I am Now a Duck Person

I never considered myself a duck person. When it comes to meat preference, chicken is one of my least favorite meals, quail is OK, rabbit is pretty good. Duck, I've liked once and it was duck confit (I meas really anything cooked in its own fat has to be good, it's cheating).

But last night changed all that. I had Korean duck bbq and it was one of my most memorable meals of my life. It's up there with:
1) oysters and wine at aquagrill
2) store bought bread and cheese eaten on top of a medieval castle in the South of France (physical labor up a hill with an incredible view makes anything tasty)
3) my grandpa's samgyetang at various times(if you are special you have tried this, and it is out of this world)

Christina asked me where is the ONE place she should eat when she comes to Seoul and I think this maybe my new pick. You can get chicken galbi, galbi, bulgogi, all that in NY KTown. Duck Gui not so much. It is well worth it.

This place used real wood burning fire in your table (not the electric type) to grill rotisserie duck that has already been marinated and slow cooked for hours. The flavor of the duck fat grilled to a crispy goodness was out of this world.

You know when you have a meal and just know that you will be craving it for the rest of your life? This was that moment for me. It makes me want to stay in Seoul for another year. If you come to Korea, come here. Seriously.

Better Blog Post (In Korean) about this place

Map: Go to the original Gangnam Location

Duck and Duck sausage


I am going again the night before my flight. The restaurant is called 33 BBQ Hejanguk (which means hangover soup). Hangover soup is actually a spicy soup with cubes of congealed blood (like think of blocks of cheese or jello made up of blood, that's basically what that is). I always liked hangover soup, so I may need to get both. Will update you!

Ambulence Burger from Smokey's Saloon

Fried egg, cheese, bacon, burger, hash brown.

I ate the whole thing. And then I curled up in the fetal position and cried softly to myself.

The Most Important Question

Why do Koreans think that bagels should be microwaved?

Has an actual Korean eaten one of these and think hmmm this has the consistancy of a tire? Maybe I dont know...I should try toasting it?!

Someone have a fucking bagel and lox for me ready when I get back. Thanks.

Koko Bruni

Koko Bruni is a chocolatier on Garosugil. I had an iced spicy chocolate drink and it was yum.

The chocolate wasn't too sweet or overwheming (catered to Korean tastes) and it had a hint of cinnamon and spice.

They also have chocolate cakes and chocolates.

I will be going there once a month now. Also, good people watching because it is on a pretty street with pretty people.

Nonhyeon Samgyetang

I always blog about the good food but not the bad food I eat here.

Just so you know that this place isn't worth going to, nonhyeon samgyetang. They specialize in a clear broth samgyetang (stuffed cornish hen with glutinous rice) and I have read some people say they prefer the clear broth.

To me, the clear broth lacked that ginseng flavor that I find essential for a good samgyetang. The kimchi and squid banchans (side dishes) were good but I give the chicken 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Radish Kimchi sooo good:

Squid banchan (one of my favorite banchans):

Notice how clear the broth is here:

It was meh but chicken still didn't stand a chance:

If they have 6 locations in Seoul, my grandfather should open up a samgyetang spot and it would do better than this.

Thinking of Itinerary for Peters visit

This is what my itinery looks like bc ugh, I like to eat. Notice that I have only though of 3 non-eating activities. We have only 6-7 days to eat all of this. So stressful!

samgyetang at tosokchon
soon dubu at Sinchon station spot
pat bingsoo from hyundai dept store
passion 5 various cakes
Bakery in Apgu near Mafia Cafe
Mafia Cafe
bbq in hongdae/nonhyeon with nuloonjee
678 bbq in Hondae
soba noodle nengmyun and appetizer ssam place near the crib
Tonkatsu at Saboten
koreanized chinese food
Ramen: Tumsae Ramen
jjocoomi mini squid wherever
anju at angus with soju
al tang at tomato gangnam
NB
dolsot bibimbap at Min Seong Mak Kuk Soo near Geubendari station
pojangmatcha eat tempura and ddukbokk must find the best if not the one near Yongsan
iced persimmon in insadong
teahouse in insadong
paris baguette
bento box place in apku
Mandoo in Jeonja
pat bingsoo from hyundai dept store
authentic korean place in Apgu with the m ad banchan: biji jigae and beendaeduk
find the place with the japchae hhoduk north of the river
movie at coex
seafood near sokcho
seafood in Busan

Passion 5 Bakery

My student told me that the best bakery in Seoul was Passion 5. Coincidentally I was in my friend's hood this weekend and he lives right near it in Itaewon. Def lived up to all my student's hype. The building is very modern and houses the offices for Paris Baguette (or as my students call it palee bagetuh) which is a huge bakery chain here in Seoul. Passion 5 is on a much higher brow level and the treats were amazing. Tasted as good as they looked.

The entrance:

Blueberry Macaroon, the blueberry on top had gold flecks:

Our spread clockwise from top left: Macaroon, Mango Napoleon, mini hot dog with curry inside, the best patbang ever

Italian Date night

I have been scared of Italian in Korea because I hear that the italian is sweet here. I'm not a fan of mixing savory with sweet (except in 떡볶이/tteokbokki/rice cakes in chilli sauce).

However, I was craving red wine like woah so we decided to go to Italian around 압구정 (Apkujeong, like the Soho of Seoul I would say). The food was tasty! Good date night with my Seoul mate Brian. I know, really bad pun, I am a cornball.

