potato house (청년장사꾼감자집)

potato house (청년장사꾼감자집)

서울특별시 종로구 자하문로1길 25; also at 서울특별시 종로구 내자동 24

tel: 070-7778-4676

what was consumed: fried potatoes! both sweet and regular. and beverages in pyrexes. fun!

a place that focuses on fried potatoes? yes please! as we were leaving dinner, despite being full, we couldn't resist the sound (and sight and smell) of fried potatoes, both regular and sweet:

their fries are seasoned so deliciously and the sweet potato fries are served with honey (turns out, that's a pretty delish dessert-ish combo).

and yes, they serve their beverages in pyrexes. it's a fun idea AND you know how much you're actually being served because you can see the measurements. hahaha.

so don't be deterred by what looks like no seating - they expand to the "tent" next door. so especially when the weather is nice, be sure to stop by and grab a drink and some fries! YUM.

online: http://www.facebook.com/passionpotato

hyo-ja bah-beh (효자바베)

hyo-ja bah-beh (효자바베)
서울 종로구 자하문로1길 42; also at ; also at 서울 종로구 체부동 210-3
tel: 070-8749-0019

what was consumed: bbq! cooked on a weber grill, on charcoal, inside of the restaurant (yes, it gets a little smoky). and a spicy italian inspired tomato soup. both are a must.

in the cute area near gyungbok palace (aka seo-chon), there is a strip of restaurants that we'd frequent after work (just a short walk from the office). hyo-ja bah-beh because one of my favorites. order the bbq platter and you won't be disappointed. beef, chicken, pork, seafood ... there's a little bit of each on your platter, sitting on top of some steamed cabbage (got to have some veggies, right?). everything is cooked on what looks like a weber grill, on charcoal. yes, you will leave the place sort of stinking, but it's totally worth it.

and be sure to order the spicy seafood stew. it's a cross between a soupy spicy spaghetti (literally. there are spaghetti noodles in the dish) and jjambbong. it's a little on the spicy (and tomato-y) side, but definitely delish and a nice part ii of a delicious meal.

yay for hyo-jah bah-beh!

mahn-seon jju-kku-mi (만선 쭈꾸미)

mahn-seon jju-kku-mi (만선 쭈꾸미)
서울특별시 종로구 자하문로1길 20; also at 서울특별시 종로구 체부동 193
tel: 02-735-6570

what was consumed: spicy mini octopus! and a seafood pancake

walking along all of the eateries near gyung-bok palace, we are always in a quandry as we decide where to eat. chicken? beef? pork? seafood? one day, we stumbled in to 만선 쭈꾸미, from where we decided that seafood was going to be our pick!

만선 served spicy mini octopus. you order based on the number of diners and it is served to you, family style (as is the case with lots of korean cooking). once served, you add a bit of the octopus to your bowl, along with some rice and some of the other side dishes, and mix it up before eating. and oh yum oh yum oh yum, is it tasty! the spicy sauce covers all of the other additions in your bowl, and the saute/grill that they utilize to cook the octopus puts just a bit of char on the octopus that comes through in such a tasty way.

and don't forget a seafood pancake! while i'm not a fan of green onions (or scallions or spring onions or or or), i have to say that the pancake is quite a delicious appetizer as you wait for the rest of your meal to be served. there's nothing like biting in to a crispy pancake, hot off the stove, filled with delicious seafood bites. YUM.

refresh 5.7

refresh 5.7
서울특별시 종로구 새문안로5길 37; also at 서울특별시 종로구 도렴동 60 도렴빌딩 지하1층 39호tel: 02) 720-5757

what was consumed: salad! i like the hello santorini ... YUM.

there was a time, in seoul, where getting a really good salad was difficult to come by. they've come a long way from their iceburg lettuce or the shredded cabbage with ketchup and mayonnaise (both of which i still enjoy, of course), but sometimes i just want a fancy salad with fancy greens. so, when BLA introduced me to refresh 5.7, i was overjoyed.

the location we visit, near korea's ministry of foreign affairs, is super tiny (only about 10 seats), so we raced over to nab a spot so that we could eat on location. good thing, too, because within a few minutes, there was a line down the hall of folks who were either waiting for a seat to open up or to put in a take-out order. it's also important to note that while they have a take-out option, i'm fully convinced that my salad is bigger when i eat in versus when i eat out. at least it feels bigger.

the posters in refresh 5.7 tell me that their veggies come from CSA-like programs, so they are able to provide a variety of interesting greens to fill your salad bowl. all of the different dressings are made for refresh 5.7 and the ingredients are all swap-able (e.g. i order my hello santorini with chicken instead of shrimp for no other reason that i just want to eat the chicken). they can also make totally veggie options by subbing tofu for whatever other protein may be on the menu.0 each salad also comes with a piece of bread (which i frequently decline. if you do so when you order, they'll usually put a few more greens in your bowl. yes!).

thank you, refresh 5.7, for being in existence. i love you so much ;D

online: https://www.facebook.com/refresh57

서촌 친구네

서촌 친구네

jongno-gu chebu-dong

tel: +82-2-720-4763

what was consumed: steamed seafood (해물 찜)

there's a street of restaurants that is near the area by the palace, by work the street has a name, but i (of course) forgot what it's called. whoops. anyway, m and i were one day thinking about what we wanted to eat and came across 서촌 친구네. really, we saw a couple of ajushis sitting outside, chatting over a pot of steamed seafood, sharing a bottle of soju. and we said, "yes. that's what we want." mind you, we had already eaten (but our behavior was not out of the ordinary. hahaha).

we ordered the small, enough for 2 folks. had we not already eaten, we would've ordered a medium. once you order, the server will bring out a burner for the table, the bowl for steaming, and then a basket of all sorts of seafood. and some greens. and even an egg! YUM.

mirak chicken (미락 치킨)

mirak chicken (미락 치킨)
39-2 chebu-dong, jongno-gu, seoul
tel: +82 2-736-6741

what was consumed: garlic chicken! and regular fried chicken and noodles and and and ...

one of my favorite chicken places is near the main palace (i.e., near work) and their fried chicken is delish. i actually like the regular fried chicken best, but when you go, be sure to order their garlic chicken. you will be stinking of garlic for days on end after consumption, but it's so worth it. it's made to order, so it take a few minutes, but totally worth it. especially when you hear the sizzle of the garlic sauce on the freshly fried chicken as the server brings it to your table. YUM.