Korean Archives - Page 5 of 8

In Busan

Seoul Kakdugi Restaurant (서울깍두기): Seolleongtang in Busan

November 8, 2013

Where in Busan can you find the best Seolleongtang aka Ox Bone Soup? Seoul Kakdugi Restaurant (서울깍두기) has been around since the 1950’s serving up the delicious dish. The locals say this place is the best for getting Seolleongtang. It can’t be bad because that’s basically all they sell.

With their long history and simple interior, they can accommodate up to 300 people.

Here is their menu. Very simple and it only has 4 items.

Kkakdugi (radish kimchi) and regular kimchi comes before the meal and the servers are diligent in refilling them up quickly.

Seolleongtang (9,000 won) is the ox bone soup with noodles,beef and rice. It is the most popular item on the menu and it is really good!

You just need to add your own salt to adjust the flavour. I added about a scoop and a half to get it to the right amount of tastiness.

Boiled Beef (40,000 won) is quite expensive. It’s like $40 CDN for a plate of meat. Pricey, but it was definitely interesting.The beef was delicious since it was cooked in the ox tail broth. This plate fed a table of 8, so you definitely want to share this with a large party.

The food here is pretty good. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s something yummy if you are in the Busan area. The location is also close to the Jagalchi Fish Market, so you can stroll around there after eating.

We Rate Seoul Kakdugi Restaurant:

Address:
10, Gudeok-ro 34beon-gil, Jung-gu, Busan
부산광역시 중구 구덕로34번길 10 (남포동2가)

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=10,+Gudeok-ro+34beon-gil,+Jung-gu,+Busan&t=m&hnear=10+Gudeok-ro+34beon-gil,+Jung-gu,+Busan,+South+Korea+(11-1+Nampodong+2(i)-ga)&z=14 “]

In BBQ

Unyang Charcoal Eel BBQ in Busan, South Korea

November 6, 2013

Busan is known for their eel and most tourists come here to enjoy the fresh taste of grilled eel. M really wanted to go, so he asked his aunt to take us to the best eel restaurant in Busan. The locals like to come here and it was pretty packed on a weekend.

The eels are alive in the tanks outside and you can watch them wriggle before your meal.

The menu is on the wall.

All the seating is on the floor, so if you aren’ used to it, you might get a little uncomfortable. My legs went numb a few times due to my poor circulation, so I was moving around adjusting my legs.

The grill has a bunch of super hot coals. It’s so hot, its glowing.

The eel is skinned and chopped up into pieces on a plate. As the eel is fresh, the flesh is still moving slightly. It’s a little bit scary, but it’s ok because you will be sticking it on the grill.

Looks beautiful.

We really had no idea when each piece would be done, so we just guessed. As long as it has a nice golden char to the edges, it will be ready to eat.

The meal comes with a few banchan and a few other items to wrap your eel in.

My favorite leaf to use is the sesame leaf with some spicy sauce, a piece of eel and garlic chive kimchi. Just wrap it all up and stick it in your mouth. The eel tastes just like fish.

Grilled eel was a unique experience because the eel I am used to is covered in a sweet BBQ sauce compared to the fresh eel in Busan. It’s something I can’t get fresh in Vancouver because we don’t have eel.

Once you are done the BBQ portion of the meal, you are given more banchan.

This is roasted pumpkin. It’s soft and quite flavourful.

More kimchi.

The last part of the meal is soup and rice. I can’t remember what type of soup it was but it had some meat and vegetables. It was a very good soup but a tad spicy.

By the end of the meal you’ll get quite full. I was happy with the meal and I would definitely go again because I love being involved with my food and cooking it.

We Rate Unyang Charcoal Eel BBQ:

Phone:
+82 51-247-2150 ‎

Address:
Seodaesindong 2(i)-ga, Seo-gu, Busan, South Korea ‎

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?t=m&cid=0x20c3dc0e68c0deb5&z=16&iwloc=A “]

In Busan

Eating Ssiat Hotteok (seed-stuffed pancake) in Busan

November 5, 2013

In Busan, they say you can’t leave without trying Ssiat Hotteok (seed-stuffed pancake). Apparently it’s their specialty and all the locals say you gotta try it.

