“We are noodle folk. Broth runs through our veins.”
—Mr. Ping

Enter to win 2 tickets to the advanced screening of Kung Fu Panda 2!

Ticket details (valid one night only):

Date: Tuesday May 24
Time: 7pm
Theater: SilveryCity Metropolis (Metrotown Mall)

How to enter:

1. Send the following tweet: “I entered to win Kung Fu Panda 2 tickets on @followmefoodie‘s contest! What’s your favourite Asian Noodle? http://goo.gl/TKYPt“
2. Comment on this post with your favourite noodle dish in Vancouver.

Contest ends Sunday May 22 at midnight. Thank you and good luck!

And remember to visit Follow Me Foodie Facebook Page!

The Noodle Series – 20 Asian Noodle Dishes

In celebration of Kung Fu Panda 2 I’m featuring Mr. Ping’s favourite food! NOODLES! Here are some delicious noodles that come to mind for me. They’re not all necessarily my favourite or the “best”, but it showcases a variety. This is only within the Asian noodle category too. There are so many more choices and these 20 noodle dishes just touch the surface! Now how big of a noodle fan are YOU?!

The Vietnamese Noodle

Pho Tam – House Special Beef – Combination of Beef and Rice Noodle in Soup

The Beijing Noodle

Beijing Cuisine – Tossed Mung Clear Noodles in Sauce, Sesame Paste & Shredded Meat

The Chinese Noodles

Michigan Noodle Shop – Traditional Wonton Noodle Soup

Michigan Noodle Shop – Lo-Mein with Shredded Pork in spicy Brown Sauce

Rainflower – Hometown Style Pan Fried Silver Needle Noodle

Rainflower – Scrambled Egg & Scallop Fried Rice Noodle

The Thai Noodle

Khunnai Chang Madame Elephant Thai Cuisine – Pad Thai

The Japanese Noodles

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka -  Toroniku Shio Ramen

Miku Restaurant – Soba Pepperoncino

Aki Japanese Restaurant – Nabeyaki Udon

The Taiwanese Noodle

Wang’s Beef Noodle House – Beef Brisket Noodle

The Shanghainese Noodles

Northern Delicacy – “Dan Dan” or “Tan Tan” Noodles in Black Sesame Soup

Northern Delicacy – Shredded Chicken with Glass Noodle

The Malaysian Noodle

Seri Malaysia – Mee Goreng Mamak

The Singaporean (Malaysian) Noodle

Bo Laksa King – Laksa

The Korean Noodles

Jang Mo Jib – Jab Che or Jap Chee  (Potato Noodles)

In Korea (but available in Vancouver) – Stir Fried Korean Rice Cake Noodles with Gochujang Sauce (Ddeokbokki)

Celadon Fine Korean (whistler, BC) – Chilled Pink Angel Hair Noodles

The Szechuan Noodle

Sichuan Da Ping Guo Restaurant – Sichuan Glass Noodle with Soy Nuts

The Persian Noodle (Dessert)

The Apron – Faloodeh

Restaurant: Bizeun: The Premium Riceteria
Cuisine: Korean/desserts
Last visited: April 5, 2010
Location: Myundong (Seoul), Korea
Address: 51 Myungdong (Centre of Seoul)
Price Range: $10CAD or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: Drinks: 3 Rice cakes: 1.5
Service: 2
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 2
Additional comments:

• Traditional Korean tea time
• Famous for home made rice cakes
• Variety of traditional Korean drinks
• Drinks have health benefits
• Rice cakes to go
• Home made rice cakes
• Made fresh daily
• Moderately priced
• Good for snacks/drinks/dessert
  

**Recommendations: Sikhye Tea, Cinnamon Tea (and I guess a rice cake just because… but they weren’t good)

Bizeun is a famous tea house in Korea that is also known for producing premium rice cakes (almost the same as the Japanese mochi). They actually have an in house mini factory in the store that produces the rice cakes daily.

The downstairs is where you can purchase Korean rice cakes to go or to bring upstairs to eat at their restaurant. The upstairs is the restaurant which only serves traditional Korean drinks.

If you’re visiting Seoul, Korea and you’re looking for a traditional experience than this place is fun to check out. But if you’re here to try the best rice cakes I don’t think this is the place.

I don’t know if they were having a bad day or what – but nobody I was with (Korean locals) and myself thought the rice cakes were good. I can’t say I like rice cakes in the 1st place (unless they’re filled with ice cream, but that’s a different story)…but the ones here were just poorly made and inconsistent.

Its a traditional experience and it’s full of locals, so it was nice to visit but if I go again it would only be for the traditional Korean drinks they serve.

