Seoul Eats

How much can location affect a restaurant? As long as I have been in Seoul, Taco Taco Chili Chili had prime location on noksapyeong road. But due to a new construction, they (along with my beloved namsan kimchi chiggae) were forced to move. They moved about a block down the road next to the Waffle Factory. It was one of the first taco and burrito places in Korea and it was very popular. I think now they have a couple other locations as well. They were known for flavorful, heart food at decent prices. I used to frequent there quite often. Tonight I needed a quick meal before a meeting so I stopped in at their new location. It was 5:30pm so it wasn't packed yet. I ordered a beef burrito (6,500 won) and a coke (1,500 won). The price was not bad and the food came out fast. What arrived was a hefty burrito that was packed full of rice. The burrito was overwhelmingly rice- too much I think. There were some beans and I think some meat, but mainly it was rice. I think there wa

I do applaud the marketer who made this add though. The contrast of looking like a skinned potato and peeled is vastly different. I guess this add goes even further since potatoes are so easily malleable...yikes. Anyway, I guess ads like this contribute to making Korea the number 1 nation in plastic surgeries.

Argh! Me so angry! I so angry I wants to stabs everybody!! Aaaarrrrrggggh. Ok. Korea, let's talk. I understand that you would love to usurp Vietnam for the most underground tunnels by building subways. New subway lines are good. They make the roads less congested and it's better for the environment. Let me reiterate new subway lines are good thing. But, that is not the problem, the problem is that when you build a new line that is connected to an existing station, there is no reason to renumber all the exits. When you do this you cause thousands of people to get confused and you cause everyone to get frustrated and they want to starts stabbing! Now stabbing is not good and many kids carry box cutters for school so they would kill most of the adults and then Gangnam would be in the hands of stressed out kids that study too much in order to make their tiger mommies happy. (deep breath) What I propose is that in the future you should keep the existing numbering of th

Nails Here is a cool picture that I found on my computer. It was taken at Sandang restaurant in Yangpyeong.

It is always great to meet other people that share a love of food. I got to meet with Seoul Grub  a couple months back and he is definitely a foodie. His blog is a great resource for those looking for good eats. Here are some of his favorite places in Seoul. Also, if you are interested in contributing a post to Seoul Eats, please contact me at seouleats at gmail dot com. Seoulgrub’s 5 Favorite “Grubberies” in Seoul! In no particular order: Vatos Urban Tacos 1 - Vatos Urban Tacos: A spunky spot located in Itaewon where they serve up “Tacos, Margaritas, and everything in between,” this place does taco’s deliciously. They have incorporated fresh, authentic ingredients to muster up a delicious fusion blend of Mexican and Korean flavored dishes. Staying true to what a taco should be, Vatos Urban Tacos has a variety of tasty taco choices, finger-licking hot sauces (plural), and a great selection of drinks to accompany your meal. I recommend getting each of the different types of me

I am at Sandang restaurant with some foodie friends and I wanted to introduce them to the chef's cuisine. It is artistic, healthy, and flavorful. Are are some of what we ate.

Thanksgiving was really fun yesterday. We had almost 60 people come out this year and 4 turkeys, 8 pies, a lot of 25 pounds of mashed potatoes, 25 pounds of stuffing, 15 cans of corn, 2 boxes of salad, 4 gallons of gravy, 100 rolls, 10 cranberry sauces and a lot of veggies were enough to feed everyone. I am happy that there are even some leftovers-especially pie. I love pie and I plan to spend the next couple of days eating pie and drinking coffee and making the occasional thanksgiving leftovers sandwich. Life is Good. Dan

Here it is: turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potato, cranberry sauce on a sesame roll.

Argh! What fun!

Last night I was out with my foodie friends in Garusugil. We went to our Charlie Cha Cha Cha's place: Poong Worl. The food is good there and so is the atmosphere. First,we had a very fresh shellfish sashimi salad. Giant scallop, oyster and more were precisely cut and put in a chilled, refreshing, vinegary seafood broth. The oysters were outstanding and so were the jellyfish noodles in the broth. We then had a natto omelet. Also good, but the natto is a little slimey but I love so it is good for me. I really recommend their mentako omelet. It has fish eggs in side. It is located on the left side of Garusugil (towards Sinsa station). It is near Papergarden, next to the 7-11. Poong Worl 02-547-9923 call if you get lost.

