Cebu Smile Inflight Magazine Ha! I don't remember giving this quote, but apparently I did. If you are flying over on Cebu Airlines, you'll find some recommendations from me in their magazine. Dan Come take a cooking class or take a Culinary Tour in Seoul! http://www.ongofood.com Pictures are taken either with my Panasonic DMC-G2 Camera with 20mm Lens or with my iPhone 4G Join the Seoul Eats Facebook Group Page to keep to date with the latest events.

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...

Letters to Seoul Eats I love letters and these days, I'm getting quite a few because of the upcoming G20 Summit. Here's a recent one. They are looking for star chefs. Any recommendations? Here's the letter: Dear Daniel, I hope you are well. As F--- mentioned I’ll be in Seoul this Thursday and Friday. I’d like to find a great food neighbourhood where a great chef is causing a stir and that has a great selection of food shops - delis, markets, wine-shops, patisseries, cafes or similar. Would you have any chefs and undiscovered foodie neighbourhoods in the city to recommend? Any tips are most welcome! Many thanks, Liv Read what I recommended after the jump

Le Saigon in Haebangchon. Picture by Paul Ajossi During the summers I crave raw vegetables and a big, leafy, crispy salad. Sure, I love Korean vegetable side dishes, but they are normally blanched and salted and seasoned with garlic and sesame oil. These days I have been working til very late most days so I haven't been able to get to the market to get vegetables to make my own dinner. The place that has been my savor these days has been Le Saigon in Haebangchon. This place is not very far from my home and the bus drops me off pretty close to it. Besides convenience, I truly appreciate the quality of the food. I often go and get Banh Mi Sandwich or the rice vermicelli noodle bowl. The Pho is delightful as well as the broth is very rich and it doesn't taste like raw bones boiled for several hours. Oh! and they serve cilantro with the soup (which I feel is a necessity). The crew working there seem to have done their research for the noodles for the noodles are not the ubiq...

I love Gupnae Chicken because it is: 1. BBQ'd and not battered and fried. 2. The spicy sauce is awesome and not some sugared down nasty stuff that tastes like McDonald's Sweet and Sour sauce. 3. It comes with the white Korean radish (I know every place does and I love them.) 4. Girl's Generation does the commercials and you get a poster from one of the lovely's when you order the chicken. 5. They deliver to my house. 6. It's not expensive (14,000). 7. It's delicious. Gupnae Chicken in Haebangchon 02-792-9291 (I assume they must be able to take orders in English, but I haven't tried it.)

日本の皆さん、韓国へようこそ。僕のお料理ツアーや食のツアーにたくさんの日本人が参加して、その多くの観光客がおいしい店を僕に尋ねてくる。僕はグルメで、ウエブサイト www.seouleats.com を2年間ほど運営しているから、お食事におすすめのスポットをいくつか知っている。ここで紹介するのは、観光客におすすめのスポットだ。ソウルティーズ(長い間ソウルに住んでいる人々)なら、僕のおすすめが香い韓国料理ホリックのためではなく、初心者のためであることがわかるはずだ。 **このリストの使い方：店が有名である、あるいは、英語を話せるスタッフがいる。ほとんどの場合、現地で写真を見せるとその店の場所を教えてくれる。また、BBB(02-1588-5644)や観光案内協会(02-1330)に電話をして教えてもらうことが可能。 1　Myeongdong Gyoja (명동교자)　ここは、ソウルで一番有名な手切りヌードルのお店だ。近辺にはこのヌードルをまねた店が数えきれないほどある。この店の辛くて赤茶色のキムチは、唇がヒリヒリするほど辛い、でも、客をリピーターにすることに間違いはない。僕のおすすめは、Gyoja(餃子)、 Calguksu (包丁で切ったヌードル)、それから、 Kongguksuだ。 Konguksuは、冷たい豆乳のスープヌードルだ。 www.mdkj.co.kr 02-776-5348
 場所：: Myeongdong Gyoja： Myeongdong 駅出口5番。はじめの交差点を左に曲がり(Woori Bank)、右折する(Who.A.U. Clothing Store)。 2 Jang-o-rang 　淡水うなぎの蒲焼は、夏の韓国の名物だ。特に、焼肉醤油タレやピリッと辛いチリソースであぶったり、さっぱりとお塩であぶったりするとまさに海陸の産んだ傑作だ。Jang-o-rangは、韓国でも最高のうなぎの食事処の一つで、うなぎチップスを味わえる唯一の店でもある。足を運んでもらえれば、きっと僕の言っていることがわかるだろう。この店では、うなぎの蒲焼に舌鼓を打ちつつ、甘いラズベリーワインのbokfunjaをかたむけ、じっくりと堪能してほしい。 場所：出口５番を出て左に曲がり、二つ目の信号を右折。主要道路に沿って歩き、左折して、Hongda...

Man oh man, it has been a busy week. Our company is finishing up our move to our new fifty person studio in Insadong after a month of reconstruction. I will post pictures of the place soon. I am in love with the area, because I am right down the street from Changdeokgung. After working all day my staff and I had dinner at BBQ Bossam right down the street. This place specializes in slowly roasted pork belly. It was so good. After dinner, I took a walk into the hanok village (Korean traditional Houses) and I found a wonderful raspberry shaved ice cafe. It is was very simple: shaved ice, raspberries, and raspberry juice- red beans on the side. It also came with a piece of corn! The cafe, Margot, was attached to a Buddhist monastery and they were kind enough to give me a tour if their facilities. I wondered a bit longer into alleys near Insadong and I was surprises to find a new tent restaurant mall. This place had like 20 small snack vendors in a newly constr...

Chicken Frittatta Mushroom Veloute Food Close-up People ask me where I often like to go eat and I have to say that I go to Edward Kwon's Eddy's Cafe quite frequently. Service is always friendly, the food is not too expensive, and the quality is top notch. Here is a Chicken Frittatta and a Mushroom Velote soup I had at my last visit. Eddy's Cafe Shinsaegae Department Store in the basement Express Bus Terminal (Subway Line 3).

/Oh, yeah. this is a restaurant review site. I should recommend places for you to go eat. /Last night I went to Yum Thai for the second time this week and it was just as delicious as ever. Excellent Som Tam and the Duck Curry was epic. Right now they have a Chang Beer Special: Buy 2 and get one free. /Danny b went to Dong-in-Dong for intense Braised Spicy Garlic Beef . He said it was just as good as ever. /Edward Kwon's the Spice in Hangangjin is definitely worth it. I recommend the Prestige Dinner Course. Review is coming soon. /I went to Cafe JeJe over the weekend. It's in Haebangchon up the street from Kobawoo Supermarket. Excellent espresso there. The barista has mad skills and the atmosphere is quite nice. 02-749-1002. /Rudy Maxa was here last week and he went to Suji's restaurant twice for the pastrami and corned beef sandwiches. I had a chance to meet Rudy and I will be in a forthcoming episode on Seoul. /I visited Mary Jane over in Hapjeong . I found ou...

Dear Seoul Eats Readers, Thank you so much for sending me messages and questions and comments. They really make my day and I feel honored that you take the time to read my blog. I'm a social person, so I've used this blog as a platform for interacting with people. The theme this week seems to be: "Where can I go Eat?" I've had several people approach me about vegetarian cuisine in Seoul. Now before I start, feel free to contact me with your restaurant recommendations, tips, and questions about Korea. I'll try to answer them as soon as possible. My e-mail is seouleats at gmail dot com Hello Daniel, I read your blog and am a big fan. I have recently become very interested in Korean food and would love to learn more about it. I am based in New York City. Do you have any sugguestions of what I can do to learn more about the food and food culture? Are there any cook books you can recommend? I am Chinese and would not be able to read any books in Korean. Thank...

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...

Everest is a landmark in Seoul and it's known for it's consistent Nepalese/Indian Food. It has been around as long as I've been here and it's still one of my favorite places to go. The food is moderately priced, the atmosphere is comforting like grandmother's house, and the taste is authentic. Good place, but be warned- there is usually a line down the stairs on Friday and Saturday Night. Out Dongdaemun (Line 1) Exit 3. Make the 2nd left and then make the next right. Flower Bread Vendor Got Street Food? Everest Restaurant Nice Spread Palak Paneer A Lentil Curry (Sorry I forget what its called) Naan Chai Everest Restaurant (02) 766-8850 http://www.everestfood.com

300g of steak goodness for only 27,000 won at Mary Jane near Hapjeong Station. You can get directions to Mary Jane here

Here is a letter I received this morning from Martin, Dear Daniel, I am here in Seoul at the moment visiting from Austria with two friends. I am always interested to experience the "real" cuisine of a country. We have been here since monday and what we have seen and eaten until now, was - how should I out it -not that great. I am foolwing your work with soul eats now for a while and I am asking myself if you see any chance for tomorrow (Saturday) to have a real good food experience here in Seoul. Thank you for your efforts. Best regards  Martin Here is my response: Dear Martin, I'll be out of the city today, but I recommend you try Seoul Roasted Duck in Hannam: http://hummingbirdappetite.blogspot.com/2009/10/stuffed-duck-roasted-on-clay-bricks.html I also recommend you check this post on BBQ restaurants: http://www.seouleats.com/2009/11/korean-barbecue-restaurant.html Suraon is also a nice place to eat at: http://hummingbirdappetite.blogspot.com/2009/10/suraon...

This is one restaurant I don't want you all to find about because the food is just so dang good. Hands down, this is the best Thai restaurant in Seoul. We knew it was going to be good when we bit into the shrimp balls and found an explosion of kaffir, lime, lemon grass and silky shrimp. I was just like these balls taste like Thailand. That's me sweating like crazy. It's not a heavy burn; it's a sunny citrus burn. The interior is cozy and they have really high ceilings (I love high ceilings) Here is the Thai Chili Chicken. This was the spicest dish of the night and it really got the endorphins working. Keep in mind, that we did ask for the food to be made "Thai Style." I am sure they can make it "Sissy Style" if you ask them. Close up of the Chili Chicken The Beef Penang Curry was another hit. The Penang had a hit of sweetness in the very thick coconut broth. One of my guests said it was a bit salty, but then ate 3 servings of it. Clo...