M’s aunt took us to The Street of Film near Jagalchi Market. It has a plethora of street food vendors.

You can probably find a lot of different korean food. Your taste buds will be salivating after walking through this area.

There is one cart that has a very crazy unusual lineup. It zigzags and there is a lady making sure people are lining up correctly and not in a mod fashion.

Ssiat hotteok (1,000 WON = $1 CDN) is filled with sunflower and pumpkin seeds. The seeds are stuffed after the dough is cooked in the hot oil so it has more flavour and tastes less greasy.

The seeds and sugar are mixed together between the dough to give it an amazing crunch sound when you bite into it. It was so good! I could eat a few of these! It’s not too sweet and just so addictive.

If you are even in Busan, go to center area of The Street of Film and find this cart. You won’t be able to miss it as its right in the intersection.

In Busan

Woojindogi: Busan Oden in Gukje Market

November 3, 2013

We took a weekend trip to Busan with M’s family to see some relatives. Busan is South Korea’s second largest city after Seoul and is located on the southeastern area of Korea.

We were taken to Gukje Market in Downtown Busan. It is the largest outdoor market in Busan and you can find anything from fabrics, to household goods. The prices are pretty good and tons of shops to see. It is also next to a large underground shopping center and the Jagalchi Fish Market.

As we were walking through the market, we stopped at Woojindogi as we heard that had some of the best oden in Busan. Odeng or oden originated from Japan, but Koreans have made their own unique versions.

Korean fish-cakes are called Eomuk and they are pretty darn good.

Woojindogi only serves oden and there was a huge line around lunch time. There were no seats inside, but there were a few counter seats outside.

On the left is the fish cake and tofu skin stuffed with noodles. It smells amazing when you’re waiting to get your order.

Busan Odeng has the tofu skin with noodles on the bottom and the fish cake on top. The broth is delicious and we ate it all so fast.

If you get a chance to go to Korea, definitely get some oden that looks like this. It’s SO good! I don’t exactly know the address since the market is a bit confusing, but you can ask around.

While you’re at Gukje Market, go find some Korean socks. They’re really cheap and have lots of cute styles.

In Fast Food

Pizza Hut: Rich Gold Pizza and Crown Pizza in Korea

October 31, 2013

I thought I knew pizza … but when I came to South Korea the pizza wasn’t the same. M and I made it a mission to have pizza at Pizza Hut. Their pizzas are quite different and you won’t be able to find it in North America. Imagine sweet potato and minimal tomato sauce on your pizza. To me that’s nuts.

Pohang has a new Pizza Hut and we found one in their Downtown core.

They have 4 styles of pizza:

Rich Gold
Crown Pocket
Cheese Crunch
The Special

The salad bar used to be good, but this particular location sucked a lot. Two people must share a plate for the price you pay. The salad isn’t fresh and a bit wilted. The fruit looked stale and old, but you can try rambutan and passion fruit that you can’t easily find in North America.

On the bright side, you can get pasta, rice cake and mussels at the bar too.

This is what I grabbed. Everything tasted ok, but I wouldn’t get the salad bar again. Nothing tasted fresh.

Pizza Hut’s Rich Gold Pizza (Medium – 27,900 won) has a sweet potato mousse circling the crust. It’s essentially two carbs in every bite.

We got the supreme toppings but minus the meat since we were eating with some vegetarians. It tasted pretty good surprisingly. It still doesn’t compare to normal pizza because they use little to no tomato sauce. It’s mostly just cheese and sweet potato.

Bulgogi Crown Pocket (Medium – 28,900 won) has bits of beef on top with peppers, bbq sauce, ranch, and mushrooms.It’s pretty expensive since the pizza wasn’t that big. The bulgogi was a bit sparse and you could barely notice any meat.

Nestled in the crust is sweet potato purée and cream cheese. I thought it was a gross combination.

Bacon Steak Crown Pocket (Medium – 28,900 won) has a sweet sauce drizzled over the peppers, cheese and green beans. It was ok, but I didn’t like the sweet and savoury combination.

