Kongkas (Bean Cutlet with Shitake Mushroom Sauce) Food, food, food. My life revolves around it and these days it's hard to keep up with all the meals that I have had for work and for my hobby. First up, we have bean cutlet from Balwoo Gongyang Kong. No, I'm not a vegan, but Dae Ahn Sunim is a good friend of mine and she always wants to show me her new creations. Here she is making a kongkas (bean-cutlet), temple cuisine style. The meat is delicious and almost indistinguishable from meat. Honestly, I think it's a bit better. The brown sauce on it has a slight tartness and it gets its savory notes from the shitake mushrooms. You get this with a side of side dishes and soup for only 10,000 won. Balwoo Gongyang Kong  ** 2-stars Across from Jogyesa Temple near Anguk Station in Insadong Brest Bakery Just because it is funny: Brest Bakery. They couldn't spell either word correctly. Sliders at Murphy's Pub in Gyeonidan The burgers are good and have...

Borsch at Siberia 2 in Gyeonidan These days, I have been meeting quite a few Russian people. Last week, I took a Russian family to the fish market for a tour and yesterday we had a group of Russians that took cooking classes. I was surprised to learn that kimchi is very popular in Russia. Korea's quintessential condiment can be found at most supermarkets. The most popular kind, however, is not cabbage: it's carrot. I guess I had Russia on my mind because last night I went over to Siberia 2 restaurant for a big bowl of Borsch and a pirozhki. I love borsch not just because of the taste, but because of the color. I love to mix in the sour cream into the deep red broth to make a neon-pink hue of deliciousness. The big bowl of borsch at Siberia 2 is pretty good- well the broth is- I don't know what the mystery bits of meat were near the bottom, but I left them behind. The borsch is full of sour cabbage, green onions, and ground beet. It was excellent with the cabbage and ...

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...

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...

Russian Gostiny Dvor is a Russian Restaurant that was recommended by my Russian friend Elena. Now she says that this is one of the few authentic Russian Restaurants in Korea. It’s over by  Dongdaemun Stadium Station Ex it 7 (Sorry my mistake.) [The name of the station has been changed to  Dongdaemun History & Culture Park]  and this area is like little Russia. Most of the stores have Russian signs. There are Russian Groceries nearby too. Russian food is very hearty and the taste ranges from sour to wholesome. I wouldn’t say the stuff that I ate was really spicy. It’s excellent food for winter. We started out with some pelmeni which are little dumplings made with lamb meat. Selyodka pod shuboj is like a layered smoked salmon and lox dish. It has beets on top and then a layer of mayonnaisse, potatoes, I believe onions and then a smoked fish on the bottom. The flavors all together merge into a very pleasant medley of flavors. The subtle potatoes are sweetened with the...

I'm going to take a stab at cooking Russian Food today. Yesterday I was out with Sara and Jennifer Flinn aka Fatmanseoul and we went to an awesome Uzbekistan Restaurant over by Dongdaemun. It was awesome and I was so inspired that I decided to buy a whole bunch of ingredients and try to replicate some of what I ate yesterday. I got a shoulder of mutton and some brown bread and today I'm going to make a lamb roast. I figure, I'll start it early and then do some work and it'll be finished and read to eat by tonight. Right now, I'm trying to figure out how I should flavor the meat. Here's some tips that I found from Katarzyna and Mark's Russian and Polish Food Blog Take a shoulder of mutton–must be young and tender–wash the meat well and dry with a clean towel. rub well with salt, ginger and a speck of pepper, and dredge well with flour. lay it in a covered roasting-pan. put a few pieces of whole mace and a few slices of onion on top; pour a cup of water into ...

Russian Gostiny Dvor is a Russian Restaurant that was recommended by my Russian friend Elena. Now she says that this is one of the few authentic Russian Restaurants in Korea. It’s over by Dongdaemun Stadium Station Ex it 7 (Sorry my mistake.) and this area is like little Russia. Most of the stores have Russian signs. There are Russian Groceries nearby too. Russian food is very hearty and the taste ranges from sour to wholesome. I wouldn’t say the stuff that I ate was really spicy. It’s excellent food for winter. We started out with some pelmeni which are little dumplings made with lamb meat. Selyodka pod shuboj is like a layered smoked salmon and lox dish. It has beets on top and then a layer of mayonnaisse, potatoes, I believe onions and then a smoked fish on the bottom. The flavors all together merge into a very pleasant medley of flavors. The subtle potatoes are sweetened with the tart beets and then you get that smokey fish pop. Solyanka is a slightly sour soup with sausage, olive...