This is my favorite part of the holidays. The day after-- and the the next week-- I get to have Turkey sandwiches. My favorite sandwich is just a roll with a dab of butter on one side, some cranberry sauce and turkey. It is essential that the sandwich is seasoned with lots of black pepper. Dan

Cakes and Hats are like eggnog and mistletoe in Korea. They are lavishly decorated. It's like a christmas tree you can eat. cute, huh? The decorations on top are made out of hard sugar and I wouldn't recommend you eat it. Korean Christmas Cakes look almost too good to eat. Here is Kim Tae-Hee with her hat. Here are an army of cakes. Dunkin Donuts even got into the fray this year. They had a polar bear theme. Baskin Robbins went with penguins. You can't celebrate Christmas in Korea without a Christmas cake. The Korean blogosphere has had numerous posts on the subject... here, here, , and here. I think it's pretty cool that Korea is so into Christmas Cakes. The cakes represent the Korean idea of Christmas. Gift exchange is not big here, but the idea of getting together and sharing is. The hats...I don't know what that represents. The hats are all marketing. Paris Baguette did campaign 2 years ago where they sold Christmas hats and n...

You can have the thigh. This is the best part of the turkey and if I don't at least one turkey leg a year, my year will be ruined. I cannot-- and will not-- share the leg. While I eat it I like to act like a barbarian. I tear off bits of meat with my teeth, grunt, fart, and drink beer. Now if I only liked football, then I could really have the true American experience. I remember watching my uncles act this way during our Christmas gatherings and they always stole the legs...bastards. It's nice to live in a country where the turkey is a new concept. Happy Holidays everyone! Dan

Merry Christmas Everyone!

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So, apparently the number I had for the Dragon Hill is the old one and it is no longer in use. I e-mailed Chef Tim Mitchell of the Dragon Hill Lodge and here is his response: Hi Daniel, The holiday dinners are available. We deliver to gate 17, which is near Dongbu Ichon Dong subway station, close to the National Museum. I have enclosed a .pdf copy of what we have available. You can reply to all for your order, or call. The correct number for us is 02 6903 6716 for the Deli, 02 6903 6718 to speak to Ms. Kim the Deli manager, or my direct number is 02 6903 6777. If your order is over $250, we will take off 5%, and over $1000, 10%. We need 1 day on smaller orders, or 2 days for orders over 10 turkeys. Thanks again! My Best, Tim I just placed my order for the 24th and on the 25th. I'll be hosting a Christmas Dinner on the 24th and then I'll be going to an orphanage to help cook Christmas dinner on the 25th. Oh! And they will deliver my Turkey to Gate 3, which is...

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I would like to thank 10 magazine for helping me put this article together. If you would like a hard copy, you can find it in Friday's issue of the Korea Herald. Dan Christmas is right around the corner and although it is a western holiday; it is one of Korea’s busiest holidays. And I should probably add that it is Korea’s top date holiday. Most of the hotel restaurants and fine dining establishments are already filling up. If you do not make reservations now, you’ll have a very upset girlfriend (or boyfriend) on your hands. Trust me. I am a cautionary tale. I spent my first Christmas with an immaculately dressed girl at a galbi restaurant. She never called me back. Here is a list of recommended restaurants divided by region for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner. I wish you all a Happy Holidays. *Note: Many of the prices exclude VAT.* Itaewon Chef Meili will have Christmas specials from Thursday to Saturday by reservation only. Chef Meilinger will have a t...

I found this Classbrain.com . I found it pretty interesting so I wanted to share it with you. Dan YULE LOG Did you know the burning of the Yule Log was taken from ancient sun worship rituals? Yule Logs are supposed to be cut from red oak trees and burned all of Christmas Eve and into Christmas Day. It is unlucky to buy your own log and lucky ones usually come from your neighbor’s woodpile. It is also customary to light the new log with a scrap of last year's log. The scrap is kept under the homeowners’ bed to protect the home from fire and lightning during the next year. ICE SKATES Can you believe the very first ice skates were made from animal bones? The oldest pair ever discovered was found at the bottom of a lake in Switzerland and date back to 3000 B.C. Leg bones from large animals were used as the blade and the skates were tied on with leather straps. The Dutch word for skate is ‘schenkel’ which means leg bone. The largest outdoor skating rink is the Fujikyu Highl...

Dear Seoul Eats Readers, Thank you so much for reminding me about Christmas, over and over again.^^ If you missed it, here is  part 1 of my advice about where to eat for Christmas.  And I learned that the Wolfhound will be having a Charity Christmas Dinner. They will be having Turkey and all the fixings. Reservations are filling up fast, so you should e-mail them soon. Toque is also doing Christmas. Like, I had already mentioned. You need to make reservations soon. 10 magazine has put together a great list of restaurants on Christmas Day. They are going to continue to edit them as news come in.  http://10magazine.asia/1615/10-magazines-christmas-dinner-list/  (Thanks 10 magazine). Christmas Eve NEW!   Christmas Jazz Night and Buffet at the Ritz-Carlton (Seoul) Great food and live jazz music In the Grand Ballroom. 6:30 – 10 pm. Adults W80,000, children W40,000. 02-3451-8474 Christmas Eve & Christmas Day NEW!   Holiday Menu at Park Hya...

Dear Toque Friends, Thank you for all your enthusiastic responses to our Thanksgiving feast. We had a great time preparing the dinner and I'm glad that everyone who could make it enjoyed it as well. We've had some suggestions in upgrading the buffet and we'll take that into consideration for our Christmas Buffet. For those of you who missed out on turkey then, we are once again having our annual Christmas Eve Five Course Prix-Fixe Dinner and Christmas Day Turkey Brunch Buffet. *  Christmas Eve Course  \40,000 + 10%VAT - Reservation Times limited to  6:30 p.m. & 8:30 p.m. - As usual, our course will consist of mostly a tradition menu with Toque's own interpretation 1. Oysters 3 Way - Freshly Shucked Oysters, Fried Oyster with Remoulade, Oyster Pate 2. Crab Bisque with Crabmeat Jelly 3. Ratatouille stuffed Young Chicken Gallatine with Salad  4. Beef Tenderloin Steak with Mushroom-Red wine Sauce 5. Warm Chocolate ...

I don't believe that it is already December. I've already been getting Christmas requests from people. MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS EARLY! CHRISTMAS IS ONE OF KOREA'S TOP DATE HOLIDAYS.  If you don't make your reservation early, you'll be out of luck.  High-End Most of the hotels will be holding Christmas Dinner's with Hotel Specials. I recommend the W-Hotel and the InterContinental Hotel. W-Hotel's Kitchen always has a great festive Christmas spread and the InterContinental's Marco Polo and Table 34 for great for couples. I've also been to the Hyatt for their other holidays and I'm a big fan of their food and their view. Pierre Gagnaire will probably be rocking as well. Top Cloud is a major date destination at this time so be sure to book your reservation early.  I also recommend Gourmet Eo in Cheongdam, Ristorante Antonio, and Jung Shik Dang in Dosan Park Chef Meili in Itaewon will definitely be having a Christmas Dinner. This is where I have had...