On the table:

**Sikhye Tea

• Served in a big bowl with a spoon $5.00CAD
• This is the most traditional and authentic Korean drink out of all the drinks they offered. It’s usually served as a dessert.
• It’s made out of malt water and cooked rice, but it tastes like sweet water. It’s usually served after a meal.
• There was some crushed ice cubes in it so it was served cold. It was like cold watery sweet congee.
• I wasn’t necessarily a fan, but I think it’s acquired. If you like Sikhye than you’ll like the one here.

**Cinnamon Tea

• Served in a big bowl $5.00CAD
• This is the one I ordered and I’m not a big fan of cinnamon.
• The locals told me it was VERY Korean and that it helped with the digestive system so I decided to try it.
• It’s served cold with ice cubes and it’s different than most cinnamon drinks I’ve tried.
• This is like cinnamon in liquid form with boiled down ginger. It’s very pure and quite spicy. It’s sweet and then the spicy kick comes right after.

• They also brew it with dried persimmon which was stuffed with tons of whole walnuts. I loved this dried persimmon. It was chewy like a big candy especially after being soaked in the tea for so long.

Omija Tea

• Served in a big bowl $5.00CAD
• Omija is a type of berry in Korea and they boil it down to create this sweet and tart Korean tea.
• It tastes like hot cranberry juice.
• It’s supposed to be sweet, salty, tart, and bitter but I only tasted sweet and tart.

Quince Tea

• Served in a big bowl $5.00CAD
• This is made from the skins of fresh and dried Chinese quince – a Chinese fruit.
• It’s sweet and it tastes like a mixture of apples, pears and dates.
• There were actually some dried dates in the bowl as well.
• I found it one of the sweeter drinks out of the bunch, but there is incredible health benefits with this drink as well.

Bizeun Premiem Rice Cakes

• I tried a variety of their rice cakes and none of them were good.
• They were really inconsistent and some ere softer than others.
• They’re made fresh daily and in house too so I don’t know why some had really hard and crumbly skins while others were nice and chewy.
• Top left corner: Pear Rice cake - had no pear taste. It was chewy dry and very bread like. It was like a loaf of bread made out of rice and inside there was a little pear jam (the only pear flavour in the whole thing).
• Middle: Steamed rice cake (non-glutinous rice & pumpkin – $1.80) – I was not a fan of this one but at least it wasn’t overly sweet like the others. There was thin slices of Japanese pumpkin aka Kaboocha in them. The rice cake was rolled in a non-sugary bean powder that was nutty and crumbly in texture. It was like unsweetened streusel topping.

• Lower left corner: Apple mochi ($0.80) - no apple flavour and it was stuffed with a thick walnut cinnamon paste. It was very sweet and chalky.
• The mochi skin was the best on this one though. It was nice and soft, but not as soft as the mochi from Japan.

• This was from the tray of rice cakes on the very right - Filled rice cakes.
• The rice cake skin was a bit hard and it wasn’t sweet. The sweet part was when you bit into the mochi. They were filled with this honey and sesame liquid syrup.

Restaurant: Sinpo Woori Mandoo
Cuisine: Korean
Last visited: April 6, 2010
Location: Insadong (Seoul), Korea – Multiple locations
Address: 2 floor (Address is Korean)
Price Range: $10CAD or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5 (based on what I tried)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Since 1971
• Korean chain restaurant
• Popular to locals
• Famous for Korean dumplings
• English on menu!
• Great for snacks
• Casual/Fast/Quick
• Cheap eats, good quality
• Shareable portions
• Complimentary appetizers
  

**Recommendations: Gogi Mandoo, Jjol Bokki

Sinpo Woori Mandoo is a popular Korean eatery that is famous and well known for their home made Korean dumplings. Sinpo is a small town in Incheon, Korea and the dumplings originated in this part of town.

Sinpo Woori Mandoo is a well established family store that has now expanded with many locations throughout Korea. My Korean friends took me here for a mid-afternoon snack so it is a popular restaurant for locals to grab casual eats. It looks like a fast food restaurant but the food is home made and really good.

It’s one of the VERY few places I went to where there was English on the menu. In this case it also didn’t mean it was a tourist trap/not authentic…it was still traditional Korean food but established enough for a fancy menu. Insadong, where Sinpo Woori Mandoo was located is also a touristy location and this is one of the non-touristy restaurants.

I only came here once and it was just for a snack, but based on the items we ordered I would definitely com back. For cheap eats it was a hit…even for not cheap eats I still think it was great!

