So I tried the butter latte. It's like popcorn butter mixed with snot. If you add it to coffee it makes your coffee taste like lobsters gone bad dipped in butter #foodcrime #buttermilk #seouleats
It's hard to get great Chinese food in Seoul. Daehan Shijang is famous for their xaolong bao but they weren't soupy this time. Sigh. Their other dishes were good though. Maybe they just had a bad day.
GANGNAM – Hot Eatsue has announced a colorful new menu inspired by street food from around the world. Located on the 17th floor of urban lifestyle destination Hotel Cappuccino, the restaurant uses fresh ingredients to playfully showcase internationally renowned comfort foods in a casual setting, all while offering stunning views of Gangnam and N Seoul Tower.
The wide variety of flavors and presentations takes diners on a culinary journey around the globe, with dishes such as Thai Spicy Coconut Curry with Crab or Japanese Cold Soba with Abalone and Natto. Meanwhile, other menu items are bold and cross-cultural, such as the Soy-flavored Wagyu Steak with Rice, or Tarako Pasta served with salted pollack roe.
A highlight of Hot Eatsue and a favorite of many street food enthusiasts is its popular series of dishes featuring fresh ingredients cooked hot off the grill. For meat lovers, the special Cappuccino Grill Platter is stacked with grilled ribeye steak, pork chops, lamb, pork belly, and shrimp skewers. Other grilled dishes include Lamb and Chicken Kebabs, Grilled Pork Belly Bun Cha, and Meatball Skewers with Cheese Sauce.
The restaurant also serves a late night menu for patrons of the Gintoneria bar next door.
Along with its wide selection of premium gins, unique tonic waters, and plethora of fragrant garnishes, the Gintoneria offers bar food favorites with a twist, such as Spam Fries with Grilled Sausage and Garlic Fried Chicken. Meanwhile, the Cappuccino Special Cutting Board and Rooftop Cutting Boards are loaded with side dishes like seafood and meat skewers, prosciutto, fried crispy rice, cheesy onion rings, and vegetable sticks.
At B'Mucho Cantina in Yeonnamdong is the best Mexican that I have had in years in Korea. I have dealt with tasteless Mexican before and accepted it because of the lack of ingredients and what-not, but all of that has been proven wrong with my most recent visit to B'Mucho Cantina.
The flavors are bright and spot on. They have real limes. They have red onions. They have cilantro and they are not afraid to use it. The guacamole (8,000) was just a bowl of creamy sunshine with a bit of pico de gallo and chopped cilantro on the side. I wish I could just spread it over everything. The chorizo tacos (5,000 each) where big and filling. To be honest, 1 taco and sharing the guacamole would have been enough for lunch. But...no, that's not how I do things. We got the Enchilada Verde (14,000) which is the much hyped dish at this place. It's really good but...I didn't really understand the toast that came on the side. The sauce was creamy, green tomatillo sauce and it was topped with lots of melted cheese, white onions and it was filled with chunks of flavorful chicken.
I commented that the chef was the most Mexican Korean I met but I found out he is actually Mexican. Go now! Mucho Gracias!
This is for entrepreneurs out there looking to start a business. I was introduced to a space to do something new but I am a bit too busy to take it. The owner is a friend of mine and is looking for someone to take it. Here are some pictures and a short video. It's a real fixer upper but I think it has potential- especially since it is in an up and coming area and doesn't have the black money deposit (권리금). email me if you are interested.
Vegan Food Feast with Monk Jeongkwan and Mister Kitchen We are at Monk Jeongkwan at Baekyangsa temple and we were lucky enough to have her share a vegan meal with us. I am accompanied here with Mister Kitchen (http://ift.tt/2b4Tx2l) as we went on a food adventure all around Korea for 6 days. Monk Jeongkwan shared a meal and talked to us about her food philosophy. Special thanks for Misong Park for translating. If you are looking to eat and explore Korea, travel with us at http://ift.tt/1Fa3q98
If you are heading towards Korea then, you are one of the awesome, the brave and open minded. Korea is an undiscovered country that is currently trending. While I was growing up, I would eat kimchi in secret since many thought it was a pungent and unrefined dish. Now Kimchi can be found at gourmet grocery markets such as Whole Foods. However, the so-called Korean foods you have been having overseas is nowhere close to what you would find in Korea. Koreans have a particular palate and a different perception of what constitutes a snack, a meal, and drinking food. We’ll get into all that later, but if you make into Korea, here is my list of 5 must eat Korean dishes.
5. Dakgalbi: Spicy Chicken Stir-fry
What was once considered a plebeian, college kid’s meal has gone mainstream and become a favorite among the masses. The name of the dish is laughable since it translates to chicken ribs (dak=chicken galbi= rib meat). The dish is made with the whole chicken that is then marinated in a spicy, red chili paste sauce (gochujang) and then stir-fried at the table with cabbage, sweet potato, rice cakes and onions. The finished dish is a filling, complex dish covered in a spicy, sweet sauce. The leftover bits of chicken, veggies and sauce are then used to make a fried rice dish or mixed with noodles.
One of my favorite aspects about Korean food is the cookware which is often made from thick pottery or even stone. The food should be served hot and kept hot throughout the meal and the cookware, which is also used as servingware, helps with this. Dolsot Bibimbap is a perfect example of what Korean food is: it is balanced with variety of ingredients, made with a multitude of textures and the food cooked using various methods. The stone bowl is heated on the stove and then topped with rice, vegetables, meat, egg, and then mixed with a fermented red chili paste sauce. This dish is often served with soup and various side dishes.
