gim'story

gim'story
서울 용산구 이촌로 264 삼익아파트; also at 서울 용산구 이촌동 300-301
tel: 02-792-9241

what was consumed: kimbap! and other korean snack foods ... my favorite!

there is no such thing as too many korean snack food (boon-shik) places. i have my preferences, but doesn't everyone? 

gim'story is one of those places that popped up in our neighborhood. and then it appeared in another neighborhood. and another. we had to try it out, of course. i was impressed with their extensive menu, to include ommurice (fried rice, covered with egg, dressed with ketchup. yes. ketchup. can't forget that essential part!). mjk also says that gim'story kimbap reminds her of kimbap she had as a kid.

YUM. and nostalgic. that's the best!

online: http://www.gimstory.co.kr/

toh-seong ah-gu-jjim (토성 아구찜)

toh-seong ah-gu-jjim (토성 아구찜)
서울 용산구 이촌1동 - in the market outside of the ichon station (take exit 3-1, pass yong-gang middle school, and go in to the market) in 동부이촌동
tel: 02) 795-3055

what was consumed: spicy seafood bake, korean style (해물찜)

one of the dishes i miss most when i'm away from korea is hae-mul jjim. so when khj told me she wanted to check out a hae-mul jjim place, i was all for it.

while we were waiting for our bake, we devoured side dishes of seaweed salad, kimchee pancakes, and steamed cabbage.

toh-seong ah-gu-jjim offers a few varieties of seafood bakes (focusing on fish or focusing on shellfish; we opted for the latter) that's baked in a spicy sauce, as is tradition, served on a bed of steamed soy bean sprouts. a huge pile of shellfish appeared and we began to enjoy layer after layer, with bites of soy beans in between. yummy!

be sure to save room for fried rice at the end! the ladies at toh-seong will fry the rice in the bake's sauce and leave the rice on the grill just enough for the rice to toast. YUM.

moromi kushi (모로미 쿠시)

moromi kushi (모로미 쿠시)
서울특별시 용산구 이촌로88길 16; also at 서울특별시 용산구 이촌동 300-268
tel: 02-794-7901

what was consumed: sashimi plate, squid ink calamari, and loads of yakitori

az and i were looking for a chill dinner place and stumbled upon moromi kushi. izakaya style, they offer japanese-style bar food as well as the usual japanese fare. we sat at the "bar" and watched our yakitori being made.

we perused the yakitori menu and were excited to see all sorts of things on the list. chicken skin, meatballs, kebab-style options, etc. we wanted them all! one was served with a sauce made with an egg yolk. yassssssss.

in addition to the yakitori, we made sure to sample some of the usual fare. the fried calamari was delicious, light, not too oily. and while squid ink stuff is en vogue these days (or so they say), i can't say i can taste the difference. but i like it anyway.

we also wanted to sashimi, and were told by the server that we had to purchase alcohol (otherwise, we'd have to pay what seemed like double the price ... !!!) but who were we kidding. saki, please!

while a little pricey, i can say that we enjoyed watching the craft of our yakitori being prepared. that made it that much more delicious for us. whoopee!

online: http://blog.naver.com/hulehule

kiku (기꾸)

kiku (기꾸)

서울특별시 용산구 이촌로 303 현대맨숀

지번 서울특별시 용산구 이촌동 301-160 현대아파트상가 31-110호

tel: 02-794-8584

what was consumed: omakase sushi ... !!!

omg, sushi. so delish. and when it comes from a place like kiku, even better! fresh fish, simple presentation, interesting (and tasty) combinations:

if you get a chance, and you're in a small group (like two ... or one!), be sure to sit at the sushi bar and chat with the sushi chef as he prepare the dishes. he might tell you that you're eating the wasabi incorrectly and give you instructions on how to enjoy it (or maybe that's just me ... hahaha), but for sure he makes for a good conversation partner and story teller. 

so, be sure to make your reservation, and include me! i'm ALWAYS game for some kiku!

cho-roke bah-goo-nee (초록 바구니)

cho-roke bah-goo-nee (초록 바구니)
서울 용산구 이촌로84길 9-18tel: 02-790-3421

what was consumed: price fixe menu (small)

tasting menus may be one of my favorite things. having the chef tell me what's delicious and how i should eat things? i'm good at following directions! and when the chef is talented, uses ingredients from his own garden (or so i am told), and makes delicious food, i'm all for it. that's how i feel about cho-roke bah-goo-nee.

hidden behind the main street of dong-bu ichon-dong is what has turned out to be one of my favorite dining experiences. i understand there are a variety of dishes that are available "a la cart," but i prefer to order the smaller price fixe set menu. this affords approximately 10 different small-ish bites that come together to make quite a meal. the meal starts with a seasonal porridge and ends with dessert featuring seasonal fruits. the server will come and explain each plate along with suggestions on how to enjoy. 

of course, no one will judge if you inhale each plate (trust me - i've done that one too many times). during the meal, at some point, the chef comes out to check in on you, make sure you're enjoying your meal, and answer any questions you might have. he and his long hair are unassuming and he neither makes the assumption that you know who he is nor announces his arrival; rather, it seems, he wants to make sure that diners are enjoying the food experiences he is trying to create. 

