Seoul food, part 3

Our hunt for dinner ended up in a drinking house near Myong-dong. It was the only place packed full of men and we thought it had to be good. We saw 5 or 6 food pictures outside the place and little did we know that was all the place served. Nonetheless we were happy with our draft beer and we decided to give the food a try.

As the waiter didn't speak a word of English the only way to communicate was pointing. What my husband thought was beef turned out to be conch. It was actually pretty tasty even though it required a bit of chewing. The kimchi salad with cucumber, gosari, whitebait, and other assorted julienned vegetables was an interesting mix but a little too spicy. Not bad at all consider we didn't know what we were ordering.

We knew we were ordering some soupy type dish, perhaps with tofu but it was actually sliced fish cakes. The soup was extremely tasty with a peppery base. The fish cakes were very similar to Japanese or Chinese fish balls - we liked the dish so much we ordered a second helping.

The only dish we were sure about while we pointed was the fried pork chop, as it looked pretty nice on the picture. The real thing was a little dry but not bad.

Another success: sliced frankfurters on hot plate. We went for s second helping once again. I can see why the men drinking next to us kept ordering more and more of the stuff!

Our last surprise turned out to be seafood soup. Loved that red Korean soup base. I wish it would come with beef or something as we were a little afraid to eat fish and shellfish at a tiny drinking house. Instead we polished off all the tofu and radish with the fiercely hot soup. Yum!

The bill for 5 with beer came to US$100. A bit pricey (especially when we are so used to China prices) but it was an interesting experience.

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I practically followed the trail of people walking up to this 2nd floor restaurant. I thought it had to be good with all that traffic and once again the people were right. The small menu had 9 items and ordering was easy with pictures.

I like the way that you get soup and kimchi as starters automatically, even in a semi fast food joint like this one. The soup was soooo salty I was a little worried about overdosing on MSG. The kimchi radish was so good though, very refreshing and crunchy.

As all other diners had dumplings on their tables I had to try some naturally. They were nothing specially unfortunately. The veg and glass noodle filling was too bland.

I got the cold noodles by mistake as the pictures were too small and I couldn't really see. It turned out to be excellent fortunately! Besides they got the condiment right: white vinegar and mustard made all the difference.

I was not hungry after my cold noodles but when I saw the noodle dish everyone else was having I decided to try some. The dish was also cold but not soupy. I loved all the freshly chopped vegetables and the chili sauce - a perfect dish for the summer.

Another picture of the noodles once it's been mixed up. I can eat this dish everyday.

Everything came to US$10. A bargain!

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I found this hot pot restaurant packed full of lunch crowd so I went back at 2pm. The strategy paid off as I was able to sit comfortably at a normal table. There were traditional Korean tables but I wasn't dressed for it.

Anyway the menu with pictures was straight forward: there were 4 or 5 hot pots with different combinations of frankfurter, sprouts, baked beans (I know it's weird), vegetables, tofu, macaroni, and beef. I went for the one with everything and I liked the look of it. Red hot, big and smoking. I didn't think much of the kimchi, especially the lower left corner one with seaweed. It was a little too fishy for me.

I ordered noodles to go with the pot, like everyone else. I was a little disappointed to find out they were just regular noodles and not the spicy and firmer Shin Ramyun. I could also use the extra spicy soup base. Still I was really happy with everything - I loved all those Korean soup bases.

The meal came to US$7. I wish I get to go back sometime.

Seoul, food market

You can always find interesting stuff in an Asian market. The one we came across in Seoul was very exotic indeed.

A showcase of dried shrimp, squid and assorted seafood.

Boxes of dried fish - similar to whitebait I think.

Sacks of dried squid.

Dried baby squid - notice they are the same size as the shrimps on the side. I wonder how you eat them?

Pickled cucumbers and onions. Look again. Pickled crabs!

Inevitably there was ginseng. Lots of it. It could not have been too expensive as some local women were buying bags and bags of the stuff without even checking.

You can't have a Korean market without kimchi. This stuff looked fierce somehow. I was hoping to figure out what the tubular red things might be. I never got anywhere close though.

Dried seaweed. I hadn't realised there are so many varieties.

Different types of chili paste, a Korean food staple.

Some kind of dried long fish. I included the shopkeeper's butt on purpose for scaling.

Sacks of bondegi - silkworm larvae. I felt weak.

Some kind of melon? They were not very big - size of a small apple.