On the table:

**Gogi Mandoo (Korean Dumplings) – 6/6

• Pork and vegetable dumplings (8peices) – $3.00CAD (Cheap right?!)
• These are the home made authentic Korean dumplings that made Sinpo Woori Mandoo famous!
• It was my 1st time trying Korean dumplings so I have nothing to compare to, but these were good and even in Korean standards (from my Korean friends) they are good!

• The dumplings were stuffed with juicy ground pork, chives, and  clear thin vermicelli noodles. The skin was quite thin and I found them delicious!
• They were really tender and the noodles helped keep them even more tender and moist. The technique reminded me of the stuffed squid aka Pla Muek Pad Keaw Wan from Thangthai Thai Restaurant in Vancouver, BC.

**Jjol Bokki (Rice Cakes) – 5/6

• Rice cakes with spicy sauce served with fried dumplings and egg (hard-boiled) on the side $4.00CAD
• DROOL! I really enjoyed this dish. I had this dish about 3 times while I was in Korea, but this place was the best. It’s probably not the BEST in Korea, but it’s a good one!
• I ordered it at this other cheap hole in the wall popular to locals Korean place and it wasn’t as good as this place. Those ones are reviewed here.
• This one was spicy, creamy, and also slightly sweet. The flavour was more well rounded not just spicy.  I think they added some tomato paste in it to give it a richer flavour. It was almost like the canned Alphagetti sauce, but better and spicy.
• The rice cakes are the long tubes you see underneath the triangular slices of fish cakes. The rice cakes are delicious, chewy and quite filling. They’re perfect match with the spicy chile sauce.
• The deep fried dumplings are equally as amazing as the steamed ones! They’re so crispy and crunchy I loved them! Almost like deep fried won tons.

I was in Seoul, Korea for the 1st week of April and I was lucky enough to stay with a wonderful Korean family. This meant that I was able to experience traditional and authentic home made Korean food. It’s nice to have something to compare to since restaurant food is usually different than the food people eat at home.

Here are some examples of home cooked traditional Korean dishes I had during my visit in Seoul, Korea. I also put examples (for some) of the same dishes I ordered at restaurants for comparison’s sake.

On the table:

Home Cooked Traditional Korean Breakfasts

Korean Pumpkin Congee

• Home cooked Korean breakfast
• I honestly didn’t know that there was such a thing as “Korean congee”. I always thought it was a Chinese thing.
• This was home made so I’m not sure what it’s like at restaurants.
• I’m not sure if pumpkin congee is a popular flavour there because it was the first time I’ve ever heard of it. It was delicious though!
• It was made with half sticky rice so the texture is thicker, creamier, and sticker than the tradition Chinese congee people are probably more familiar with.

Korean breakfast

• Home cooked Korean breakfast: sticky rice, home made kimchi, and fried tofu slices dipped in egg.
• Talk about authentic huh? This almost felt like lunch! This is a traditional Korean breakfast, but it’s also not what they eat every day for breakfast.

Home Cooked Traditional Korean Dinners

Not only was I able to try home cooked Korean breakfast, but I am very appreciative to have tried a traditional Korean dinner as well. This was nothing fancy but something “mom would make at home”…comfort food! Korean comfort food…which means everything is spicy, which I like!

Home Cooked VS Restaurant

Traditional Korean Acorn Jelly Salad (Home made)

• Acorn jelly, mixed greens and cucumbers with a spicy sesame soy vinaigrette.
• This is a simple salad that they serve at home. Anything you search on google you probably won’t find this. This is authentic!
• The acorn jelly is almost like jello but firmer. It’s not sweet or savoury, but it doesn’t have much flavour itself. It almost has no flavour.
• The dressing is a sweet, tangy and spicy vinaigrette which I loved.
• I like it more than the other Korean salad I had served with ice cream on top. Korean salad with ice cream.

Traditional Korean Acorn Jelly Salad (Restaurant)

• From When the Day Comes Restaurant in Seoul, Korea
• It was saucier/saltier/spicier than the home made version. It also had more vegetables like carrots and onion.

Variations of Home Made Kimchi

Traditional Kimchi (Home made)

• This is the standard home made kimchi.
• There’s actually a separate fridge in the house just for kimchi. It helps keep the smell in one area since it’s so strong. Garlic + chili + pickled veggies…it creates quite a strong and pungent smell.

Radish Kimchi (Home made)

• This is a shredded radish (daikon) and dried mushroom (wood ear mushroom) kimchi. Nice and crunchy good with soup and noodle dishes.

Cucumber Kimchi (Home made)

• This is a cucumber kimchi with cilantro welsh onion. I could eat it as a salad.

Soy Bean Perilla Leaf Kimchi (Home made)

• This is probably my least favourite of the bunch. The soy bean leaves are really big and they have a bitter after taste. The bitterness is not as strong in the kimchi since it’s being preserved but I could still taste it.
• I loves the salty soy beans though! It’s salty and fermented so the taste is strong and acquired…meaning not for everyone.