another blogger described his (her?) experience at cho-roke bah-goo-nee like this: not everything was a winner, but everything was definitely interesting. agreed. i liked certain dishes more than others, but i appreciated the entire dining experience altogether. i like to bring guests who visit me here in seoul and recommend the experience to others as well. 

interested? let me know and i will happily accompany you, if i'm not eating at cho-roke bah-goo-nee already.

smile ichon ddukbokki (이촌 떡볶이)

smile ichon dukbokki (이촌 떡볶이)
301-18 ichon-dong, yongsan-gu, seoul
tel: +82-2-749-5507

what was consumed: soondae, kimbap, ohdeng, ddukbokki, ... boonsik!

there seems to be a dearth of good boonsik (korean snack foods, frequently eaten, collectively, as a meal) near where i live. boonsik is frequently the best in local "neighborhoods" and near universities. lucky for me, ichon ddukbokki exists and they quench all cravings. nothing fancy, but all delish. additionally, the people working at ichon ddukbokki are super nice and are most interested in serving yummy boonsik, not making a quick (but wasteful) buck. YES!

p.s. i've returned to ichon ddukbokki and realized they have soondae bokkeum (순대볶음), sauteed korean sausage with rice cakes, noodles, sesames leaves, etc. all in the spicy ddukbokki sauce. m and i ordered 1 serving (we also ordered a bunch of other stuff) and that really was enough for the both of us, big eaters that we are (for reals). and i will say, the bokkeum hit the spot. delish. super delish. will definitely be going back just for this. can't wait!

han gang chicken

han gang chicken

301-139 ichon-dong, yongsan-gu, seoul
tel: +82-2-795-2668

what was consumed: fried chicken!

there is never a dearth of fried chicken places to go to. and so, we had to check out han gang chicken right outside the ichon gate (well, outside-ish). we tried both regular and the seasoned. i generally prefer regular (savory over sweet) and that was the case this time as well. some pretty solid chicken!

a quick comment, though, about the salad (i.e., shredded cabbage topped with ketchup/mayonnaise dressing). admittedly, i'm not a fan of thousand island dressing, or anything in that vein. but there is just something that i love about the shredded cabbage they serve at these chicken places! would never make/eat it at home, but there's something about it when they serve a large pile of it next to my fried chicken. YUM.

동빙고 (dong bing go)

동빙고 (dong bing go)

서울특별시 용산구 이촌동 301-162

tel: 02-794-7171

what was consumed: 팥빙수! 그리고 녹차빙수

shaved ice with red beans is a traditional korean dessert, especially enjoyed in the summer. in the past, i wasn't particularly a fan. and so, when my cousin suggested we go, i had a "meh" look on my face. he said the reviews for this place inn particular were really good and that he had heard about it before. and when we arrived, we saw the long line of people waiting outside. a good sign. and then, after enjoying dohn-bing-soo's fare, i will say that i am a bing-soo convert. and especially if it's served in the dohn-bing-soo way, i will have s'more, and often, please. even in the winter!

paht-bing-soo is shaved ice, with a large dollop of (usually condensed) milk accompanied by a serving of sweetened red beans, with a couple of rice cake bites. when it arrives, one an either mix all of the ingredients together (this is how i enjoy it) or eat it like one would ice cream. it's a nice way to cool down in the summer, and definitely a cool dessert treat.

dohng-bing-goh, though, prepares the paht-bing-soo differently. instead of plain shaved ice, they freeze the milk and then shaved the frozen milk, so that the paht-bing-soo base is delicious and creamy. they stew the sweetened red beans in house, daily, so that the red beans are always fresh and not too sweet or syrupy. they also make the the rice cake bites in house, assuring that they are soft, chewy, and do not harden when placed in the shaved milk. 

ddohng-bing-goh also offers a few other paht-bing-soo flavors, and a couple of options without the red beans. i like the green tea and so will often coerce friends to come along so that we can go share-sies - one regular, one green tea.

rain or shine, cold or heat, turns out i'm always up for some dohng-bing-goh bing-soo. nom nom nom ...

cobaco

cobaco

서울 용산구 이촌동 300-322 우진상가 103호

tel: 02-795-3476

what was consumed: donkatsu and udon set!

yay set menus and yay for a-100 reunion meals!

once i got in to town, members of my a-100 fso class got together for a welcome and catch-up meal. we opted to try somewhere near base because 1) that would be easy and 2) it gave me an opportunity to quickly glean from the others who had already been in town a few months. so we head toward dong-boo-ichon-dong near the ichon subway station to check out our options. perhaps driven by our hunger, we quickly opted for some quick japanese fare.

turns out, cobaco is a franchised japanese restaurant chain, specializing in donkatsu (fried pork cutlet). i opted for the option that provided a bit of donkatsu with a bit of udon. it was a hot day outside and jut a bit of each seemed to be a nice and light dinner choice. the donkatsu was crispy on arrival, and the udon noodles were well-cooked in a light and subtle soup. 

most of all, i was happy to have spent the evening catching up with good friends. yummy treat for my belly was the icing on the cake.

online: http://www.cobaco.com/en/