Seoul food, part 2

I knew of Kraze Burgers because of its branch in Shanghai but we had yet to try it. We were determined to try the real thing when we saw one near our hotel. I was surprised to see it's actually a sit-down place as supposed to a fast food joint.

We were happy to see very berry smoothie on the list (US$3.5), perfect for a hot summer afternoon. I definitely prefer all fruit and ice smoothie to the ones with yogurt or milk and unfortunately this one was the latter.

Our chili cheese fries (US$2.5). Could use more cheese for sure.

We both had the regular burger (US$4.9) with an egg on top (I think each fixing costs an extra US$0.5). The burger was better than fast food but not quite diner standard yet. Even though it was freshly put together the quality and size of it made it marginally acceptable for that price. We thought it's cheeky that the dish does not include fries on the side.

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I was still hungry when we walked out of Kraze Burgers - go figure. When we saw a Steff Hotdog across the road I decided that it had to be tried and digested.

I tried the Steff dog (US$2.9) and I was disappointed at its size. It was long and thin with mustard, ketchup, chopped onions, and what I thought to be dried garlic flakes on top. I brushed all the flakes off and ate the whole thing in 3 goes. It was a highly unsatisfying experience to be honest. The wiener tasted like tinned cocktail wieners: plain and plastic-ky. Maybe my expectations were too high to begin with; I was fantasizing a huge frankfurter with all the toppings. In my dream.

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Needless to say we were hungry again after a couple of hours and the many tea houses in Seoul came to rescue. Besides my husband had to have a go at his Crackberry...sorry Blackberry. We found one on 2nd floor overlooking the busy Insa-dong (Dong: a section of a city in South Korea, approximately the size of 5 city blocks, used in place names quite often).

The teas all have some kind of health value according to the menu. My jujube and honey tea was supposed to increase circulation I think. We couldn't believe the size of that cup when it arrived - almost like a soup bowl - and when I looked around people were using their spoons to drink theirs. Cool. I tried mine and quickly realised that it was the sweetest think I had ever tasted in my life. I manged to finish half of it at the end...sugar overload!

My husband tried a quince tea, it was just as sweet, he said it was sickly. The cup on the right is the normal-size teacup often seen in Japanese restaurants.

There were 4 or 5 different cakes on the menu and I had not a clue whatsoever. I tried my luck with some glutinous rice cakes, expecting something similar to a mochi. They looked totally different than what I had in mind but they were damn good! The lightly flavoured top and bottom sponge was so soft and fresh but yet it had enough integrity to hold on to the sticky chewy glutenous filling in the middle. The texture was most interesting in a pleasant way. They came in 4 different flavours: lemon, green tea, orange and we couldn't quite work out what the brown one was...could be chestnut. Nonetheless we liked them a lot.

Our teas and cakes came to about US$15 I think. Not bad for a long relaxing break, and the service was friendly and excellent.

Seoul, street food

I had never come across a place with so many street food vendors like Seoul. Everywhere we walked there was food. It's my kind of city. Basically people are constantly eating - how do they stay so slim?

I am only guessing that they are octopus jerky. I wonder why? Octopus is chewy enough as it is.

Bondegi - silkworm larvae. I had not got the courage to try them. The smell was quite alarming so I decided against it. If someone pays me 50,000 dollars on Fear Factor then maybe. I was told that they burst in your mouth and they taste like wet earth. I think I will get my protein somewhere else.

OK that was all the weird stuff. Time for something more appetizing. This is some kind of peanut and malt candy. The lady would scrape off the top and stick the shavings on a stick.

More malt candy. This time the vendor chipped it off with a hammer and screw driver. We bought a little box to try but it was so sticky that chewing was impossible. It's very plain with only a hint of sweetness. I ended up pulling mine off my teeth with my fingers and chucked out the rest. Not worth the afford when you have Skittles.

These looked interesting: sushi rolls with meat or fish as fillings. I would have tried some if it wasn't in the middle of the summer. Didn't want to get food poisoning after all. I had all the kimchi and bibimbap to eat!

This is the best of all: BBQ chicken kebabs! They smelled sooooo good.

A lady pan-frying assorted meats. That beef in the middle smelled good.

People would just stop and sit down at these road-side eating stations.

Interesting looking pancakes. I am guessing kimchi flavour?

These looked and smelled good too. Again the hot weather made me think about food hygiene and took over the adventurous side of me.

Assorted road-killed squids and semi-dried octopus. Funky!

