Kitchen Flo in Sorae Village   Chef Jang-hyun Cho of the restaurant Kitchen Flo gave up the good life to toil in the kitchen. He was living the Korean dream as a businessman at Samsung. He had a wife and kids; he should have been happy. But after 10 years of corporate life, at age 35, he took his wife and children and moved to England to study culinary arts at London’s Cordon Bleu Academy. He said, “I never cooked at home, but I felt that cooking was similar to my childhood interests of painting and art.” When he returned to Korea, he opened Kitchen Flo in 2005 in Seoul’s French Village: Seorae Maul. I asked the chef if he was worried about opening a restaurant since I am quite aware of the volatile nature of the business. When he opened he said, “I opened the restaurant without fear, because I had never worked in a restaurant before.” The chef’s artistic interests, fresh approach, and his fearless approach to cuisine makes Kitchen Flo, a gem in the congested restaurant scene...

Ham and Cheese Baguette in the French Village Whenever I am in the French Village, I try and make it into the Paris Croissant for a Ham and Cheese Baguette. It is the only place in the city that will do it to Parisian specifications. The bread is crusty with a chewy interior. There is a bit of butter smeared on both sides and there is just ham and good cheese. It's a perfect light lunch for 4,000 won. Dan

It is not often that I really dislike an establishment, but now, I feel like I must say something about about the cafe that I'm sitting in now. It's nothing special, just another cafe but they advertise that they roast beans to order and that they speak English, but it seems like all of that is false. It's a cafe, I have been to in the past and enjoyed hanging at but it seems a lot has changed- especially the attitude. I was polite and asked the older woman behind the counter- I assume she is the owner if this was the same cafe as about 1 year ago and she said, huh? Then I repeated it in Korean and she didn't answer. Her assistant answered it had been here for 6 years. I was like ok. Then I asked what food was good here and she said, everything is good. I was like ok. I looked over the dessert case at the cakes and such and asked if they made them in house and she didn't answer anything. Her assistant said, no. Since they were so helpful in helping me make a dec...

This was an interesting find in Seoul. I was walking around after I left my friend Thomas's house (Saturday was his birthday). And I found this Japanese Grocery Store just down the street. It's called Monomart and it was filled with Japanese people. I went in hoping to find some Pocky (Japanese chocosticks) and I found a wonderland of Japanese food and ingredients. The prices are a bit inflated (actually, really inflated), but if you are looking for Japanese miso, ramen, or even omurice sauce; this is the place to go. (02-592-2987). They have all the sauces, gyozas, and snacks you would need to make your own meals. They even have a selection of alcohols. Here you have some Japanese Soju- called Shochu. I've had this stuff and it's got a burny, get smooth taste. I prefer it to the Korean Soju. The only problem is the price. Here is some Japanese snacks like this cheesecake. Meh. It's nothing to write home about, but when my family had a Japanese exchange student st...

WinPrestigious Wine Tasting from Luca Abrate winery, young talented Winemaker from the Langhe area in Piemonte (Italy) Please see below the 4 wines we would showcase (only upper range wines) - 2007 Barbera d'Alba D.O.C. "Castelve", 100% Barbera - 2007 Nebbiolo d'Alba D.O.C. "Brico Rotondo",100% Nebbiolo - 2006 Barbaresco D.O.C.G. "Clarin", 100% Nebbiolo - 2001 Nebbiolo d'Alba D.O.C. "Ceisa", 100% Nebbiolo * 장소 : 바인스톡 와인테이스팅 룸 * 참가비 : 35,000 원(8명 선착순) ( 4 아이템 루카씨 와인과 신선한 바게트, 미니 샌드위치류 포함입니다.) * 계좌번호 : 신한은행 110-274-423290, 예금주-바인스톡 (입금시 반드시 이름을 남겨 주시고,행사 당일 및 전날에는 입금 금액이 환불 되지 않습니다.) * 문의 : 바인스톡 서래마을 매장 02-536-6081 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * Place : Wine Tasting Room at VineStock * Fee : 35,000 won (8 pax maximum) FYI., Wines not yet imported by VINESTOCK CO.,LTD. among them his incredible 2001 Nebbiolo d'...

Hey everyone, I hope you are all having a great holiday so far. For the last month, I've been holding meet-ups and they have been a great success. This weekend, I would like to try something a little more formal. So this Saturday, the meet-up will be in the Seoul's French Village: Seorae Village. We will do a tasting at VineStock Wine. There will be 5 wines to taste and we will be given a lesson by Sommelier Thomas Scheidt. Thomas was most recently the sommelier for Edward Kwon and in the past he worked at Alain Ducasse's Spoon in Hong Kong. Thomas has specialty wines that he has hand picked that you won't be able to find elsewhere in Korea. Plus, the wines are well cellar-ed, so they are kept in the optimum condition for drinking. The tasting for the 5 wines will be 25,000 per person. And we will start the tasting at 4pm. Afterwards, I would like to go to Kitchen Flo for an early dinner. From the pictures, I've seen I must say that the food looks amaz...

The best Paris Croissant in Seoul in in Seorae Village in Seoul's French quarter. They make the best baguette because they import their flour from France.

Terre Bormane is a renowned company and they are known for their private label Olive Oil. Their product is used in many fine dining establishments such as in all of Alain Ducasse's restaurants, Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro, and at Gameracy Tavern. VineStock in Itaewon has this amazing olive oil for sale. They have Terre Bormane / Riviera Ligure Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Terre Bormane / Arboreum Extra Virgin Oil, and a range of balsamic vinegars as well. They have an excellent white balsamic (blanco) and a 20 year balsamic (antico). They also have olives, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes in oil. Delivery is possible on all of these products. Call or e-mail for prices. You can visit their store in Seorae Village. The store is across and down the street from Paris Croissant in the Muju Building. They are on the 4th Floor, above Kitchen Flo. At the store, you will find many boutique wines as well. Contact VineStock at 02)-536-6081 or e-mail at thomas.scheidt76@gmail.com Englis...

                       WINE CLASS - The “Necessary” Package: 70,000 won(VAT별도)/per class - The “Expert” package: 100,000 won(VAT별도)/per class - The “ultimate Vinestock Afficionados” Package: 150,000 won(VAT별도)/per class                                                             PS:  available depth sessions of Wine from all over the world (France, USA, Chile etc…) or region (Burgundy, Piemonte, Barossa Valley etc...) depending on guest requests. If you want to have more details about each package,  just click the address below  Thank you http://cafe.naver.com/ vi...

Dear Seoul Eats Readers, I would first like to give a warm welcome to Michelle Min who will be joining the Seoul Eats team as a photographer. Michelle is a great photographer and graphic designer. She and I are currently working together at O'ngo Food Communications. Michelle is designing our company website and for chef Anna Kim. You can see her design website here. Thank you Michelle and thanks for the great pictures! Dan As I mentioned in a previous post , all I want for Christmas is olive oil and wine from VineStock. The wines are exceptional and so is the olive oil. They have a wide range of wines and foods which are perfect for the holidays. Here is Thomas the sommelier. He is one of the most passionate and knowledgeable sommeliers that I have met. We had a great tasting today of some his best wines. Wow....nice shot, Michelle. Here was one of our most favorite wines: Inspire. The label design represents a new grape vine. The Abrate Ceisa 199...