I wasn’t a fan of these Korean-style pizzas. It’s a cool sounding combination but not nice on the palate. The price was very expensive! It was about $28 for a medium pizza. Also, the service was quite poor

Have you tried these before?

Website: www.pizzahut.co.kr

In Buffet

Gyeongju City Tour: Day Tour in Historical Korea

October 28, 2013

We decided to take a day tour to Gyeongju Korea which is in the Southwest part of Korea. As we were staying in Pohang, it was only a 30 minute bus ride to get to the tour. There are buses and trains that take people from Seoul to Gyeongju easily. We took the Gyeongju City Tour as it had pretty good ratings by foreigners.

Gyeongju is a great place to visit as it has a large amount of heritage sites and old ruins.

Gyeongju was the ancient capital of the Silla Millennium. Some of Gyeongju’s most important relics are Seokguram Grotto, Bulguksa Temple, Poseokjeong Pavilion’s original site, Heavenly Horse Tomb (Cheonma-chong), Cheomseongdae Astronomical Observatory, and Anapji Pond. With a total of 396 registered cultural properties, Gyeongju holds 5.5% of Korea’s cultural properties, and 30% of the cultural properties of North Gyeongsang Province.

The particular tour we went on was Course 1 for the Silla Historic Areas for 14,000 won + 4,000 in admission fees (collected prior to departure)+ 9,000 won lunch buffet.

Singyeongju Station (08:50)
Gyeongju Express Bus Terminal (09:00)
Bomun Lake Resort (passing through)
Bulguksa Temple
Silla Arts and Science Museum
Bunhwangsa Temple
Tomb of General Kim Yushin
Cheonmachong (Heavenly Horse Tomb)
Gyeongju National Museum (when closed: Wolseong)
Donggung Wolji(Anapji Pond)
Cheomseongdae Astronomical Observatory
Gyeongju Express Bus Terminal (17:10)
Singyeongju Station (17:30)

We arrived at the Gyeongju Express Bus Terminal late, so we missed our tour bus. Good thing that tour office was across the street so they could help us get to the bus at Bulguksa Temple. We took public transit to meet up with the tour. It was a bit stressful, but it’s good M was there to do all the talking.

The tour goes to 8 locations and before we get off we are shown an introduction video about the location in 3 language – Korean, English, and Japanese.

You can choose to stick with the tour guide (only spoken in Korean) or wander off on your own. Do note, there are NO explanation on what time to come back in english. A lot of the foreigners had to ask around for a translation to make sure they come back to the bus on time.

Bulguksa Temple

The temple area was quite beautiful and had a large enough space to roam around. It is quite far from the city centre, so going on this tour was worth it. Of all the locations of the tour, this place had the best scenery.

Coming on a weekday, this place was crowded with lots of students on field trips. It was packed and so many kids being loud and running around. It did disrupt the whole experience of this place. There was also some construction going on.

Silla Arts and Science Museum

Silla Arts and Science Museum is a 2 story museum with a basement level with six exhibition halls. Its all indoors and isn’t that large. It was also packed with kids, so M and I just skipped the museum and walked outside to look at the pottery stores and grabbed a drink.

Bunhwangsa Temple

The temple is in a small area and it features the Bunhwangsa temple part of the Old Silla era.It was built in the year of 634, so it’s quite old and you can see the aging of the structure.

The other item to look at is their giant bell. You can ring it for a 1,000 won donation.

We didn’t spend much time at this location, but the structure were nice to look at.

Lunch at Myeongwon Shabu Shabu

We stopped at Myeongwon Shabu Shabu for a buffet lunch. It was 9,000 won after taxes. I don’t see too many all you can eat places in Korea, so you know its definitely a place thats just for tourists. We saw tons of tour buses in the parking lot too.

It’s a large space, so you know it’s a perfect location to bring a large amount of people in one sitting. Located in the middle of the restaurant is the long table of food. there’s also signs located around the restaurant saying something about 5,000. There’s no english signs, but basically it says that if you don’t finish the food on your plate, you are charged 5,000 won.

Once a new tour arrives, you can see 30+ people hurrying to get a plate of food.

There’s rice and kimbab.