I think the small bowl of food was a front. These dudes were there for the booze.

Seoul food, part 1

My first day in Seoul. My plan to go to lunch got delayed for almost 2 hours as I got so distracted with all the little shops in Myeong-dong. At last I managed to find a bank, got cash and went hunting for food.

My instinct told me to go to the smaller alleyways for good food and I came across this small BBQ shop with lots of pictures of their customers and TV interviews on the wall. I took a look at the 2 momsy looking ladies serving and cooking inside and decided it had to be good.

I pointed out a number of things from the menu and enjoyed the much needed cool drink. If you ever wondered what Del Monte is written in Korean then here you go. The orange squash was actually extremely refreshing and not too sweet at all.

My quest for kimchi officially began: I was going to try as many different ones as I could. Clockwise from top left: spicy strips of baby squid (a little slimy but tasted OK), spicy cabbage (good as usual), spinach (good buffer for spicy food), and daikon radish (made me feel healthy and wholesome).

My bibimbap was excellent but there was too little of it. I thought about ordering another one even. The rice at the bottom was crispy from the heated stone bowl - in fact the dish arrived sizzling. The shredded cucumber, mushrooms, bean sprouts and beef went really well with the hot sauce and rice. Yum!

My other favourite: beef bulgogi. I just love the sweetness of the sauce. It can be grilled, pan fried or broiled. I like them all. I was overjoyed when I saw this stove top version. I wished there was more!

The meal was US$20. I made a note to myself that I should take my husband back some time.

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Unfortunately we didn't make it out for dinner that night as my husband didn't finish till very late that night but the 24-hour room service came to rescue. At a glance everything seemed so expensive but the selections were plentiful.

We were quite impressed with the spread. The "western" main courses came with Caesar salads - a nice surprise. Next to them are my kimchi spread for my bibimbap (yes I was having it again for the 2nd time in 1 day).

My husband went for a burger. It looked and tasted fantastic.

I can't figure out why or how I forgot to take pictures of my two main courses: bibimbap and a club sandwich. I was prbably too hungry (and it happens quite often). The bibimbap was outstanding, even better than the one I had for lunch. I like the large quantity too. The club sandwich was not bad but could use a bit more fillings (like ham and chicken) and less mayo.

My husband's cheese cake. Very tasty indeed. I think the meal came close to US$100. Ouch! We are too used to China prices I think.

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This meal was taken at a roadside restaurant for tourists visiting the DMZ area. I didn't expect much from it but it was actually not bad. My favourite kimchi for the day was sprouts (top left corner). Actually the middle one on the bottom was not bad although I wasn't entirely sure what it was. I think it was some kind of hard shredded tofu.

The big groups of people were sharing beef bulgogi in a BBQ plate on stove tops but since I was travelling alone I had to have mine separate. It didn't look too good but it tasted alright. The broth had all the right flavours. Can't complain too much as the whole meal was just US$8.

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This evening my husband manged to get back to the hotel before 9pm so we decided to head out for dinner. We walked around Myeong-dong for a little (still very happening) and decided to re-visit the place I was in previously. To my surprise the momsy women recognised me right away and gave us a very warm and animated welcome.

We started the meal off with some Jinro. It's some good s**t. We felt the buzz instantly after a feel sips.

Another kimchi spread (from top left clockwise): zucchini (my husband's favourite), seaweed (not bad), the usual spicy cabbage, and baby squid.

We ordered beef bulgogi again as well as some beef rib. I thought it was a bit cheeky that only 1 slab was served. It was very very tender and tasty, not to mention extremely juicy.

I decided to try the cold noodles, just to see how it would compare to the North Korean version (see here). Unfortunately it wasn't nice at all. It didn't have a lot of taste and the noodles all stuck together. The broth was bland but the ice cubes made it refreshing I guess.

We wanted to try some chicken and ginseng soup while we were there, as it's one of the more famous Korean dishes. The broth again was very bland with no taste of chicken nor ginseng. Very odd. There was probably quarter of the chicken there (all in one piece) and it was difficult to pick out the meat. There was rice in the soup also, which I find a little odd, but I was told it's the traditional way.

My husband had a bibimbap and he loved it. Everything came to US$50.

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Couldn't end the night without something sweet. We found ourselves being sucked into the Krispy Kreme Donuts on our way back to the hotel. As usual one can never just buy 1 donut so we ended up with a dozen. they were soooooo good. (We only had half a dozen the first night if you wonder.)