Salad with poached egg:

Bread, not brownies as my date had hoped

Gnocci, strange bc the gnoccis were so big but executed well. The gnoccis were light and airy like pillows of potato goodness...

Spaghetti Vongole, good amount of clams

Sooooo good...chocolate fondant. We almost licked the plate

Japanese Food

The japanese food is bomb here. We may hate the Japanese but we still gotta eat right?

Dduk

Dduk means rice cakes. Don't these look divine?

Kong Guksu

The most beautiful, creamy, and delicious bowl of kong guksu. Does it not look like simple perfection in a bowl?

Kong Guksu is noodles in soy bean soup. The soy soup was freshly blended and incredibly frothy. I will insist on taking all those who visit me to this place. Buy your plane tickets now, for serious.

Nice Package

I heart quail eggs

I love how quail eggs are ubiquitous here. I love all eggs, always have-chicken, duck, quail, fish. If you gave me a lizard egg I probably would try it since I've liked the potential unborn offspring of all the animals I have tried.

It was such a treat to me in my younger days when my mom got quail eggs from Flushing to throw into various banchans (apps). I noticed recently my mom rarely does anymore and I now realize why. It is a such pain to sit there and shell them all. You have to shell about 4 to get the equivalent of 1 large egg and the shells are much tougher to peel. Doing it under water helps them slip off more easily. I suppose in my mother's later years she stopped having the energy!

I didn't really know what to do with them so I just boiled them and ate them with toast, American breakfast style. Still so good. I find their yolk richer than regular chicken eggs.

Korean Movie Theaters are Far Superior

You can pick your own seats when you buy your tickets (no need to sit in the theater for 45 minutes to ensure good seeating). You can get up to 3 different flavors of popcorn in one bucket (next time I am sticking with butter and caramel, my hands still reek of garlic). They have different color straws for those first daters and separate straw holes in the soda cups. They also have ladies accept your garbage at the end to separate for recycling. How clever!

Exhibit A:

Girl in full plastic surgery burka-like get up.

Garlic, Cheese, Caramel

Karate Kid here is translated to "Best Kid"

Puppies and Patbingsoo

These are my friend Sandy's dogs, Malta and Creta. Some views from her apt. Delicious patbingsoo.

Piggy Bar for Piggies

Remember when you were a kid and the ice cream truck would come and you would have the life agonizing decision between a strawberry shortcake, chocolate eclair, or toasted almond Good Humor bar? If only life were still that simple.

Lotte has the best of both worlds (no toasted almond involved unfortunately) with their daeji bar (Piggy bar). Chocolate AND strawberry. It was sooo yummy because unlike the Good Humor bar, it has a crunchy and crumby chocolate coating, not soggy at all. The strawberry fruity fix is solved with a jammy filling in the middle. I am so hooked!

Corn in a Cup

So they sell this corn in a cup with 'flavor' basically cheese or onion flavored powder. I am unsure if this is a big chain because I have only seen one location thus far. I like corn so I got one (cheese obviously). It was canned corn in a cup with like white mac and cheese powder. Meh. Don't ask me why I am eating out of all things, canned corn in Korea.

Missing Bacon

So after just 4 days here, I am already missing the American style breakfast.

Brunch in NY is something we all take for granted. American brunch is a growing trend here however it is obviously not ubiquitous and one can't walk out the door to get one. If only my local soondae guk(blood sausage soup) place would switch to egg making in the morning. A girl can dream!

For now, I will have to make my own brunches (I am really considering keeping bottles of champagne on hand for mimosas on the weekends). Scrambled eggs and fried bread will have to suffice.

Oh eggs benedict how I yearn for you...

Rainy days are for Chicken Soup

Sunday May 23, 2010

The weekend's been rainy which was a nice interlude to the unbearable heat. I like soup on rainy days, wet food on wet days. Koreans do a rice stuffed cornish hen soup called Samgyetang.

This has always been my favorite Korean dish. It holds a dear place in my heart because it is a comforting soup and also because this dish is my grandfather's specialty. If you know me well, you know I am obsessed with my grandfather and he is the great man of my life. Many of my American friends (and when I say American I obviously mean the non-Korean ones :-) have tried my grandfather's version. They enjoyed it even though the flavor of the soup (dried red dates and ginseng) and the texture of the rice (chewy and congealed) are not tastes that the American palate is so used to. I think this is a testament to how well he does it.

My friend told me of a place that does this dish right. It is a huge restaurant that usually has lines out the door and down the block. No menus are needed, they are cornish hen specialists. You know immediately to either get one of the rotisserie hens in the windows or the soup. We all got the soup.

The cornish hens were about half the size of the ones you get in America because they weren't growth hormoned up the wazoo. The flavor was more hen-ey (? Ok so I'm not a food writer) and the texture more tender. The soup flavor was sublime and I almost felt healthier because the ginseng was so prominent.

The restaurant has a nice touch of offering all guests a shot of ginseng soju as soon as you sit down. I didn't think I would like it but it was kind of tasty. The negative health effects of the soju were offset by the healthy benefits of ginseng. It felt like you weren't drinking.

After eating this meal, I really felt like I was in Korea because it is nearly impossible to find a good Samgyetang restaurant in the east coast. It is an extremely labor intensive dish and not very viable to be profitable in the States.

I was almost praying it wouldn't be better than my grandfather's. It pains me to say this, but it was. It will be a more than adequate replacement when I am craving a taste of family cooking.

Obligatory Kimchi:

Free Shots!

Ginseng display:
Gloomy view from my bedroom: