Warung Indonesia in Ansan Written by Lindsey Huster Although South Korea may feel (at times) a bit homogenous, the food culture is showing signs that may uproot this notion. According to a recent article, the number of international restaurants operated by foreign owners has risen by more than 10 times in the last 10 years. Send your gaze down a popular alley of Seoul, and perhaps will you see what I mean. Alongside kimbap and galbi restaurants lay a sundry array of foreigner restaurants and shops. Around the Jung-gu area, one can stumble into "Mongolian town" and "Russian street." Venture even more southwest, and you are sure to enter Itaewon, an infamous foreigner district that caters to most gourmands palates. Itaewon, stands out as a hub that serves an assortment of African food, including Nigerian, Ghana and Ethiopian. Venture even more south near Gangnam, and you will stumble into a French district that offers pastries that rattle even the most dev...

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...

The nice people over at the Park Hyatt in Gangnam recently sent me this invite to Vietnamese cooking class they are holding on August 25th. You'll get to learn true Vietnamese food from a world class chef, Chef Le Huu Tu. It will be from 3-5pm and it costs 90,000 won per person. You can taste Chef Le Huu Tu cuisine at the Park Hyatt Seoul from August 19th to 28th. The brochure is below. Note: The Park Hyatt Seoul is located near Samseong Station.

Dieu Hien Quan: Authentic Vietnamese in Ansan If you are craving real Vietnamese food I suggest you head to Korea's multicultural city: Ansan (Subway Line 4). Because many of the large Korean firms have factories here, there is a large immigrant population. You'll be able to eat authentic Vietnamese, Thai, and Malayasian Food. You'll also see unusual food stuff for sale in the city such as Durian, cilantro, and basil. It's worth the trip. One of my favorite places to visit is Dieu Hien Quan because they have the best pho in all of Korea. Seriously, they do because the broth is the best and they add lots of fresh herbs like basil and cilantro. Dieu Hien Quan: Interior Shot Saigon Beer They have a selection of Vietnamese beers as well. I really like the Saigon Special Lager (the green bottle here). It had a very refreshing flavor. Click to read more for directions and for...frog legs.

Tang Restaurant by Shinnonhyeon Station Exit 4 It's hard to find good pho in Seoul, but it turns out Seoul has a kind of pho that's kinda hard to find back in the states.  From what I understand, the pho in America is from southern Vietnam.  Makes sense.  But recently I went to a place that had north Vietnam, specifically Hanoi, style pho. Located just out of Shinnonhyeon Station exit 4, Tang specializes in bun cha and pho.  I've had the bun cha there and it's very good, but this time I just had pho.  I believe the main difference between northern and southern style pho is that with the former, you don't really add things on your own.  You just eat it as is.  It's just noodles, broth, meat, onions, and I think green onions.  The meat at Tang was cooked separately, and the broth was cloudier.  The noodles are also thicker.  It's pretty good actually.  The broth has a nice, deep flavor and tastes very clean in spite of its cloud...

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...