Nigiri Sushi. You can really see the vibrant green wasabi underneath.

Different types of banchan, which is essentially side dishes.

Different vegetables and kimchi.

The hot items had japchae, bulgogi and some other meat dishes.

The last bit of the table had soup, noodles, and fruits.

Plate #1.

Plate #2.

Plate #3.

The food is alright, but isn’t the best Korean food to represent the area.

Anapji Pond

Anapji Pond is located in Gyeongju National Park and its very beautiful. The pond was part of the palace complex in ancient Silla. It was a lovely place to walk around after lunch. There is a long path that goes around the 3 different structures.

Gyeongju National Museum

This museum houses many ancient relics from the Silla kingdom. There are various building located in the museum, but it was very packed with several groups of students.

Cheomseongdae Observatory in Gyeongju

It’s a small area and the observatory looks like a chimney. It was used as a star-gazing tower and the oldest surviving observatory in East Asia. There’s really not much to do except to stare at this and take photos.

Across from the observatory, there are these hills in the field. There are actually thousands of these spread out all around Gyeongju. They are actually graves for royalty in the Silla Dynasty.

Cheonmachong Tomb

We then headed to Cheonmachong Tomb to look at Tomb #155. The king is still unknown, but you can take a look at the surrounding area and go into the tomb to see what it looks like inside.

There’s no pictures taken inside, but there are just artifacts lining the walls and also a recreation of the burial site.

Tomb of General Kim Yushin

This was the last stop of the day was to another tomb. This one is a little but different as it has stone carvings with 12 zodiac characters.

Overall, the tour was alright, but it was really hard to understand the cultural significance of these locations. The video did describe a bit about each location, but it just isn’t the same. One thing I liked about the tour was that it would be easy to get around to the locations with the tour rather than getting there yourself.

Since I’ve already visited the historical sites in Seoul, I felt like I’ve seen very similar buildings. The one thing new to me were those tombs.

Website: http://cmtour.co.kr/en/course01.html

In Chinese

Taesan Chinese Restaurant: Fusion in Pohang, South Korea

October 24, 2013

Our first few days staying in Pohang were spent eating at home and enjoying homemade food from M’s mom. As we were out during the afternoon one day, we headed to Taesan Chinese Restaurant for some Chinese Korean fusion food. They swear it’s one of the best Chinese restaurants in the area.

Chinese restaurants run by Koreans aren’t very authentic. They always have some fusion component to it. You won’t find your normal dishes here. The food is pretty darn good and I highly encourage you to try some when you can. It’s quite unique.

In Vancouver, there are 2 good Korean x Chinese restaurants – Heeraedeung and Tai Wan. Other parts of the world I have no idea, but I’m sure there is.

Banchan are complimentary side dishes that come with every korean meal. It’s nice to have something to pick at while you wait for the meal.

Black Bean paste, pickled radish, onions, and some sort of other pickled vegetable. These banchan were pretty average and not very addictive.

Deep Fried Dumplings (goon mandu) comes with 10 pieces and has a sauce on the side. These were really good. Crispy crunchy skin with the succulent meat on the inside.

Noodles with Black bean Sauce (Jajangmyeon) is what M ordered. He loves this dish and thought it tasted great. Don’t let the dark look of the sauce scare you, its very savory and flavourful. Its packed with vegetables like onions.

You would eat this dish by mixing them together until they are well combined, then enjoy!

Fried Rice with Seafood comes with a bit of black bean sauce on the side. It was a good size for lunch and was quite good when mixing in the sauce. The black bean sauce is what made this dish incredible, without it, the fried rice wouldn’t be as good.

The fried rice also comes with a Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup (Jjambbong) it was very flavourful and was indeed spicy.

Overall the food was good and it’s a nice change from the usual Chinese food. When looking for food in Pohang, the internet doesn’t really help as most restaurants don’t have a website. For the large chain restaurants, they will, but the good stuff that locals like would be hard to fine.

If you know someone in the area, definitely ask them for recommendations!