• This is a picture of the soy bean leaf raw. In Korea it’s also served as a side dish during Korean BBQ for the purpose of making lettuce wraps.

Korean Pancake – Pajeon (Home Cooked)

• Lots of green onions, chewy and gummy in texture. Love these!

Korean Pancake – Pajeon (Restaurant)

• From When the Day Comes Restaurant in Seoul, Korea
• These were huge! There’s a lot of different type of Pajeon and the ones at home are usually more simple. Definitely comfort food!
• The ones at the restaurant were served with a spicy chili sauce too.

Bulgolgi (Home cooked)

• Marinated barbeque beef.
• It’s definitely a lighter version they make at home. It’s not as greasy, saucy or salty which is expected if it’s home cooked.
• I don’t think they barbecued it either just because the process is more time-consuming and this was a casual dinner.

Kimchi Hot Pot (Home Cooked)

• So this is a traditional Korean dish that they make at home and order at restaurants...not bibimbap. =p
• Slices of Spam (how Asian!), slices of beef, Korea rice cakes (noodles), onions, cabbage, lettuce, green onions, turnips, leeks, and other vegetables.
• Pretty much anything goes but the kitchen sink when you make it at home.

• They put ramen in at the end and it’s eaten last. It reminded me of Chinese hot pot except everything is already thrown into one big pot.
• The white tubes are the Korean rice cakes which are also a type of noodle. They’re chewy and pretty filling. I love them!
• It was fun to have 2 different kinds of noodles going on at once.

Restaurant: Didi’s Gaufres
Cuisine: Belgian/Desserts
Last visited: April 9, 2010
Location: Seoul, Korea
Address: 436 -19 1f (In University district. The address is on website, it’s in Korean though)
Phone: 02 322 6061 / 010 2703 8838
Price Range: $10CAD or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: n/a
Service: n/a
Ambiance: n/a
Overall: n/a
Additional comments:

• 100% Authentic Belgian Waffles
• Chef Didier Balistaire
• The original waffle shop
• Home made
• Traditional recipe
• Great for gifts
• Fresh
• Baked daily
• Made upon order

**Recommendations: Brussels Mikado, The Basic, pack of their to-go waffles

I’m going to be biased because the owner Didi is actually a friend of my cousins. Didi is born in Belgium and lived in Vancouver for a while before moving to Korea and starting his own waffle shop. Didi’s Gaufres is the 1st waffle shop that opened and since then there have been lots of copy cats in the same location.

My friend and I with Didier – the owner and chef of Didi’s Gaufres. The packs we’re holding are their take away waffles that make great gifts. They’re soft and cakey waffles that aren’t too sweet.

It’s difficult to find this place because there are so many waffle shops. I suggest calling the number and finding the exact location because it took us a while to find and I was with a local. The website has the location, but I don’t think it has the exact address. It was definitely worth our search though because the waffles here are 100% authentic, fresh, and delicious!

I’ve had Belgian waffles in Belgium before and these were the real deal. The ones in Belgium just have more whipped cream and more bananas (or whatever fruit you chose) on top…I don’t know if that characteristic counts for “authenticity” though?

On the table:

**The Basic – 5.5/6

• Powdered sugar, fresh cream, syrup (your choice of caramel/chocolate) $3.50 CAD
• I loved the plating. It reminds me of the plating from Twisted Fork in Vancouver.
• The waffle is home made and made upon order so it’s served nice and warm.
• I’m not just saying this because I know Didi, but this is possibly one of the best waffles I’ve had.

• It’s very cakey and moist with a crispy outer edge and the fresh cream just melts into the waffle. Don’t you just want to bite your computer screen right now?!
• I’m used to having this type of waffle with more sugar crystals like the ones from Patisserie Lebeau in Vancouver though.

**Brussels Mikado

• Bananas, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup $6.50 CAD
• This is their most popular item and the local favourite.
• This is a square type of waffle and reminded me of the ones I had in Brussels.
• It’s hot, fresh and made upon order with a traditional recipe.

• It’s a super moist batter. This type of waffle is more bread like then the basic waffle which is more cake like. These weren’t too sweet either.
• It’s actually quite fluffy bur the bananas and toppings weighed it down a bit.

Belgian Hot Chocolate

• $3.50CAD
• I couldn’t leave without ordering one of these.
• It’s definitely rich and super chocolaty. But again not too sweet.
• Nice and frothy they make it upon order.