In Korea, soups are a meal when served with rice and some side dishes. Koreans are masters of soups and these come out bubbling hot in ceramic bowl called a ttukbaeggi. Seafood Soondubu is made from uncurled tofu in a broth made from chili oil; a light seafood broth; veggies like garlic, squash and onions; seafood like clams and shrimp and a raw egg dropped in just as it arrives at the table. It's sunshine in a bowl and perfect with a bowl of steamed rice. The best places make the tofu on site and it resembles cottage cheese rather than the silky blocks of tofu many are familiar with.
In Korea, skip the ice cream and go for the snowflake shaved ice topped with various toppings. It’s light in flavor and it takes on the characteristics of its toppings. My favorite is injeolmi powder which is a roasted nut and bean powder, almonds and rice cake. You can also get more sweet toppings like strawberries and cheese cake, honeydew, green tea powder and sweetened red bean, coffee and chocolate and even red wine. The possibilities are endless and each year cafes compete to create finer, lighter shaved ice and more creative bingsus.
If you come to Korea and you don’t have barbecue, I don’t think they let you leave the country. You have to do Korean barbecue for the smells, the flavors, the heat encapsulates what Korea is. The most prevalent style is pork belly or samgyeopsal barbecue. Koreans love pork and you can have the different cuts and have it marinated or just fresh. One of the recent food trends is super spicy pork ribs that you dip in melted cheese. If you like beef, then you have to try the marinated beef ribs that are cut laterally around the ribs, scored on both sides and then grilled over charcoal. If you don’t eat meat, there are still seafood options. My favorite is grilled shellfish. The shellfish is grilled in their shells and then topped with kimchi, butter and cheese. Amazing.
Daniel Gray is a Korean-American Adoptee that returned to Korea in 2005 to rediscover his roots. He started writing on his blog, Seoul Eats, as a hobby and then ventured into food related projects. He is a Korean food expert that has worked on and appeared on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain, the Kimchi Chronicles, Gourmet Diaries of a Foodie, Unravel Travel, and much more. He was the marketing and tour manager of a leading tour company from 2010-2015 where he started the first food tour programs in Korea. He is currently the president of Delectable Travels (www.delectabletravels.com) and owns two restaurants: Brew 3.14 and Brew 3.15 in Seoul.
This is one of my favorite places for barley dried gulbi or corvina fish and soy marinated crab. The place has been around for more than 30 years and it used to be a family house that was turned into a restaurant. This place is old school and the furniture and layout is very much like a home. The food is unadulterated and pure. It is just good food made from good ingredients using tried and true techniques. Their soy marinated crab has that pungent, saltiness that you would expect and their stone bowl rice is the perfect accompaniment. Their barley fish has a texture and smell like a fine parmesan cheese. I could eat two of them by myself if I was given a chance. The place is more expensive than others but it is worth it. The barley fish meal is 28,000 a person and the soy marinated crab is 29,000 won. If you are looking for classic Korean food this is the place.
Our Favorite Rooftop Bar in Itaewon: the Brickyard One of our favorite rooftop bars in Itaewon was kind enough to invite so we made a video showing off their Thursday Night Wine and Cheese Night. Check it out. They will be celebrating their 1 year anniversary party on Saturday, August 13th from 7pm. They'll have lots of free drinks and cheap shots. Free free to share and stop by the Brickyard! Thanks Andy Ahn! Video by Won Kim and Daniel Gray of www.ifoodk.com Daniel Gray
One of our favorite rooftop bars in Itaewon was kind enough to invite so we made a video showing off their Thursday Night Wine and Cheese Night. Check it out. They will be celebrating their 1 year anniversary party on Saturday, August 13th from 7pm. They'll have lots of free drinks and cheap shots. Free free to share and stop by the Brickyard! Thanks Andy Ahn! Video by Won Kim and Daniel Gray of www.ifoodk.com Daniel Gray
Pokemon Hunting In Sokcho, South Korea We wanted to know what all the hype was about with this Pokemon thing. However, you can't play Pokemon in Korea due to security issues with North Korea. But you can play it on the far northeast city of Sokcho. So we went, we ate and played pokemon all day. The entire city was filled with others doing the same thing. If you are planning a trip to Korea and need help doing so (we can even help you with a private tour to Sokcho) you can find us at http://ift.tt/1Fa3q98
There are lots of baby friendly places where families can go to escape the heat. Here we are at the IFC mall in Yeouiddo and Cocomong Park in Gwangmyeong. Baby was happy.
Feeding my Korean Baby Healthy and homemade baby food for Hazell! My #Koreanbaby likes rice and soup so that's what I cook. It has lots of veggies and protein via egg and tofu. It's all organic stuff without salt or sugar. Hazell loves it. #seouleats #babyfood #soup #babygirl
Daniel Gray is a Korean-American Adoptee that returned to Korea in 2005 to rediscover his roots. He is a Korean food expert that has appeared on Bizarre Foods, Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain and more. He does food tours, events, and consulting in Seoul and owns two restaurants: Brew 3.14 and Brew 3.15 in Seoul.
