T-bone Steak and fine dining dinner at Okitchen Yeouido, Korea T-bone Steak and fine dining dinner at Okitchen Yeouido, Korea For Valentine's Day, I wanted to treat my wife to a nice place for dinner. She is 5 months pregnant so I had to make sure that it was appropriate food for her so no raw foods or undercooked foods. Plus, she is quite picky so it couldn't be too lavish. Oh, and it was my brother-in-law's birthday and I couldn't leave my mother-in-law at home either. So a meal had to please the younger people while also pleasing to an older generation Korean that needs rice and kimchi at meals. I decided on Okitchen in Yeouiddo because I knew they had good salads and appetizers, plus good pasta and meat dishes. I could create a Korean meal there. The place is strangely located in the business district near Yeouiddo. It's in the basement and if I had not been a fan of the chef, I could have had the wrong impression. The place seems cold and characterl...

Peninsula Italian Restaurant at Lotte Hotel Osso Bucco over Saffron Risotto You must have pickles at Italian Restaurants in Korea Osso Bucco and Pumpkin Gnocchi are Top Notch! by Daniel Gray (Seouleats) The other day, my good friend and president of the company, Jia Choi said that every day seems to be a party. With many social functions and invitations to lunch, it seems that way. Recently, I was invited by Lotte Hotel to come visit their restaurants and give my thoughts on the food and service. So I went under the condition that I would be free to write whatever I liked. They encouraged me to be honest so I will. Since it is winter, I was in the mood for some good Italian food. Overall, I haven't been too impressed with many Italian places in Korea, but I figured that Lotte Hotel should be able to make something impressive- especially for the prices that they charge. The first thing I did was to call the restaurant to make a reservation. This was a tad frustrating since the perso...

Chef Ciarian Hickey over at the W-Hotel is one of the last foreign head chefs in Seoul. He has had his position for almost 5 years because he is constantly innovating. Over his tenure he has made the W-hotel 'The Hip' venue for Seoulites in Seoul. His champagne brunch is top notch and so are the meals over at Kitchen. Chef Hickey also came up with the  humongous X-burger (which I haven't had a chance to try.)  I have had his other burger and that is pretty darn tasty. These days over at the W-Hotel, they have a BYOB promotion. BYOB is bring your own bottle night. You can bring your own bottle of wine and have it with the menu the W-hotel will prepare. This is a great idea and something I am looking forward to going to again. Now you can pick your own bottle and share it with others without having to pay Hotel prices for wine. Plus the food is darn tasty. The dinner per person is only 100,000 won and with the luxury of bringing your own bottle, I'm totally there. ...

RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED Chef Matthieu of Le 75 A restaurant that I got to preview about 2 weeks ago has had their soft opening and they are ramping up. The food is excellent and all made by Chef Matthieu. The chef asked me to try not to write too much about him because he says, "I'm shy." But also, he says he needs time to perfect everything. I can understand. So instead of doing my normal write-up, I'm just going to tease you with some shots of his food. I'll tell you that the place is in Hongdae. Dan King Crab Croquette in Poppy Foam at Le 75 Chef Mattieau at Le 75  Smoked Salmon with Lemon Caviar with Pea Puree at Le 75 Lamb at Le 75 Chocolate Souffle at Le 75 Chocolate Souffle Le 75

G20 Seoul Summit 2010 The G20 Global Summit puts Seoul on the world stage. Now even though each country's delegates are all coming her for a specific purpose, there is one thing that unites them all: they all have to eat. Here is a list of of some of my recommendations for people if they would like to eat their way around Seoul. Recommended Korean Restaurants in Seoul This restaurant list has general directions and phone numbers because addresses are hard to find in Seoul. It is often best to ask people where the restaurant is (Rest-au-rant O-diseyo?), have a guide call the place, or call the place to help you.   This is a common thing in Korea so don’t feel embarrassed.   If you are taking a taxi call the place and point to this: 이 번호로 전화하고 여기로 가주세요. (Ee bon-ho-ro chonhwa-hago yogi-ro kajuseyo.) The hot regions for dining depend on the region, the history, and the economics of each area. To the Northwest of Seoul, you can find Hongdae, which has Korea’s most famous Art’s Un...

Milano Seafood Jjim I've been meaning to put up the rest of my pictures from my most recent visit to Jung Shik Dang. Their new restaurant is over by Shindang near Samwon Garden. You can find directions to their location on their website. I went to this restaurant with Chef Nick Flynn from the Intercontinental and my friend Terry. Good company and very...creative cuisine. This is my third visit to Jungsikdang and I have to say that I am a bit worried about the franchise. The food is beautiful. The setting is stylish and beautiful and the staff and service is top notch. Oh, they have a great wine list as well. In the past, I have criticized the service at this restaurant. Now they have really taken this to another level. The service and atmosphere is actually worthy of a Michelin Star. The food is, well...did I use the word creative already? Let me explain. When Jungsikdang first opened they had a variation of their current signature menu with the foie gras pate with pista...

Hello Seouleats, Here's a recent letter that I recieved My name is D.K. and I will be visiting Korea for three weeks in July 2009. I'm currently working at X.X.X. as a part of the beverage team as well as the service team in Las Vegas. I also have a culinary background having graduated from the CIA in 2006. I wanted to find out if you have a page with a list of fine dining restaurants in and around Seoul. Those equivalent to being Michelin rated. If not, I would love a list of restaurants or other recommendations to fine dining restaurants. Look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you D.K. So...I need your help. Most of the restaurants that I think that D.K. are looking for are in Hotels in Seoul. That includes the Shilla, the Intercontinental, Lotte Hotel's Pierre Gagnaire, and the W. Most of the other places I know are small and they aren't at the level of a Michelin rated restaurant. So, can you help me add to this list for D.K? Thanks, Dan