Food from Gyeongju

It has been a long time, no?

We spent our summer in Seoul and despite my physical limitations, we were somehow able to travel to Busan, Gyeongju, and Andong.  While in Gyeongju we didn’t book a hotel beforehand and ended up staying at a really dilapidated, stinky, gross hotel.  I didn’t even want to dare try the food, so I made the MR drive us out onto a row of restaurants that we had passed by earlier in the day.

This restaurant was just about to close their doors, but the owner must have seen the desperation on our faces because she turned the lights back on and told us to come on in.  THANK GOODNESS. Honestly, looks can be so deceiving.  As we sat down to eat, I couldn’t help but notice the old, rickety windows, the wallpaper coming apart at the seams, the stains on the floors and tables and the tiny, gnat-like bugs flying overhead.  I was almost about to suggest to my family that maybe we should leave and find someplace else but the graciousness of our host was too much to turn down so we sat and ordered the chicken soo-yook, and two kalgooksoos.

 

While we were waiting, the owner came by and gave us our first course, mook moochim – on the house.  She told us that the mook was made by her and even the vegetables were grown right outside in the backyard.  It was absolutely perfect!  I’ve never tasted mook so good.  It was the perfect texture and our hungry stomachs were so grateful.

 

My little brother had never tried dong-dong-joo before so we ordered this for him.  This was also made at the restaurant.  Dong-dong joo leaves a nasty hangover and the taste really takes getting used to.  Needless to say, no one finished it and this whole thing was pretty much left over.  =P  Twenty-one years old – we are no longer…

 

The kalgooksoo came out and it was SUPERB!  The broth was made of chicken, but you couldn’t smell any of the meatiness (which sometimes gives me a headache) and the noodles were also homemade and just really chewy and delicious.  We were in foodie heaven.

 

After being so thoroughly impressed with the food, we decided to go ahead and order some potato jun (which I will post a recipe of one day).  Once again, everything was homemade and this was perhaps the best potato jun I’ve eaten in my life.  It was even better than my current favorite – Gobawoo.

 

And finally, the main course came out.  It was chicken soo-yook (basically chicken soup) made of an organic chicken.  I’m not sure if you’ve tried Korean-style organic chicken soup but usually the meat is very gamey and has a distinct odor to it.  That was not the case at all with this soup!  My husband – known for NOT liking chicken, devoured this and ate second and thirds.  In the middle of the meal Munchkin loudly declared, “This is the BEST chicken I ever ate!”  It really was GREAT.

 

Garlic jjang-ah-chi.  Also homemade and delicious.

 

The sticky rice which consists of chestnuts, red beans, and other types of beans.  It is a perfect accompaniment to the chicken.

 

Cucumber salad – Korean style.  Fresh, crispy, and all home grown.

 

This was the aftermath of our meal.  Four adults and one child.  It’s almost embarrassing how much we ate.  =P

 

On the way out the owner pointed to the side and I saw her stash of ingredients.  The picture on the left is where they make all their dwen jang, gochu jang, soy sauce, etc.  I took a picture of the restaurant door since it was too dark outside to get a decent picture of the restaurant.  I hope we have the opportunity to visit this place again in the future. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So that was ONE highlight of our trip to Korea this summer.  There were many other highlights but I’ll save them for a later post. 

We are now back home and Munchkin has entered the first grade.  He is growing leaps and bounds and the maturity he has shown in these last couple of months is astounding.  He is bringing home excellent grades and is adjusting well to a new classroom, teacher and new friends.  I’m so thankful that I have a loud, bubbly, energetic, fear-no-one, I’ll-try-anything-once type of kid. 

He recently asked me, “Mommy, can I go sky diving?”

“I think you’re a bit too young for that baby.” I replied.

“No!  I can be attached to your chest and go with you,” he countered.  Allrighty then. 