Restaurant: Tous Les Jours
Cuisine: Bakery/Desserts
Last visited: April 6, 010
Location: Seoul, Korea (and other parts of the US/Asia)
Address: Multiple locations – chain
Price Range: $10CAD or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: n/a
Service: n/a
Ambiance: 4
Overall: n/a
Additional comments:

• Since 1996, opened in Korea
• Famous Asian American bakery (chain)
• Expanded to China, USA, Vietnam
• 300+ stores
• Popular to locals
• Multiple locations and lots too
• Home made/freshly baked daily
• Whole cakes available

**Recommendations: n/a

Tous Les Jours is an Asian American bakery that started in 1996 in Korea. Since then it has expanded and it is now available in parts of Asia and part of the US as well.

It’s very popular to locals and Koreans take pride in the success of this well establish bakery that started in their hometown. There several locations so it’s easy to find if you plan on traveling to Korea and paying it a visit.

Koreans are also known for cake artistry – these are from Tous Les Jours as well.

I love going to bakeries when I travel – I don’t know why, but it’s almost an obsession. Bakery seems to be popular in every country so I’m always curious to see what they serve. It gives me an idea of what ingredients are popular and what the taste palette for that country is.

Of course the item that caught my eye was the Pumpkin Bread!

Yes I am obsessed with finding the best pumpkin bread – or at least trying every pumpkin bread I see. The best so far is still the Maple Castella Pumpkin Bread. It still reigns supreme and thank god because it’s the one that’s available in Vancouver, BC (technically Richmond) too! Also good, but quite sweet is the pumpkin bread from Bakery Nouveau in Seattle.

On the table:

Pumpkin Bread – 1.5/6

• $2.60 CAD
• Booooo!!! I wanted this to be SO good but unfortunately it looks much better than it tasted!
• I can’t judge Tous Les Jours based on this one item I tried – but based on this one item I think Taiwanese do baked breads like this the best!
• 
• It was decorated with slivered almonds and black sesame seeds and it looks so soft and butter. It was a huge loaf too and the presentation was great…but that’s as far as it went for me.

• It was quite dry and the bread looked so buttery with the shiny glaze and all. So deceiving. It wasn’t soft and fluffy, but more dense and bread-like.
• The pumpkin tasted like beans and it was really thick. It reminded me of red bean paste. I was definitely not a fan because I don’t like red bean.
• If you like red bean you might like this, but the paste is really sweet and in this case a little goes a long way. Usually the more pumpkin puree the better, but when it’s this sweet…I could pass. At least it wasn’t expensive so I don’t feel so ripped off.

Restaurant: Hole in the Wall Authentic Korean (I don’t know the actual name, I can’t read the sign)
Cuisine: Korean
Last visited: April 8, 2010
Location: Seoul, Korea
Address: n/a (By a major shopping district)
Price Range: $10CAD or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3 (appreciate it for what it is)
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Very local
• Hole in the wall
• Authentic Korean food
• Home made
• Busy for lunch
• Very cheap
• Fast service
• Eat in/Take out/Delivery

**Recommendations: Korean dough noodle soup, seaweed bimbimbap

This is a very casual hole in the wall restaurant in Seoul, Korea. It serves decent portions of authentic home made Korean food for very cheap. The 3 of us ate for $12CAD altogether. They have an attached coffee shop and 2 coffees ended up costing almost the same as our lunch.

Nothing is in English, but there are some photos on the wall…I was lucky to have locals with me so they did the ordering.

I don’t know the name of the restaurant so I tried taking as many photos as possible. So if you ever travel to Korea and decide to go to this restaurant then I hope someone can put these photos into perspective for you. It’s by a major shopping district with lots of buildings that sell lots of clothes…the other activity we planned for the day.

This is how small hole in the wall restaurants in Korea deliver food. Talent! I saw a lady with up to 3 trays on her head.

I’ll be comparing some of the items to another restaurant so you get an idea of the variations of how one dish can be served in Korea.

On the table:

Complimentary Appetizers

• Must have the kimchi appetizers. This one was the standard kimchi appetizer and the other was a shredded daikon, celery and carrot kimchi.
• The silver bowl is soup.
• The dish on the bottom right is the bimbimbap sauce.

**Seaweed Bibimbap – 4/6

• Seaweed, bean sprouts, radish sprouts, green onions, and fresh seaweed (shredded dark brown garnish on top of sprouts)  served over a bed of rice.
• I haven’t seen this type of bibimbap in Vancouver and it was my first time trying it.
• They serve things in big metal mixing bowls in Korea. Maybe because it requires mixing before you eat it…but it makes me feel a bit savage like.

