토속집

토속집 

what was consumed: 닭도리탕

a lunch favorite! on the days where i want to eat something spicy (and, in that special way, soothing), i will gather friends together to eat dahk-doe-rhee-tong (a spicy chicken stew) at toe-soke-jip.

the stew will be served to you, piping hot, likely still boiling. watch your hands! i like to take out all of the contents and put them on my plate so that they'll cool down and so that i can can eat the soup with my rice, separately, and toward the end of the meal. in addition to about a quarter chicken that has been stewed in the spicy soup made with a lot of goh-choo-jang (spicy red bean paste), the stew has chunks of potatoes and onions.

the stew is served with rice (of course) and a plate of bon-chon (side dished). don't forget to order more if there is something on that plate that you particularly enjoy (mine is usually the soy bean sprouts. can't get enough!) 

be sure to quickly select toe-soke-jip if you decide to go. the first seating fills up soon after 11:30 and it's a popular destination for the koreans. i've seen people make reservations, so be sure you do if you have a large group. that way, you can be ensured that you'll get to enjoy their delicious spicy chicken stew!

i can't even describe this place, just that it's near work. let me know if you wanna go and i'll take you! happily ^^

만족 오향족발

만족 오향족발

102 Seosomun-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul

tel: 02-753-4755

what was consumed: regular and spicy 족발 aka 반반족발, prepared with the special 5 spices.

back to sik-kek-chon!

after work, while dad was in town (and i was still relatively new to seoul, again), dad met me around work to grab a bite to eat before heading home. i had gone to sik-kek-chon before and found this a good opportunity to check out another eatery in the area.

mahn-jok oh-hyang jok-bahl serves a small selection of things, but specializes in particularly prepared ... pig's feet. now, come come. i know you might have images of piglets running through your head, but it's nothing like that. rather, the meat is deboned and compressed (... ??? something like that) and then prepared as the eatery desires. in teh case of oh-hyang, they take 5 special spices that are supposed to go in to this dish (i forget what they are). point is, oh-hyang jok-bahl does a good job of preparing the jok-bahl so that it's not too fatty and with the appropriate amount of the 5 spices so that you don't smell (or taste) any of the possible game-i-ness of he dish. rather, the meat is tender and exudes just a bit of the spices. delish. 

dad said he wasn't particularly a fan of joke-bahl, but that didn't prevent him from eating at least half (if not more) of our meal! hahaha. 

the meal is accompanied by the standard cabbage salad as well as some mandoo soup that is heated right at your table.

oh-hyang jok-bahl also has a separate lunch selection. i'll have to go back and try! so yummy ... 

online: http://www.manjok.net/

mr. pizza

mr. pizza

various locations

what was consumed: potato pizza!

when i think of pizza in korea, i think of the salad bar at pizza hut and potato pizza from mr. pizza. oh, the nostalgia.

with dad in town, i wanted to show him parts of korea that were my own, which includes mr. pizza. so, on our way home from a day of extended family time, we put in a take-out order of mr. pizza and took our fare home to eat in the comfort of home. great idea!

my favorite at mr. pizza is the potato pizza, which features potato wedges as the main topping (this pizza also has onions, bacon, and cheese. i have to remember to order it without onions next time. or i will pick them out), on a regular crust (thin crust, here, usually ends up being cracker-like). and while it becomes slice after slice of carb-overload, i will continue to believe that potatoes are de-licious.

mr. pizza is also home of the bacon pizza. and there is nothing wrong with that. mr. pizza will always have a special place in my heart. more potato pizza please!

online: http://www.mrpizza.co.kr/

jonny dumpling

jonny dumpling

130-3 itaewon-dong, yongsan-gu, seoul

tel: +82-2-790-8830

what was consumed: steamed dumplings, fried dumplings, and mussels soup

chinese style dumplings ... in seoul! with dad in town, i wanted to make sure we got to enjoy some tasty treats. i had heard about johnny dumpling and had seen the long lines of patrons waiting outside. i wanted to try! 

johnny dumpling serves chinese style dumplings. ie, thick, (in this case) hand-rolled dumpling wrapper filled with mean, usually just shrimp or pork. the dumplings come either steamed or pan fried. we tried both. the wrapper is a little thick for my liking, but it's in the chinese style, so i knew what i was getting in to and it was de-lish. and the mussels soup! a nice addition to the dumplings. there isn't anything extravagant about the soup - a simple broth, seasoned with salt and pepper (for the most part), in which the mussels are steamed. but it offered seafood-y goodness that paired so well with the dumplings. and the broth helped wash down the delicious dumplings.

YUM. let's go wait in line for some dumplings now! 

dong cheon hong

dong cheon hong

5 dangju-dong, jongno-gu, seoul

tel: +82-2-72506887

what was consumed: 친구들은 짜장면, 난 짬뽕. 항상! 그리고 탕수욕.

yay korean-style chinese food!

i was looking forward to getting korean-style chinese food delivered straight to my residence once i returned to seoul; food delivery is awesome in korea. but my current living situation makes it a challenge and the options are limited. no matter - if the food doesn't come to me (sadly), i will go out for the food!

of all the korean-style chinese food restaurants near work, our local staff tell me this is their preferred. it will, then, be my preferred as well. done! 

when visiting a korean-style chinese restaurant for the first time, i measure how much i will like a location based on their jjam-bbong, the spicy seafood noodle dish. and dong cheon hong does it right! the soup is spicy, chock full of seafood, and the noodles have just the right amount of chewiness. i will usually de-shell the shellfish and cut up the small squid after allowing it to finish cooking in the soup before digging in. scissors are always placed on the table, per korean "custom" when noodles are served (i like to think it's a modern and practical custom, anyway - haha). i then try to create bites that have a bit of everything - noodles, seafood, maybe a veggie (usually cabbage or onion) in some soup. but let's face it. i will more frequently slurp the noodles, shovel some seafood/veggies, and gulp the spicy broth. mix up the order perhaps, and definitely repeat. 

every time i visit dong cheon hong, i say that i'm going to try something different. but there's just something about their jjam-bbong that i can't get enough of. let's go, right now!

online: http://www.dongchunhong.com/

le saigon

le saigon

서울특별시 용산구, 녹사평대로 230
tel: +82 2-790-0336

what was consumed: pho! and fresh spring rolls

i've never been to vietnam. the closest i've gotten is the cultural enclaves in the u.s. (little saigon in westminster, ca, eden center in falls church, va), so i may not know what authentic authentic pho and other vietnamese cuisine should taste like. what i do know is that i like what i've had and want more! so, when i see vietnamese cuisine options around town, especially those that are not a part of a chain, i'm wont to indulge.

in our weak attempt to explore our neighborhood, m and i walked in to le saigon for some vietnamese treats:

online: http://www.lesaigon.co.kr/