rooms than most regular Korean houses so it is a comfortable place to have a meal. The rooms are cosy. The wood framing is easily seen from the inside. The place is well lit as well with numerous windows around each room. The must have been a bit drafty because the windows are covered with unobtrusive clear plastic.

As traditional as this place looks, they serve contemporary European food with Korean flair. Here you can get Salmon gravlax with a bit of dill cream or a bed of acorn and mung bean jellies with seasoned beef and salad, they have neobiani (a marinated Korean beef) as well; but here it is on a single plate accompanied by a dollop of mashed potatoes and a ray of deodeok (bellflower roots). The main dish comes with a side of rice and white pickled cabbage (for Koreans believe that rice is the main part of the meal and if you have rice, you must have kimchi).

The food is prepared conservatively well. Each dish is flavorful and showcases the ingredients and the skill of the chef. The chef doesn't go out of the way to make his meal gaudy or loud. Here the meal is secondary to the architecture and the conversations that people have.

I had the duck confit which was deboned from the leg. The skin was wrapped carefully around the savory meat. Interesting concept, but I think I would have liked to meat on the bone (but I understand he might have done this for his usual Korean clients). The rice pilaf was nice and buttery and the spinach was delicately blanched. The bean jelly dish was delicious with the silky starch jellies under savory nibs of beef and topped with a greens. For dessert I had the raspberry cheesecake. This, although beautiful to look at was too frozen to eat initially. After giving it several minutes rest it was quite good. The chef is respectful of the history of the house. After dining, the chef greeted us with a half of a soft persimmon. The fruit was ripe and subtle in flavor and texture. The chef told It was a wonderful finish for the meal.

Overall, my meal had more hits than misses and the environment is beautiful for hosting guests, having meetings, and for dates.

Min's Club
Jongno-gu Gyeongun-dong 66-7
02-733-2966
www.minsclub.co.kr

Mung Bean and Acorn Jelly topped with beef and greens

Neobiani

Duck Confit

Raspberry Cheesecake

Persimmon

The Chef

Lunch Menu

Lunch Menu

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, by Daniel Lee Gray

In Itaewon, OK kitchen

Revisited: OK Kitchen

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, by Daniel Lee Gray

Tapas and Wine at 48th Street in Cheongdam, Seoul

Cheongdam is where all the rich and fabulous people hang out and one place in particular that is quite nice is 48th Street by Cheongdam Intersection. This place has multiple stories. The first floor has a cafe like atmosphere with a very interesting arrangement for seating. The seating feels like it is something out of an MC Esher painting. Here you can get coffee or food.

The food at 48th Street is contemporary European. You can get pastas, steaks, grilled fish and fresh salads. There is nothing new age, modern or fusion here. They do classic combinations using good ingredients and good technique.

What I found quite nice here was that:
1) they are open 24 hours
2) they have a decent alcohol selection
3) they have a decent tapa's menu that is delicious and won't break the bank

I often host guests south of the river (Gangnam) and it is quite nice to sit some place that isn't sleazy or overpriced to have some wine or whisky and good conversation. When I went I had a sampling of their tapas to go along with some white wine. I had sirloin with mozzarella cheese that was drizzled with a balsamic reduction and a chiffonade of basil. The meat was cooked medium rare and the mozzarella was quite good as well.

I also tried the foie gras that was over matchsticks of apple. My foie gras was cooked perfectly and the savoriness of the liver paired well with the apple (and also with my sauvignon blanc). Finally, the escargot with mushrooms in garlic butter was a flavor bomb that made me use quite a few rolls to sop up all the deliciousness. The nice dusting of sea salt on the dish was a nice touch as well. Quite delicious.

The tapas here ranged from about 8-12,000 won for a small plate so you could easily get a few with a bottle or two of wine and get out for under 200,000 won. They were running a special there when I was there and you could get a few tapas and a bottle of wine for only 130,000 won. If you are looking for a late night place in a nice atmosphere then this is a good choice.

Cheongdam 48 Bonji (청담 48번지)
Gangnam-gu Cheongdam-dong 48 bonji
02-512-4648
http://www.48st.co.kr/
*Full Disclosure. I was invited by 48th street for a meeting to do a food event there and the management invited me to a tasting while we talked.

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, by Daniel Lee Gray

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In contest, events

Step into Seoul and Win a Trip for 2!

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12 Days of Korean Christmas: Day 9: Maids a Dancing

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In chicken feet, dakbal

A Lesson in Pain: Hongmi Spicy Chicken Feet

The Mistress of Pain at Hongmi Dakbal

I asked my Korean friends why they would want to eat something so spicy that it burns going down and later going out.

They said that it relieves stress and that it feels good.

Hmmm...about a week ago I went to Hongmi Dakbal located over by Sinsa Station for a video shoot. This place is famous for their extremely spicy chicken feet. I am an adventurous eater, but even I cringe at the idea of chicken feet.

First of all, there isn't that much meat on them and I always imagine the little claws getting snagged in my throat. The feet are first washed (thank gosh). Then they are parboiled and later stir-fried with chili powder.

The chicken feet here is spicy. It's so spicy that my mouth burned the whole time. I can't really describe the flavor of it except burny. There is little meat on the chicken feet and as you nibble, the heat ignites your entire head. The burn started from the corner of my mouth and went to my temples. From there it went to my forehead and later it caused a sweat behind my ears.

It was a painful experience but it felt quite good after a bit. I felt like the guy that Tyler Durden kissed the hand of and guy he was in real life and then poured lye on it causing a chemical burn. Yeah, it was like that sort of pain. Pain so painful that you get euphoric (and a tummy ache).

To balance out the spiciness, the restaurant has several different cures. There is ugly kimbap: jumok bap. The starch and sesame seaweed will calm down the spice. There is also bindaetteok. They are very famous for their steamed egg (gyeran jjim). Usually it comes free with your meal, but they charge 7,000 won here and it is money well spent for it will ease the pain.

The other cure for the spice is peach juice. Koreans believe that peach juice is good for spice. I tried it and it does a bit (I think that milk would have been better).

If you are looking to enter a world of pain, I recommend you give this place a try. I won't be back for a while.

Hongmi Dakbal (홍미닭발)
Gangnam-gu, Sinsa-dong 502-1
02-545-2119
Open from 4:30pm to 4:30am
Prices 4-17,000 won
Directions: Go out exit 6 of Sinsa Station (Orange Line 3)