• It’s served with bibimbap sauce which you pour over top and mix in.
• The sauce is made from garlic, sesame oil, chili paste, sugar, soy sauce, scallions and rice vinegar. It’s salty, tangy, sweet and slightly spicy all at once. It’s great!

• It was delicious! It was nice and crunchy and very fresh tasting. This particular bibimbap was vegetarian. It was almost like a salad mixed with rice. It wasn’t dry either because of the sauce.

Korean Bibimbap #2 – 5/6

• My first authentic Korean bibimbap! Served with Korean chili sauce, dried sardines, fresh seaweed, kimchi and soy bean soup $9CAD
• This bibimbap is from a different restaurant, but for comparison’s sake I decided to add it to the post.
• This is actually from a nice food court in Korea. The food court is located in a pricier part of Seoul. It actually resembles Harrod’s (the famous high end designer department store in London)…this is pretty much from the Korean version of Harrod’s (which also has a gourmet style food court).
• There’s definitely lots more ingredients than what we’re used to in Vancouver. It had everything and more…except no egg…which made me really sad.
• There were so many toppings and so much variety. I really liked it!
• Everything is cut really finely: carrots, mushrooms, seaweed, spinach, fresh seaweed, green onions, bean sprouts, purple cabbage, green cabbage, pickled radish and of course shredded beef slices.

**Korean Dough Noodle Soup – 4/6

• Back to the hole in the wall restaurant.
• Homemade noodles served with soup, fresh seaweed, dried seaweed and green onion.
• This is a classic Korean comfort food. People grow up with it and really like it.
• It’s a very simple dish and for me it wasn’t as big of a deal. It was still very good, but it was too basic for me.

• The noodles are big, thick and flat. They’re filling!
• They’re home made and the recipe is simply flour and water with maybe some salt.
• They taste like boiled dumpling dough.
• The soup is made from anchovy and radish so it’s very simple and surprisingly not fishy in taste. It tastes vegetarian actually.

Korean Dough Noodles #2

• This is another version of the Korean dough noodles served at the same Harrod’s like food court I got the bibimbap.
• This was my friend’s so I didn’t end up trying it.
• Sometimes they serve it with rice and you can mix the rice into the soup as well.
• The side dishes were 3 different kinds of kimchi: green onion kimchi, regular kimchi, and a soy bean leaf kimchi.

Stir Fried Korean Rice Cake Noodles with Gochujang Sauce (Ddeokbokki)

• Back to the hole in the wall Korean restaurant.
• I usually LOVE these rice noodles, but they didn’t make them well at this restaurant.
• It was one dimensional in flavour and only spicy…I like mine a bit sweeter with a creamier sauce.
• They serve it with sliced fish cakes which are made from pureed fish and then they’re fried before serving.
• The noodles are chewy and they’re really filling.
• It quite spicy! The sauce is made from Gochujang (traditional Korean chili paste) chili powder, garlic, sugar and water.
• Definitely a must try in Korea, but just not at this place.

Restaurant(s): Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin Robbins, McDonald’s, Starbucks
Cuisine: American
Last visited: April 10, 2010
Location: Seoul, Korea

I decided to capture some of the American chains that are available in Seoul, Korea. Although they are American chains the menus change to suit the demographic so they have items exclusive to Korea.

Dunkin’ Donuts in Korea

I don’t know why…but they are obsessed with doughnuts, especially Dunkin’ Donuts in Korea! It’s literally like Starbucks in Vancouver – one on every street corner. It’s funny because Dunkin’ Donuts isn’t really popular in North America. With Krispy Kreme, Top Pot Doughnuts and Tim Horton’s  – Dunkin’ Donuts doesn’t really stand a chance.

I did have Dunkin Donuts in Korea to see if they tasted different. I think Koreans like them so much because they’re definitely not as sweet as the other North American donut chains. They’re actually quite dry and they almost taste like sweetened bagels.

Baskin Robbins in Korea

They’re also obsessed with Baskin Robbins in Korea. This is another American chain that doesn’t do as well in America. Places like Dairy Queen, Marble Slab, and Cold Stone cream Baskin Robbins! (No pun intended ) I think we’re also into gelato which isn’t as common in Korea.

I did have the ice cream there. I tried their blueberry pannacotta. It was your standard ice cream – typical Baskin Robbins.

What’s NOT standard about this Baskin Robbins is the menu! The Baskin Robbins in Korea offers mochis!! I love mochi so this was great news for me. Unfortunately I didn’t get to try…come to think of it I really should have…but I was so full already…yes I DO get full!

These are the specialty cakes offered at Baskin Robbins in Korea. I don’t recall any of the American Baskin Robbins selling cakes as fancy as these! However Korea is known for cake artistry.

