Friday Night, I went out to Insadong with a friend and I was inspired to take a couple photos. The streets were adorned with colorful lanterns while the ajossi's were out gawking at pretty girls cat-walking on the cobbled walks. We had dark medicinal teas and tornado potatoes and I finished my evening with a Japanese sake.

They have the best- THE BEST- onion rings. Plus their pulled pork and coleslaw sandwich is quite yummy as well.

7th Seoul International 'Tteok' Fair The 7th Seoul International 'Tteok' Fair, held on May 8 th and 9 th , will be a celebration of a time-honored Korean delicacy. Tteok has significant importance in Korean culture. The rice cake is eaten on the wintry, New Year’s Day to signify luck, purity, and another year of life. It is decorated with flowers to welcome spring. To battle the summer heat, rice cake pearls swim in honeyed water with pine nuts. In fall, red bean tteok is eaten to ward off bad luck. This year's fair will have seminars, exhibitions, and activities for all ages. This year will truly be an international competition because it will have the first international rice cake competition. This competition will be open to non-Korean nationals and the first place contestant will win 2 million won. This competition will be on May 8 th at 3pm. There will be competitions for Koreans as well on both days. Plus, there will be over 50 international trading compan...

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/437986 If you ever wondered what in the heck the difference between these things like I have, then you should check out the discussion at chowhound. There are so many posts about the topic, but now I think I get it. Here is one of the many posts. Donner, Shwarma, and Gyro all refer to the way the meat is cooked - upright on a spit. This method of cooking orignated in southern Turkey and was refered to as 'chevirme', meaning "rotation," or, "turning". 'Chevirme' was pronounced 'shwarma' by Arabic speakers. Similarly, 'doner' comes from the Turkish verb 'donmek', meaning "to turn". This cooking method is referred to as 'gyro' in Greek, meaning "to turn," also (think 'gyroscope'). Doner/shwarma/gyro probably originated in southern Turkey and was quickly adopted into the cuisine of northern Syria. By and large, upright roasted meat is an Anatolian, Levantine, and...

The Noryangjin seafood market, a sprawling fresh air ocean. Paper lanterns hang above a concourse that is a few hundred meters long, giving dim light to an indoor stadium. As you pass along the concrete walkways your gaze passes over every creature that can be pulled from the sea, some you can identify and others you can’t. They are all collected together in one place at the whim of nature’s most inventive eaters: Humans. You can hunt through the tanks and tables that are overflowing with sea life like an above ground shark - choosing fish, and shrimp, and crabs. Your senses get sharper, registering the colors, textures and sizes you prefer. Eventually the hunter becomes one with its appetite, realizing that everything in sight is potential prey. I stepped off blue subway line 1 at Noryangjin station and crossed over the bridge following the signs that said 식장. The smell was inviting, like the smell you get while waiting for a ferry to take you across a sea. I disappeared...

http://www.cibo.co.kr/ Here is a drool worthy website for sundubu. I'll write up how I made 하연순두부 soon. I'm at the rice cake making orientation now. Oh, Jonathon wrote up a little piece in the Seattle Weekly about his trip to Seoul. He was kind enough to mention Seouleats. Thank you all so much for reading! Dan

The first rice cake orientation at the Institute for Korean Traditional Foods was a big hit. Sixty-five people came to the orientation and they all had a chance to tour the tteok museum, view a cooking demonstration, and then make their own rice cake. They learned how to make pressed flower rice cake and coffee tteok cake. This event really showed how international Korea is. There were people from India, Saudi Arabia, Africa, China, Singapore, France, Germany, Russia, Mongolia, Japan, Spain, and America in attendance. The teachers and assistants were all amazing and helpful and in the end, all the students were able to eat what they made. There will be one more rice cake class this Saturday, April 18th at the Institute of Korean Traditional foods near Changdeok Palace (Jongno 3-ga exit 7). All are invited to come and experience making this Korean delicacy. The classes are free, but the spaces are limited so be sure to make a reservation by calling 741.5477 / 010 4272 1900 or by emaili...

Today was a very fun day. I got to go talk to Shanthi, who is the owner of the Chakraa Indian restaurant chain. She was very kind and very fun to talk to. We were talking about food and I asked her how people from India felt about the food and she said that most Indian people can't eat it because it tastes too spicy or it tastes too much like meat. Tastes too much like meat? That's something that seems a bit odd. I mean what is meat supposed to taste like? Shanthi explained that Indian people marinate meat in various spices and yogurts to specifically get rid of the smell of meat. She said the taste of meat is offensive to many traditional Indians. She said many people are vegetarian because of their religion and even the smell might offend them. I thought this was a very interesting cultural insight that I wasn't aware of. Shanthi also told me a very interesting way to make naan. Naan, the traditional bread, must be made in a special round oven. The oven stands upright an...

My friend Paula asked for a paper shopping bag at the Lotte Mart because she wanted to help the environment. The mart wouldn't give her one because they couldn't find where they were (even though by law, they are supposed to give customers the option of paper or plastic.) Anyway, they couldn't find the paper bag, but they gave her something even better. If you look closely it says, "U.S. Meat Export Federation." On the back it says, "Beef" Haha. Oh, Korea. I "Heart" you. Dan

First of all, Hi my name is Dan and I am addicted to Daveseslcafe But I only tend to troll around the Buy Sell Section. Tonight, as I was trolling as usual, I came across this post : Hello All, Happy to to announce the opening of our online sandwich meat shop Nice Deli. We are offering a variety of very nice deli meats at reasonable prices, such as: Pastrami Roast Beef Turkey Breast Italian Salami Pepperoni and more. . . Please visit our site, www.NiceDeli.com, to see all our Products, read our FAQ and Ordering pages before posting questions. Cold Cuts are available to buy in cash at O'Brien's (Busan) , or you can order online. Delivery only for larger orders (FREE). Right now we are just trying to see what kind of customer base there is and which meats people prefer. We welcome any and all constructive feedback and suggestions. Thanks Nice Deli www.NiceDeli.com *Please note the site must be viewed in either a Fire Fox, Google Chrome or Opera web browser (I think Safari also wo...

This is a new feature I'm starting for Seouleats. I am a caffeine junky and a morning person. Now I would love to brew you a pot of coffee, but the Internet doesn't allow that yet. Instead, I'm going to feature surprising videos, pictures, and stories that act in lieu of coffee or tea. Recently, the net has been abuzz about Susan Boyle. Normally, I can't stand talent shows, but Susan's "unconventional" looks drew me in. Watch the video above to get your caffeine jolt for the day. Dan