We Rate Taesan Chinese Restaurant:

Address (Approx)
20 Hyojadong-gil 1beon-gil, Nam-gu,
Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea (253-106 Hyoja-dong)

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?daddr=20+Hyojadong-gil+1beon-gil,+Nam-gu,+Pohang,+Gyeongsangbuk-do,+South+Korea+(253-106+Hyoja-dong)&sll=36.00728061772533,129.32860218785672&sspn=0.0018731321429394233,0.004853779315719831&t=m&z=17&start=0&geocode=FeBsJQIdoGS1BynrDs4q0wFnNTHfU_AmfIKVCw”]

In Fast Food

Lotteria: Wild Shrimp Burger in Korea

October 23, 2013

Once we landed in Seoul, Korea we needed to take 2 trains and a taxi to get to Pohang, Korea. It was a long commute and took about 3 hours. Once we got to Singyeongju Station near Gyeongju, M and I needed to take a dinner break and found a Lotteria in the station.

If you’ve never heard of Lotteria before, it’s like the Korean McDonalds where it serves fast food like burgers and chicken. It’s literally everywhere in Korea, you’ll find one if you just walk around the streets in any town.

I had no idea what I wanted to get, so it took me a while to stare at the menu.

There was one item that intrigued me – Wild Shrimp Burger. I’ve never seen a shrimp burger, so it was time to check it out a chow down.

Wild Shrimp Burger Combo ($6,200 WON or $6.20 CDN) came with a pop and fries. They have Pepsi and most people in Korea prefer Pepsi over Coca-Cola. This whole meal is just over 900 calories, if you’re into counting. The burger itself is about 500 calories. You definitely shouldn’t come here if you’re trying to lose weight.

Since I’m on vacation, so I can eat ALL the food.

The fries were ok, but it still can’t beat McDonalds. It’s probably because these fries aren’t heavily salted.

Wild Shrimp Burger is made of a sesame bun, shrimp patty, thousand island dressing, tartar sauce, lettuce, pickles, and paprika. It had a unique taste and it kinda reminded me of a fish fillet burger from McDonalds.

The exterior of the shrimp patty was nice and crispy. The inside of the patty has small bits of shrimp, but you really can’t notice it too much. The burger sounded amazing, but when i ate it, it was a bit of a let down.

Website: http://www.lotteria.com/

In BBQ

Urban Belly: Pork Belly, Ramen, and Communal Tables

September 21, 2013

When I was vacationing in Chicago, I went to visit Urbanbelly near Logan Square. They are also recipients of a Michelin Bib Gourmands Chicago award in 2010. It basically means they are a quality restaurant with affordable price.

They don’t take reservations, but on a weekday lunch hour, there was no wait.

The counter is at the back, so you just line up and order. They have daily specials written on the wall.

You can find the rest of the regular items on their menu. The prices are quite decent with nothing over $13.

The interior is one large room with 4 communal tables. Better get cozy and meet some new friends.

Asian Squash and Bacon Dumplings ($7) comes with 4 pieces of the steamed dumplings. It has a predominantly squash filling. It is topped with bacon bits, orange slices and other things. It was pretty good and has a nice balance between the sweet oranges and the savoury dumpling.

Urbanbelly Ramen ($13) is made with a pho broth and has pork belly and shitake mushrooms. Its deep rich broth with layers of savoury flavours is quite delicious.

Phat Rice ($9) is a fried rice dish that combined all the other rice dishes into one. There was short rib, pork belly, pineapple, scallions, pea shoots, and Thai basil. I chose this dish because I was pretty indecisive of what to order….so this was the best option. It was pretty good.

Chinese Eggplant with Thai Basil came complimentary because we waited a long time for the Phat Rice. I loved the sauce that came with it.

At the end of the meal, they give you some Ginger Candy to round out the experience.

Overall, the food was pretty good and I would come again. The food is a bit only and rich, but that means its extra delicious.

We Rate Urban Belly:

Address:
3053 N California Ave
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://www.urbanbellychicago.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=3053+N+California+Ave,+Chicago,+IL+60618,+USA&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&hnear=3053+N+California+Ave,+Chicago,+Illinois+60618,+United+States&z=16 “]

In Bakery

Berry Good: Dessert Cafe in Richmond

July 29, 2013

It’s been a while since I’ve been to Berry Good in Richmond. My last visit was 3 years ago. All the cakes are homemade and created in very small batches. They are closed on Wednesday and Sunday, and the other days they open in the evening.