SEOUL MAGAZINE 100th ISSUE PRIZE DRAW: JUST ONE WEEK LEFT!  To thank its readers for their loyalty and to celebrate its 100th issue, SEOUL magazine is offering the chance to win dozens of prizes, including an iPad 2 (courtesy KT), a night in a Studio Suite at the fantastic W Seoul-Walkerhill hotel, and much, much more.  Send a description (up to 50 words) of your favorite place, activity, hottest travel tip or other recommendation about Seoul by email to writer@seoulselection.com , or upload entries to Seoul Selection’s Facebook wall. Please also include your email address, postal address and phone number. SEOUL magazine will enter your name into its 100th Issue Prize Bonanza draw, making you eligible to win one of the fantastic prizes. SEOUL editorial staff’s favorite recommendations will be published in a special article in its January 2012 issue. Please submit you entry by November 30. Good luck! Come take a cooking class or take a Culinary Tour in Seoul! http://www

December is quickly approaching and we are planning some new Saturday cooking classes for people that might be too busy to make it to our classes on the weekdays. We have a shortened schedule because of Christmas coming up. Here is our schedule and the sign-up sheet. I hope you can make it to join us. Cheers, Dan <p>Loading...</p> Come take a cooking class or take a Culinary Tour in Seoul! http://www.ongofood.com Join the Seoul Eats Facebook Group Page to keep to date with the latest events.

Here are some pictures I took yesterday. Enjoy! Dan Merry X-mas Hotteok Hotdogs with French Fries Love Locks Sticks

Come on small business! Let's try and fix mistakes before you print brochures and signs. If you need help, give me a call and I will happily do it. Until then, I will keep laughing at your mistakes. Readers, can you spot all of the English Fails in these pictures? Dan

In the kitchen yesterday I decided that I wanted to help Hyejin make lunch. She was planning to make a vegetable stirfry and chicken cutlets. She had a medley of veggies: eggplant, bell peppers, carrots, onions, etc already cut up so I decided I to make a ratatouille. I cooked down the veggies in some olive oil and added salt, basil (there was no thyme), and lemon juice. It had a mellow flavor and the medley of veggies blended just right. For the chicken cutlet, I was looking in the pantry and there was Nurunji (toasted rice) so instead of battering the chicken in panko breading, we finely crushed up the dried rice snack and used it to make a crust on the chicken and fried it up in oil. The crust worked and gave the chicken a crunchy, hearty texture. I mean it had much more bite than just boring panko. The one problem was that the Nurunji didn't have much flavor. My friend Lena suggested that we add a dash of Old Bay Seasoning. I think this is something I will have to experime

view full image "Bikers checking out a Korean Bicycle" It's always interesting to see what tourists find fascinating in Seoul. These bikers loved this old cycle and how it was MacGyvered with a load-bearing back and how the front had extra support. 

I didn't start out all that healthy today. I woke up and exercised on my bike in the morning. I did 10 kilometers, but it never feels as exhilarating as running outside. On the way to my office, I was feeling hungry. It was cold out this morning and I really wanted a bowl of kimchi stew, but I knew that would take too much time. Instead, I settled for Tuna Kimbap at Kimbap chungguk. (I guess this should teach me to wake up earlier). Tuna Kimbap I got it without mayonnaise because I hate the stuff and it guarantees that the food will be made to order. What I noticed that most Korean people there were eating alone and that they were all facing away from the door. I guess because I am American, I like to face the door ( I don't want anyone to attack me from behind). I reasoned that Koreans do this is because they don't want others to see they are eating alone. I guess I just don't care. Jjajang Rice Lunch was Jjajang Rice. Hyejin made it and it had black bean

Big Sized Ice Cream Corn or Cup. Gross. Please no corn in my ice cream. English Fail: Ice Cream Corn or Cup

WTF. Apparently the new trendy, winter drink in Korea is hot grapefruit juice. I was at the Paris Croissant yesterday in Bundang and they had this on the menu and quite a few others had it. It is fresh squeezed Grapefruit juice with sugar that is steamed till hot and frothy. There is no milk added. The taste is a bit like gluwhwien (hot mulled wine) because it has a bit of a tannic taste from the fruit. Ultimately, it is not too bad and I quite enjoyed it. I recommend you get it without sugar. Dan

Seoul Fall I was going through my photo library and came across this picture. I really like the contrast of the crooked trees in front of the bright fall leaves. 

New Zealand Food Connections Mana Shochu A lot has changed in Korea since I first got here (yes, I'm going to sound like an old geezer, but I only came here about 6 years ago.)  Hmmm...but let me let Grandpa Gray tell you about all of this. Let me tell you all young-ins that back in the olden days, getting foreign foods products were just downright difficult. If ya wanted some cheese, you had to be friends with one of them G.I's from the military. Now for a man to be friends with a G.I. would be a tad difficult. It was like trying to eat noodles through a straw.  Nowadays, you youngins can get almost anything. There be cheese and pastas and meats from all over the world. A long time ago, you had to git everything off the black markets and they could have been faked. I once bought a kangaroo steak on the black market and later found out it was really cat. Boy was I angered, but I couldn't do nothing about it. Now just the other day I was over at the New Zealan