retrona pie: tart & more

retrona pie: tart & more

서울특별시 종로구 팔판길 39; also, 서울특별시 종로구 팔판동 17-2tel: 02) 735-5668
what was consumed: coffee and dessert! specifically: banana, strawberry, and earl grey pie slices

team building aka forced fun (but delicious, in our case), part ii.

after a delicious lunch and some walking around (did i mention that the team building activity/forced fun was a scavenger hunt? the coordinators did a really great job and we had lots of fun. definitely a successful team building activity ... and without trust falls! imo, thank goodness!), it was time for a little pick me up. aka coffee and dessert! as we were in the bukcheon area, the team remembered a cute bakery/cafe which was a favorite of a previous deputy chief (she left before i arrived at post, so while i have never met her, i feel like i know her because i've heard so much about her!). anyway, it seemed an appropriate location for our mid afternoon break and snack.

retrona pie specializes in baked goods, specifically tarts (as its name suggests). our team ordered a slew of coffees and a couple of different tarts to share and for tasting. and oh, how delicious! the crusts as just firm enough to hold the shape of the tarts, but not so firm that you can't take a fork-full for tasting. the pies are so creamy and not too sweet (just the way i like them), using what i felt was just the right amount of flavor to hint at the essence without overpowering the topping, whether it be earl grey cream, strawberries, or caramelized bananas. my coffee was ok (i prefer mine a little darker/stronger) and others enjoying with me had no complaints. a quite note: each slice of pie does come with a bit of a high price tag. it was worth it, for me, because eat bit was so delicious! remember to bring me back a piece when you visit retrona pie!

pansteak 2046

pansteak 2046

서울특별시 종로구 북촌로4길 20 연화빌딩; also 서울특별시 종로구 계동 102-1

tel: 070-4686-9198

what was consumed: steak! cooked in a pan, at your table

team building aka forced fun. but sometimes team building is fun and actually successful (in team building). on this particular team building day, we took the opportunity to enjoy some good eats for lunch. team building by eating, part i.

team lead, j, mentioned that she had had a delicious meal at pansteak 2046. as we were team building in the area, no reason why we couldn't try it for ourselves!

we got to pansteak 2046 right when it opened. good thing, too, because despite its distance from the office, it filled up quickly. we took a quick look at the menu and quickly ordered.

what makes pansteak 2046 special is that the servers bring your order to your table in a searing hot cast iron pan, allowing your meal to cook/toast right in front of your eyes. and then, depending on how you like your steak, you can either keep in on longer for more well done pieces or remove the meat earlier for more rare pieces (my preferred, of course).

i'm never quite sure how much food comes out when restaurants tell me the weight of what i've ordered (i.e., how much steak is 100g?). the answer, though, is "enough." and with a few veggie sides, it was a perfect lunch portion. others at the table ordered the rice dish (cooked rice sautéed with beef rib portions) and going split-sies was the best option. YUM. 

it gets a little smokey in pansteak 2046 after a little while because everyone's steaks are cooking at their table. but leaving, smelling of cooking meat, just reminded me of how delicious the meal was. yay!

online: http://www.2046pansteak.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/2046pansteak

kinja baeerin (긴자바이린)

kinja baeerin (긴자바이린)
서울 종로구 율곡로 1길 39
tel: 02-734-9765

what was consumed: tonkatsu! and curry udon. and and and ...

HJ's favorite food is curry and/or tonkatsu. so, when she tells me that kinja baeerin (긴자바이린) is her absolute favorite place, who am i to question a local connoisseur? when HJ's friend came to town (a japanese american living in europe), she insisted that we go to kinja baeerin not only because it's her favorite place for tonkatsu and curry, but also because he, living in europe, always had hankerings for asian food (he says it's expensive and the good places are few and far between ... i believe it!). it was also a rainy day, so the crispy-ness of donkatsu and the sort of soothing flavor of the curry was something to look forward to.

in the middle of all the cute cafes and galleries of bukchon is kinja baeerin. the space was, apparently, a former gallery. the decor of the restaurant shows as much as the owner (?) exhibits favorite works of favorite local (?) artists. ok, so i frankly just appreciated the works from afar. i was too busy looking at the menu! kinja baeerin specializes in tonkatsu. and the tonkatsu is so deliciously prepared! the crispy and light outer coating and the

the curry at kinja baeerin also pairs with the tonkatsu so nicely. not too salty, just filled with flavor. i wished for a few more noodles in the curry udon, but the abundance of curry offered the opportunity to dip the tonkatsu as well as mix with some rice. delish!

next time, we'll have to make sure we get there early so that we can order the tonkatsu sandwich, they only make a handful of them, daily. and the bread is special made just for this! must go back. must order more more more! nom nom nom!