For a catering gig that our company did (yes, we do private dinner catering...interested^^). We had to come up with a special menu for some VIP guests. We started with a Gruyere tart with caramelized onions and followed that with a creamy tomato soup. For the entree we went with grilled salmon with a grapefruit butter sauce. We got fresh Alaskan salmon from the fish market and seared it and served it atop of wilted spinach and buttery mashed potatoes. The sauce was a grapefruit sauce reduction with whisked butter. The dish tested well in our test kitchen and when we went to the dinner, every plate was clean. Our next course was a salad with a red wine vinegarette, roasted walnuts, and gorgonzola cheese. I know a bit strange to have a salad before the dessert, but it totally worked. For dessert we had cheesecake with a blueberry sauce followed by coffee. All-in-all, a very good meal and I think the 12 guests at the party enjoyed it. Come take a cooking class or take a Cul...

I am with friends at Seoul Pub: Itaewon's famous dive bar. The famous Mr. Jung is making a flaming B52 151 shot. 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.

Hi, my name is Dan and I am a burger snob. But I think that is totally expected right? These days I have been checking out burger places in hopes that I will find that magical burger. Jacoby's is now...meh. I went to Green Chili Burger...too spicy and topped with mozzarella cheese. Bistro Corner took a turn for the worst. Now Dillinger's had this half priced burger special on Tuesday night and I decided I had nothing to lose. I went with a friend and she had the bacon cheeseburger (7,000 won). I had the regular burger (5,000) and was pleasantly surprised. It was big, juicy and beefy. The bun was soft and had body. The burger wasn't dressed with sauces and veggies- they were put on the side. It was a sumptuous burger that had bite and was seasoned just right. I recommend you go check it out any day of the week. Dan

I hope you are all doing well today. I know that Valentine's Day was a couple days ago, so I was wondering how was your Valentine's Day Dinner? It's one of the busiest nights of the year for restaurants and I would like to know which ones were good and which ones didn't quite meet expectations. I received a couple messages stating that some of the places I listed in my Valentine's Day Round-up weren't... exemplary. One such message I got mentioned a well-known Italian Restaurant in Itaewon that is...in the basement. The message said: "Dan, I love you, but take (the name of the restaurant here) off your V-Day recommendation list, really disappointed ㅜㅜ. Just really mediocre pizza and bad tasting, small amount of overpriced pasta. just expected more from a 100,000 won meal for two."  Anyone else have similar experiences? I must admit, I didn't go out that day. I was feeling a bit under the weather so I ate Ginseng and Chicken Soup, drank ora...

Our next cooking class  on February 19th is Japchae and Spicy Pork (Jaeyok Bokkeum). If you love these two dishes and would love to learn how to make them, then this is your chance. It's a great way to  learn Korean  cuisine and meet other foodies. You'll learn Korean favorites such as Daktoritang, Bibimbap, Japchae, and Sundubu throughout the 2 month course. You'll get a deep understanding of the culture and the techniques of Korean cuisine from our award winning chefs. First, you'll see a demonstration from the chef, then you'll have a chance to make your own, and then you'll get to eat what you made. February 19th: Japchae and Spicy Pork March 5th: Kimchi and Bulgogi March 12th: Daktoritang and Vegetable Side Dishes March 19th: Dolsot Bibimbap and Bean Sprout Soup The classes will be offered in English at 11am. You can sign up for 1 or all of the classes. There are 3 classes a month  and classes cost 55,000 a person per session, but if you sign up fo...

Originally Published in the February Issue of Seoul Selection Magazine. By Daniel Gray Finally, I have found some modern cuisine in Korea that doesn’t date back to the Shilla or Chosun dynasty with roots to royal court cuisine. Steamed shellfish and grilled shellfish don’t have a long history. According to food historian, Professor Jia Choi of Ewha University, “it became popular in the early 90’s and died out around 96-97. When they were popular, you could see these restaurants everywhere and everyone thought it was going to be the next big thing, but then they just died out.” So I asked Professor Choi, why she thinks they died out and she said, “Restaurants need to do business all year long and not many people want to eat shellfish in the summer so…it’s not a good concept.” In winter, I get a hankering for shellfish. It’s when they are in season and freshest. Normally, I prefer grilled, but a friend introduced me to steamed shellfish over at Gyomokgil in Nonhyun-dong and it was a ...

A Tower of Macarons Macarons in Korea are pretty, but not often real macarons. They have the concept right, just not the texture and flavor. A true macaron is made with skill. Egg whites should be beaten to stiff peaks and then ground almonds or coconut is folded into the mixture and then baked. Inside it can have a filling, but the filling shouldn't be too gluey- it should be as light and as fine as the light disks around it. You can take shortcuts and cheat on macarons by adding flour or corn starch, but this will make the macaroon taste bready. At first bite, the macaron shell should split and you should reach a sweet, airy, disk before you get to the soft cream. Each bite should be slow, for it should be a heavy dose of sweetness compounded by a soft texture. Macarons are good carriers for flavors so often many variations are made. Amandier, across from Insadong (Anguk Station Exit 1) makes their macaroons with skill. The Belgium baker, Jan Adrian, has a playful, coque...