It's been almost a decade of living in Korea and it has been good so far. I guess it has been also ten years of getting older, making and losing friends, working, changing jobs, etc. It's life after all. It has been good so far and I appreciate the patience it has given me. At times I feel like a lost child in Korea but somehow I find my way. I think it was my lack of direction and naivety that has been my foot in the door. Anyway, I need to get back to my roots and I need to be more real. I worked in a very academic environment for several years. It made me learn a lot and it is nice to be in school. The problem is that I have too much ambition and I like to see things happen. Anyway, next year is exciting to me. I have a family that depends on me and I need to do well for them. Let's get real. Also, I need to start focusing on my health. This is day 5 without a drink (I read you need 2 weeks for the liver to restore itself). I am making that effort and I have been ex...
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Our small little pub in the back alleys of Ikseongdong had done well. It is filled most nights and we are planning on opening during the day. We have a good group of regulars that come frequently and business is steady. All seems right, right? Wrong. The neighbors complain more and more as we emerge from a quiet impossibility to a local speakeasy. We get notes from angry neighbors about the noise and the trash and about the foreigners that frequent the bar. They will complain with each other and with the other "Korean" businesses around us. They spread rumors about this and that and they paint us as an outsider to their quiet quaint neighborhood. However, I know the truth. The spot where our bar is and the empty lot a block over and most of the areas around us are stale with notoriety. Our building used to be a house of prostitution and so was the building that used to be in the empty lot. The building in the empty lot used to be one of the most famous Giseng houses in ...
Today I had a family of 7 people do the street food tour and we tried 8 different snacks at different stalls around Insadong. It was a good day and I was surprised to find that the little kids aged 2 and 5 ate and enjoyed almost all the different types of food. They especially liked the fresh steamed dumplings and the kimbap. Korea's street food scene is quite exceptional and you can get a varied and filling meal at almost any place you visit. I highly recommend you try it out.
There is a debate right now about Korean fried chicken. One group thinks it can be considered Korean food. The other group thinks that it is just western food. What do think about this? I believe that Korean fried chicken should be promoted as a Korean food because it is Korea's unique food culture, which led to the development of its unique taste and texture. The sauce, dips, style of eating, and side dishes also make this uniquely Korean. Chicken in the past was considered a boyang (endurance) food that was often eaten during the three hottest days of summer. Korea was mainly a farming country and when you work all day in the fields, you need protein to stay healthy. The problem is that in summer cattle needed to work the fields and the meat would quickly spoil. Smaller animals would be eaten instead such as eel, duck or chicken. But for the Korean palate, eel and duck are too greasy so many preferred the taste of ...
Hanuso During spring I am always on the search for fresh, crispy and nourishing bibimbap. Hanuso uses top quality ingredients to create dishes that will please the epicurean in you. Their Yukhwae (raw beef) bibmbap has fresh sprouts, various lettuces, julienned carrots and pears and more. With this you get clear beef soup, Korean vegetable side dishes and a steaming bowl of hot rice. All combined, it becomes a nourishing meal that feels like a bowl of sunshine and spring rain. Pictured here this is some abalone bibimbap. Although the abalone is fresh, it is a bit chewy. For those that love fresh abalone, this is quite excellent. I would say that Hanuso has some of the best bibimbap in the city because the ingredients are very fresh. It's more like a salad with a side of rice than a heavy bibimbap. I would recommend you make a stop there. Hanuso Jongno-gu Nakwon-dong 272 Ph#:02-739-9990 Hours: 11am-10pm Price: 8,000 won-18,000 won
After a long day on the road, I made it to my mother's house where she had a feast waiting for us. We had spinach, bean sprout salad, pan-fried snapper, marinated beef, ginseng kimchi, beef and turnip soup, and rice cakes. Oh, and egg battered fish and crab sticks. It was a great meal and it was great to have my fiancé and my mother get along so well. To walk off the meal we are at Beojusal temple at Songnisan mountain. It is truly great to get out of the craziness of Seoul. Happy Chuseok everyone! Dan
Wow, another epic food week. Our food tours have been hopping nonstop and I have tried all sorts of great food and met great people from around the world. I feel quite blessed to be able to do a job as this and that so many are enthusiastic to come meet me and our team. In the last week, I have met people from Singapore, Australia, USA, and Canada that all came to Korea for the food. Some of the cool things we saw were a cool plate that let the kimchi juice flow down and make a rose. Lots of great street food like the eggie bread thing. Is also got some Chinese moon cakes that had some beautiful writing on top. At Brew 3.14 (my pub) we made some tomato pie to the dismay of my chef. It's been a good week I must say. My chef also made some quiche at our pub and they have been a big hit. Ok, back to work. Thanks for reading. Dan
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