sinbad's kitchen

sinbad's kitchen
서울 용산구 이태원로 180 스카이하이; also at 서울 용산구 이태원동 127-12
tel: 02-792-0069

what was consumed: some middle eastern, some ethiopian ... yes!

i would see sinbad's kitchen every time i would utilize the itaewon subway station. but it wasn't until i had heard that they also served ETHIOPIAN FOOD on the weekends that i got myself out there. and boy was i glad i did!

sinbad's kitchen serves a variety of foods, mostly of the middle eastern variety. as a result, we couldn't not have falafel (i have an addiction). and while a little different from what i had grown accustomed to (a la jordanian, kuwaiti, amsterdam falafel in DC and so on), we gobbled up the pieces right up with no complaints. and the sauce! the sauce was totally delish and really brought the entire appetizer together.

and then, the ethiopian food. yaaaassssss~~~ the injera, the lentils, the lamb/mutton ... the spices that i love. it had been such a long time since i'd had ethiopian food that it'd be hard to say how it compares. that said, it was pretty darn good and we gobbled it all up. and even when we were already filled to the brim (per usual), especially with injera, we tried to fit more in to our bellies. happily :D

and to close out the meal? turkish coffee, the coffee that reminds me of my time in the middle east. a meal at sinbad's kitchen, imo, would not be complete without a cup of this before taking off.

thanks, sinbad's kitchen! until next time ... 

chung-ki myun-ga (청키면가)

chung-ki myun-ga (청키면가)
서울시 용산구 이태원동 128-4
tel: 02-322-3913

what was consumed: hong kong style noodles and chinese food!

noodles and dumplings? yes please! and who am i kidding. someone told me that this is hong kong style (and i'd had it while transiting through HGK), but what do i know? nothing. all i know is that the noodles were delicious, the dumplings were savory, and i was super full as i departed chung-ki myun-ga. let's go again!

rye post

rye post
서울 용산구 이태원로 164-1; also at 서울 용산구 이태원1동 72-34
tel: 02-792-9991

what was consumed: sandwiches! we were looking for good bahn mis and their korean cheesesteak is also pretty good. and don't forget about the fries!

i went through a phase in seoul where all i wanted was sandwiches (ok, so maybe it's not a phase and it's something i'm always looking for). like a good, solid, delicious sandwich with delicious filling on delicious bread. you'd think it wouldn't be too difficult in a cosmopolitan place like seoul, right? right ...

enter rye post. isa and i had heard about it as a place to go for bahn mi. and yes, their bahn mis are pretty delish. during my time in seoul, i visited rye post a few times, especially to get that sandwich fix. the other one i'd recommend is the kimchee cheesesteak. kimchee, cheese, and steak, all in one? yes please!

rye post's fries are pretty solid as well (though, there are few fries i've met that i didn't like. i'm looking at you, in 'n out -__-). i wish an order of fries came with the sandwich, though. of course, i dished out the few extra won to have the delicious addition. YUM.

taj palace

taj palace
서울 용산구 우사단로 39; also at 서울 용산구 이태원동 132-2 2층
tel: 02-790-5786

what was consumed: sunday buffet! i.e., lots of butter chicken and tandoori.

kenny and i are always on the hunt for good indian food (my cravings for it really began in seoul. funny, huh?) and as itaewon was a more convenient location for the both of us, we focused our search there. lucky for us, there's taj palace.

on sundays, taj palace does a great buffet with some classic (or western?) favorites. some sort of tandoori (usually chicken), butter chicken (or something similar to it anyway), something veggie, usually a lamb/mutton dish ... and a hearty serving of naan. YUM.

while our experience with taj palace is primarily on sundays, when they do their buffet (because, really, that's the best way to satiate my craving), i'm sure they have delicious dishes at other times.

nom nom nom ... 

braai republic

braai republic
서울 용산구 이태원로14길 19; also at 서울 용산구 이태원동 63-4
tel: 070-8879-1967

what was consumed: the meat platter! and the chicken liver salad (because i love chicken livers). and fries. and loaded bread. YUM.