This time when looking at the menu, I thought it was interesting how they have a section for Korean drinks. It definitely caught our attention, so we had to try the grain latte.

Hot Five Grain Latte ($2.95) is pretty good. You will need to stir it around a bit because I found that there was a concentration of powder on the bottom of the cup.

Iced Korean Grain Latte ($3.99) this is the cold version of the drink above.

The cakes listed on the menu are not correct because they change everyday. Go to the fridge by the cashier to see whats available. Once they run out for the day, its gone. There’s always something good to munch on.

Green Tea Chiffon Cake has the moist green tea cake inside with the layers of cream surrounding it and sprinkles of matcha.

Earl Grey Cheesecake was really really good! The best combination. The earl grey flavour is strong and well integrated throughout the cheesecake.

Green Tea Roll in a sense in kinda similar to the Green Tea Chiffon Cafe, but in a different form.Yet again, the cake is moist and wrapped up with whipped cream. Delicious.

Overall, the cakes were great and you really get the homemade feeling from this cafe. On the other hand, service is alright. The drinks came at staggered times after the cake.

We rate Berry Good:

Address:
#1120-8766 McKim Way ( In Excel Centre)
Richmond, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1110-8766+McKim+Way,+Richmond,+BC+V6X+4G4&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=1110-8766+McKim+Way,+Richmond,+British+Columbia+V6X+4G4&z=16 “]

In Canadian

Dishcrawl Vancouver: Exploring the West End

July 1, 2013

Dishcrawl Vancouver invited me to their event focused on West End restaurants. We went to 4 different restaurants in one night, but the catch is that we only knew the first location but the other 3 are a mystery. They try to showcase the best restaurants in this area within walking distance of each other.

There was about 25 people on this particular tour and we headed to Ap Gu Jung, Hida Takayama Ramen, Forage and Capstone Tea & Fondue.

Ap Gu Jung

AP Gu Jung was our first stop. It’s a Korean restaurant located on Robson Street. This place has been here forever. I remember coming here in high school.

The interior has 2 floors and kinda looks like a western pub rather than a korean restaurant because of the playoffs playing on the big screen, jerseys, and a drum kit.

We started off with 4 dishes of banchan, which are complimentary side dishes. There is seaweed, kimchi, broccoli, and potatoes.

On the plate they sampled:

Seafood Pancake
Kimchi Pancake
Chicken Skewers
Pork on Fire
Traditional Beef BBQ
Rice

For people with dietary restrictions, they got some different items. The portions here were pretty good since there were 3 more restaurants to go to. A lot of people couldn’t finish in time, so they did have to pack it to go. We definitely needed more than 40 minutes here.

Hida Takayama Ramen

Hida Takayama Ramen is located inside the Robson Public Market on the 2nd floor. I thought I went to all the ramen places in town, but I was wrong. This ramen joint is very hidden. The prices seem quite fair as it is all under $10.

The owner – Mike Asaoka is very charismatic about the ramen he makes and uses the best ingredients.

Hida Chuka Ramen was one of my favorites. It was simple and representative of some ramen you would find in Japan. The broth is chicken based and flavoured with soy sauce.

White Sesame Ramen was very rich and thick . We ate everything else, but it was hard to drink the broth.

Sweet and Spicy Ramen was ok, but not one of my favorites.

I didn’t fall in love with any of the particular ramen, but I found it very interesting how if you come here on a normal day, the price of the small and the large are EXACTLY the SAME prices. You can get huge bowl of noodles for about $7.

Forage

Our third stop of the night is Forage. I was quite excited about this place because they do have some killer food.

We were welcomed by Chef Wittaker who took us through the farm-to-table concept at forage and let us know what we would be eating.

Nettle gnocchi and brown butter is served in a cast iron pan. The texture of the gnocchi were like little pillows of mashed potatoes.

Foraged and cultivated mushrooms is topped with Okanagan goat cheese and comes with grilled caraway rye bread. I have an addiction for mushrooms, so I polished this dish. Yum Yum!