That’s the kind of kid I have.  =P 

Olympic Kal Gook Soo

 

We’re back in Los Angeles and I couldn’t be happier.  The weather is awesome.  On our trip back from Korea, I brought some fresh miyuk, fresh ground gochuggaru, dashima and a bunch of other things – much to the chagrin of the MR.  =P  He will never understand why I insist on bringing things they already sell here, but hey – it’s fresher!  I promise. 

Although the food in Korea is amazing, there are quite a few places in K-town that could compete with what they have in the Motherland.  The other day the MR and I were out and about and dropped into one of our favorite little restaurants in K-town, Olympic Kalgooksoo.  I hadn’t been there in quite a while, but the taste was just how I remembered.  Dak Kalgooksoo is one of my favorite foods.

 

The cold moo kimchi and regular kimchi.

 

Dak Kalgooksoo.

 

I prefer the spicy red sauce…

 

We got greedy this day and ordered mool mandoo as well.  The ajooma later told me that their steamed mandoo tastes much better, but I don’t know – I’ve always liked their mool mandoo for some reason.  It’s a matter of preference I suppose. 

Anyhow, I haven’t been in the cooking mode for quite awhile now.  Except for the basics, I haven’t really gone out and tried to whip up anything new.

 

While in Korea, my cousin made me this wonderful Andong Jjim Dak.  I will definitely try and replicate this in the new year.  Hope everyone’s year has been going well so far.  Until next time!

이남장 - Lee, Nam Jang or Nam Jang Lee

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

I'm not doing much cooking out here in the Motherland only because I have a wonderful MIL who bans me from entering the kitchen. No, really. She doesn't let me cook at all. I <3 my MIL.

Anyhow, let me begin this post by saying I am not in anyway affiliated with any of the restaurants I'm recommending. If I were - I'd be rich doncha think? =P These restaurant reviews are strictly because I love food and I feel it's my duty to share good food finds with everyone else.

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but our family is a big fan of sulung tang. The one thing the MR, Munchkin and I can agree on when we're stumped on what to eat is always sulung tang. The following restaurant might just be better than my two other favorites - Ham Bat and Jun Tong AKA E-Moon Oak in La-La Land.


The name is simply Lee Nam Jang and the sign states that they have been doing this for over 30 years. The restaurant is divided into three floors. The first floor is most suitable for families and small parties.

The second floor caters more towards folks that are drinking alcohol. It gets pretty loud. You know how Koreans get when they're imbibing themselves. =P

The third floor is composed of ondol rooms (heated floors, shoes off) and caters to larger parties or to people who want to eat in more privacy. However, the third floor also gets pretty loud because there are a lot of larger groups drinking soju while eating sulungtang and soo-yook - which is basically the delicate meat that has been boiled in the broth and served separately.


Upon sitting down, you are greeted with the green onions and kimchi. Their kimchi is a bit on the sweeter side, but it's still yummy nonetheless.



The MR ordered neh-jang tang.



While I ordered good old fashioned sulung tang. Unfortunately I can't seem to find a picture of the soo-yook from our last visit in April so I'll have to end the pictures here. We've already been to this restaurant twice in two weeks. It is one of the best sulung-tang places I've ever been to.

I will be back soon with more restaurant reviews. Until then, hope you have a GREAT rest of the year. Here's wishing that 2011 brings more joy and happiness than all the previous years.

Choong Chun Dak Galbi - (Restaurant Review)

A couple of weeks ago, nine women met up for some dak galbi at Choong Chun Dak Galbi in K-town.  I know this place has been around for some time, but if you haven’t tried it yet – you should try it at least once.  It’s not mind-blowing by any means, but it’s one of those restaurants I say you should try at least once.

 

Anyhow, the reason I posted this picture up is because I plan on replicating this soon.  I have chicken breasts in the freezer along with some cabbage that I need to use up soon…Hmmm, let’s see.

Things I have in the fridge already:

chicken breasts – check!

cabbage – check!

dduk – check!

sweet potatoes – check!

onions – check!

jalapenos – check!

mushrooms – check!

 

Okay, this is dinner today for sure.  =P