McDonald’s in Korea

I had to get McDonald’s in this post! They menu is definitely unique and customized for Korean tastes. They have things I REALLY wish we had. Unfortunately I ran out of time to try anything here. I had to save my stomach for more traditional/local/authentic Korean restaurants and food.

If I ate here I definitely would have ordered #3 – Big Bulgogi Burger or #4 – Bulgogi Burger. They also have deep fried chicken wings and mini drumsticks which we don’t have in North America.

I think this is what made me most jealous. The dessert menu! GREEN TEA MCFLURRY!!! I made trips to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China and they don’t have Green Tea McFlurry anywhere else. I even asked my friend in Japan, where I was certain in would exist, and they still don’t have this flavour. I really regret not trying it.

It was only $1.70 CAD…I really should have tried it and I’m regretting it badly now.It’s not even something I can get mailed or anyone could bring back for me…:(

Starbucks in Korea

They love coffee in Korea. They have it after every meal. Starbucks isn’t necessarily popular, but it’s definitely around. They have so many local coffee shops though so it was nice to try those instead.

Now this is something different! The Starbucks in Korea is a lot more gourmet than the ones we have in Vancouver or even North America. They have lots more options for brunch and everything is beautifully presented.

Restaurant: Korean BBQ Restaurant #2 (I don’t know the name b/c I can’t read Korean)
Cuisine: Korean
Last visited: April 10, 2010
Location: Seoul, Korea
Address: n/a
Price Range: $20-30CAD

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4
Service: 2.5
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Local
• Popular for Korean BBQ
• Spacious. ample seating
• Self-serve appetizer buffet table
• Powerful exhaust system
• Casual
• Prices are affordable and standard for Korean BBQ

**Recommendations: BEEF! What else?

I’m so happy that I had locals bring me here. I apologize that I don’t know the name of the restaurant. I had to take photos of the outside so hopefully you can get someone to translate it if you ever plan on traveling to Korea. This place is good for Korean barbeque but not as good as the place I posted on yesterday. Korean BBQ Restaurant 1.

Rest assure that neither are tourist traps because I had locals bring me here both times. Both offer authentic and traditional Korean BBQ. This place is just more causal, affordable and not as gourmet. I did like the beef better at the first Korean BBQ Restaurant I went to though. The grill at this restaurant wasn’t as good either because the beef kept sticking and burning easily. However I do love the powerful exhaust systems they have…my clothes didn’t stick as bad as usual afterward.

On the table:

Korean Pickled Radish Appetizer

Korean BBQ Beef Sauce

• This is the standard sauce they serve you at Korean BBQ restaurants.
• It’s raw green onions and onions in a sweet soy sauce marinade. This one was heavier on the green onions.
• You dip your beef into it or use it to make your own lettuce wraps.

**Korean BBQ Beef – 4/6

• There’s different cuts and grade of beef so the price depends on what you order.
• This came pre-marinated as opposed to the high quality prime beef we had the night before at Korean BBQ Restaurant #1.
• The cuts we ordered was thick so the marinade definitely helped to tenderize it before barbecuing.
• I definitely found this place to be more fatty than the other restaurant. The fat was obvious and a bit chewy sometimes but they like it like that in Korea.

• The type of grill was different and the beef kept sticking to the wire grill so that was a bit annoying. I must have had 4 steaks this night.

Korean Cold Buckwheat Noodles – 4/6

• These are the same noodles I ordered at the 1st Korean BBQ restaurant.
• I don’t know why, but in Korea they serve things in these big metal mixing bowls…it makes me feel like a pig…the bowls are huge!!
• It’s tradition and necessary to order these chilled noodles after Korean BBQ. It helps with digesting all the grease you just ate.
• The ones at this restaurant had black noodles as opposed to the white ones from the 1st Korean BBQ restaurant I went to.
• The soup it comes with is a sour vinaigrette and it tastes like Japanese sunomono.
• The noodles are made from buckwheat and they’re stretchy and quite chewy.

Restaurant: Korean BBQ Restaurant – BBQ Beef
Cuisine: Korean/BBQ
Last visited: April 9, 2010
Location: Seoul, Korea
Address: n/a
Price Range: $50+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 6
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• Located in the “pricier” area of Seoul
• Popular for business meetings
• Gourmet Korean BBQ
• Authentic
• Very busy
• Famous for high quality beef
• Korean fine dining
• Lunch and dinner
• Private rooms available

**Recommendations: Korean beef ribs, Kimchi Cold Buckwheat Noodles

This was one of the restaurants in Korea where I over ate! By a lot! Everything was delicious except for the kimchi which wasn’t fermented long enough… and the raw cow’s intestine. This is seriously the best Korean barbeque I have ever had. Mind you, I don’t have much to compare to being in Vancouver, but according to the Korean locals this place is definitely famous for Korean BBQ.