The Flatbread has pancetta, morel mushrooms, onion béchamel, and Jersey blue cheese. It was thin, crispy and very enjoyable.

Capstone Tea & Fondue

I haven’t been back to Captone in a few years after a bad experience. It’s been a few years and that experience has always stuck in my mind. It was good to see that they rebranded and hopefully this dining experience would be good.

We were given small personal pots of Dark Chocolate Fondue and some assorted items for dipping.

In the bowl were fruit, banana bread, cheesecake, cookies, macrons, and ice cream balls. Don’t leave the ice cream balls till the very end since they will melt. With the hot weather in Vancouver, its best to just gobble them up right away.

It was a nice end of the meal.

By the end of the night, we were all full and ready to have food coma. This is my second Dishcrawl and I still have the same thoughts about these types of events. It’s not an event for everyone. $60 is a little bit steep if you’re a picky eater. Even though they do accomodate dietary restrictions, you may not like certain types of cuisines.

On the bright side, you do get to explore 4 restaurants in one night and are great for indecisive people. Do look out for coupon codes since there are a few floating around for each Dishcrawl tour.

To check out DishCrawl Vancouver: www.dishcrawl.com/vancouver/

In Canadian

Richmond Night Market 2013: SaucyPops, Takoyaki, Chef James, and Mogu

May 24, 2013

The Richmond Night Market is back and is often confused with the Summer Night Market (the one by IKEA). This one is located right beside the River Rock Casino and Canada Line. There are tons of shops and food stands in the market.

There are also 1,500 parking spots in the lot and it’s free, but entrance into the market is $2 per person. Sucks, but I just tell myself that it’s worth the easy parking.

My friends and I came here to eat food at 7pm and it wasn’t too busy as we came on a long weekend. We aren’t too keen on shopping at the market but we just love the food stalls. Meat on sticks!

This year the theme is the Magical Duck Island, named after the stretch of land that the night market resides on. There’s a lot of hype around ducks this summer as Hong Kong has the duck art installation in Victoria Harbour. I’m not really sure if there is a correlation there or perhaps good timing.

There are rows upon rows of shops, but I can’t remember exactly how many stands there are. When I was younger, the usual items we would purchase would be stationary, Korean socks, and a stack of blank CDs.

The food section is much busier. It can get crowded at peak hours and you will probably fear the people walking and holding their skewers. Even though I wear glasses, I’m always afraid someone will poke my eyes out. It’s not likely to happen, but beware the crowds.

This year the sitting area is slightly larger. If you have 2 plates of food in your hands, you know you need a place to sit and actually enjoy your meal.

SaucyPops

SaucyPops sells homemade chicken wonton lollipops or as I call it jumbo fried wontons on a skewer. Their fried wontons are served with 4 signature sauces:

Wasabi Aioli – Mild sweetness with a wasabi kick
Korean Spicy Aioli – Spicy and salty
Honey Garlic Aioli – Sweet and savory
Citrus Orange Marmalade Aioli – Sweet and spicy

You can get all 4 for $4.75. It’s not a bad price and it’s a fun treat to share with others too.

I really liked the different sauces that went along with the wontons. When you bite into them, you get the crunchiness of the wonton wrapper and the great flavour from the sauces. My favorite was the Korean spicy aioli and the wasabi aioli. Clearly I like it spicy when it comes to fried food.

Takoyaki

It’s everyone’s favorite! Theres a few other stands in the night market but most of them are about the same.

For this particular stand, it’s 6 pieces for $5 and you can choose from octopus, shrimp, scallop or veggie for the center filling.

Chef James Xin Jiang Man BBQ

Chef James Xin Jiang Man BBQ is best known for his lamb skewers. There was a HUGE line for these bad boys and there were at least 10 – 15 people waiting to pay and another line waiting for the food. The lines move fast, so don’t be intimidated by the large amount of people. Just make sure you line up correctly cause it can be very confusing where the line begins.

3 skewers for $7.25
5 for $11.50
Buy 6 and get a free pop ($13.75)

They cook a bunch and then have it kept under the warm lights, so that’s how they move quickly through the long line ups.