the only other exposure to south african cuisine was nando's peri peri (which i love). so when folks suggested braai republic for south african food, i was all for it.

at braai republic, you definitely want to get their meat platter. a friend of mine once told me that it's good for sharing (and it is. it also comes with sides, so it's plenty of food), but sharing isn't always caring, a la joey tribiani from friends. i.e., on a hungry day, i could probably eat the whole platter. but i'm a big eater, so maybe don't use me as a gauge. now, that said, the meat platter along with a few appetizers? that would make quite the hearty meal for a couple of people.

braai republic has quite a few tasty appetizers as well. i like the chicken liver salad (though not so much a salad) and wish i could eat chicken livers all the time. hahaha. but their fries are meaty and delish and their loaded bread! i forget what they're called, but they're pretty yummy and great for sharing.

if you know you're headed to braai republic, be sure to make reservations to ensure that you'll have a table. and don't worry, you won't regret it!

online: http://braaisk.wix.com/braairepublic/

guilty pleasure

guilty pleasure
서울 용산구 이태원로20길 2-10 The Jade 빌딩 1층; also at 서울 용산구 이태원동 64-15 The Jade 빌딩 1층
tel: 02-794-4332

what was consumed: fried chicken, mac 'n cheese, pulled pork sandwiches, french fries, and the best spinach dip

seriously, my super power is being able to eat five times a day. and with places like guilty pleasure, it's super easy to do. so delish! a u.s. transplant (not korean american, from what i understand) started guilty pleasure to satiate (yup) his guilty pleasures. thanks for sharing with the rest of us!

with a group of us, we got a mix of different things. the recommended fried chicken (with gravy! like legit gravy! and biscuits!), mac 'n cheese ... and for sure get the fries! i probably could have eaten multiple servings of the fries alone (but there's nothing new about that).

and omg, the best spinach dip ever! served with garlic-y toast, i've dreamt about this and have wanted to go back just for the spinach dip (i bet there's lots of butter in it. that's what i'm hoping for, anyway!). so so good. it's dark in guilty pleasure, so the photos don't capture how awesome the dishes are.

i miss you, guilty pleasure. can't wait to see you again!

sool sang (술상)

sool sang (술상)
서울 용산구 보광로59길 7; also at 서울 용산구 이태원동 130-4
tel: 02-797-1977

what was consumed: spicy red bean paste stew (고추장 찌개), sauteed spicy pork, and butter rice with egg (like from my childhood!)

after a few beers at magpie, we were in search for dinner (like real dinner). and per kgj's suggestion, we head over to sool sang.

sool sang really focuses more on food to accompany your drink. lucky for me, those sorts of dishes are some of my favorite. like the 고추장 찌개? YUM. spicy, chock full of veggies and pork, and totally delish, a welcome addition to my eating reperoire. 

but really, the reason i was hooked because of this:

rice with butter and a bit of soy sauce, topped with a fried egg. i remember when this was a staple item of my childhood. seriously, this tasted like my childhood. yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssssss~~~~

sushi itaewon (스시 이태원)

sushi itaewon (스시 이태원)
서울특별시 용산구 보광로59길 62; also at 서울특별시 용산구 이태원동 59-4 2층
tel: 02-794-3937

what was consumed: sushi! lots and lots of sushi. we might have gotten their price fixe option (i don't remember)

oh, sushi. so delicious. and if you can serve me some fatty tuna or uni, i will be yours forever (yes, the road to my heart is through my stomach :) friends mentioned sushi itaewon as having some delish fatty tuna, so we had to try it out (and yes, they did have fatty tuna and yes, that was the best thing on their menu).

we had a bit of trouble trying to get to sushi itaewon for some strange reason. there's a huge sign, but we were so focused on what was in front of us that we didn't look up. hahaha. yes, hunger took us over.

sushi itaewon doesn't have a huge space, but they make do with what they have. be sure to get there early to snag a seat. maybe a group of ajussis who are in the midst of some sort of reunion. hahaha. enjoy!