This restaurant is busy and since it’s located in the business district of Seoul it’s a very popular place for lunch and dinner business affairs. There’s plenty of seating though so I’m sure the line-ups (if any) move fast.

This is what you see as soon as you walk into the restaurant. It’s more or less the chef’s display table featuring all the beef they serve.

The price depends on the cut and grade of beef you choose. I think all the beef is imported from the Eastern part of Korea which is famous for having the best beef in all of Korea. You select which basket you want and then they bring it to your table for you to barbeque yourself.

On the table:

I was overwhelmed with everything on the table. I didn’t even know where to start or what sauce to dip my beef into.

The dish on the left is the standard sauce you dip your beef into. It’s pretty much a light soy sauce with tons of raw onions and green onions. It’s savoury and sweet at the same time. The smaller dish is a mixture of white pepper, salt and other seasonings.

Complimentary Appetizers/Side Dishes/Condiments (left to right)

• These are some traditional Korean appetizers served with the Korean BBQ. It’s all communal so not everyone gets their own.
• Kimchi “Soup” (left) – This is more or less kimchi soup. It’s served cold as an appetizer and it’s delicious! I’ve never had it in Vancouver before. It’s salty, slightly spicy and really refreshing. For me, it was very “different” to have a communal soup… everyone uses their own spoon and shares from the same bowl.
• Sweet onions and veggies (middle) – These onions and green peppers were marinated in a sweet soy sauce. These were delicious too.
• Korean “cole slaw” (right) – I don’t know the name of it but it reminded me of a Korean version of cole slaw. It was shredded carrots, onions, cabbage and celery marinated in a sesame oil, soy sauce and chili dressing. It was nice and crunchy and great with the barbeque.

• In Korea it is very common to be served a plate of lettuce at every meal where they serve meat or even seafood. They eat so much meat in Korea they need a balance.
• They seriously make lettuce wraps out of everything! See my sashimi lettuce wrap I had at the Korean Fish Market.
• They usually serve romaine or red leaf/green leaf lettuce.
• The pretty green leaves you see above are soy bean leaves. I wasn’t a fan of the flavour. It was too herby and strong for me to the point of being slightly bitter.

Soy Bean Soup – 3.5/6

• This is an appetizer and it’s communal again. So one small bowl goes in the middle of the table and everyone uses their own spoon to drink from it.
• It’s a very acquired taste and most Westerners do not like it at all. I liked it though!
• It has a very bold, rich and pungent flavour.
• The broth is quick thick and because it’s made from soy bean and fermented soy bean paste the flavour can be too much for most people.
• It’s not like Miso soup or a bean soup… it’s a pungent soy bean soup.

Raw Cow’s Intestine – 1/6

• This was an appetizer. Yes I tried it. No, I did not like it.
• I ate the LIVE octopus which is a Korean delicacy, so this wasn’t too bad. It kind of caught me off guard because I wasn’t expecting it though.
• It was almost like eating rough jelly fish. It wasn’t slimy but it had a bumpy texture.
• It was like eating thin strips of dry, bumpy and crunchy chicken fat similar to elastic bands.

This is pretty much a full spread on the table. There was so much going on and everything was delicious!

**Beef Short Ribs - 6/6

• These are the most delicious Korean beef ribs I’ve ever had in my life.
• The fat was so tender and even though it’s not that marbleized it wasn’t chewy at all!
• It’s the highest quality of Korean beef imported from the Eastern part of Korea which is famous for producing the best beef.
• Traditional Korean BBQ does not serve marinated beef – it’s put on the grill as is and dipped in sauces upon eating.

If you barbeque the beef to well done (I don’t know why anyone would), you’ll disappoint the entire Korean nation. Such a waste! Don’t do that, it’s almost considered rude and unappreciative since it’s so expensive.

Cold Buckwheat Noodles - 3.5/6

• These noodles are served at the very end of the meal.
• As full as you are it’s important to order a bowl because it helps you digest the super fatty and greasy barbeque you just had.
• Buckwheat has been medically proved to aid in the digestion so it’s not only tradition but also healthy to have a bowl afterward.
• The noodles are thin and almost stretchy. They’re similar to vermicelli but chewier. It’s served cold in a sour vinaigrette like broth.
• It tastes like the Japanese Sunomono. It’s very refreshing especially after the barbecue.

**Kimchi Cold Buckwheat Noodles – 5/6

• This is the kimchi version. I liked it much better!
• It was spicy, salty and heavier than the original version.
• It was more savoury rather than tangy.