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...