We got a bunch of different skewers, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. They all taste good. My personal favorites was the beef and lamb.

Mogu Japanese Street Eats

Food Trucks make me excited, but what makes me even more excited is when they are at the night market. Mogu was selling their signature item – the chicken karaage. They aren’t selling their sandwiches, but thats ok since the chicken karaage is pretty darn good.

3 pieces – $4.75
5 pieces – $7.50

I liked the chicken karaage and so did my friends. Some were a bit iffy about the sauce, but the way they batter and fry the chicken was spot on.

Rotato

Rotato serves up the hurricane potatoes. The line up is always long. It seems to be the only stall that served these. We didn’t line up, but they do have this really cool illustration about what you can do with your Rotato.

You can now learn how to propose with a rotato, make a baby stop cry with a rotato and even go fishing with a rotato.

I usually go to the night market a few times a year and it’s fun for the summer. Lots of things to see and buy, but its all about the delicious food.

Address:
8351 River Rd
Richmond, BC

Website:
richmondnightmarket.com

In Burnaby Cariboo-Lougheed

Jong Ga Korean Restaurant: More Restaurants in Korea Town

May 8, 2013

Jong Ga Korean Restaurant is another newer restaurant that has popped up in North Road AKA Korea Town in the past year. It’s a small restaurant, but its packed during peak hours. We went around 1pm as a group of 6 and there was still a decent amount of people inside.

Its located a few shops away from the Steve Nash Gym on North Road. Also steps away from the Lougheed Skytrain. Parking can be quite annoying during peak hours, but you’ll find parking close by.

Banchan are complimentary side dishes that arrive before the meal. It’s normal to see this at Korean restaurant and is expected. Jong Ga has 6 that comes and may vary from visit to visit.

Seafood Pancake ($13.99) was massive and quite thick. There is definitely lots of seafood and ingredients inside, but it was so thick that the center is mushy and falls apart. The exterior is still crisp, but could be done a bit better.

Beef Bone Broth with Noodles ($8.99) comes with rice in a stone bowl. This dish has always confused me. It tastes quite bland when you don’t add salt into it. We asked the waitress for salt but she gave us mustard and vinegar instead. It still made the soup bland. This is one time where we wished we had MSG. My sister said this dish tasted like water and noodles.

Buckwheat noodle in chilled broth ($8.99) was what my other sister ordered. It’s quite a big bowl and put together nicely.

Pork Bone Soup in Hot Pot ($8.99) is probably one of the better items to order here. It also comes with rice. The meat is delicious and tender and the soup was good. Not the best I’ve ever had, but good.

Overall, the food is good, but the service was quite sparse. They didn’t give us tea or water till we bugged them. They didn’t give us condiments for our dishes, so we also had to ask. The condiment jars were not filled up and only had a few drips left.

We Rate Jong Ga Korean Restaurant:

Address:
4333 North Road
Burnaby, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4333+North+Road+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=Bikram+Yoga+Burnaby,+4501+N+Rd,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia+V3N+4R7&gl=ca&t=m&z=15 “]

In Korean

Chui Restaurant: Korean Fusion Restaurant

April 10, 2013

I’ve never heard of Chui Restaurant until my friend decided to have dinner here. It’s a relatively new restaurant on Robson across from Whole Foods. They serve Korean fusion food.

The space is pretty cool. It’s divided up so there is an upper floor and a lower flood. It’s separated by bricks and fake cherry blossoms.

Complementary side dishes consist of kimchi, tofu and edamame beans. It was a nice variety of items, but if you are a large group waiting for your order to arrive, this will be eaten quite quickly. We had to ask for several refills of this.

Beef Yaki Udon was the first item that arrived at the table. It tasted pretty good but had a strong sesame taste to it.

Seafood Paella was a very interesting item to see in a Korean restaurant, but I guess its one of those dishes that make it “fusion”. It has a ample amount of mussels, prawns, squid, and a larger spot prawn in the centre.

Seafood Pancake was large and tasted good. Decent amount of seafood inside too.

Pork Belly with fried vegetables. I’m sure there is a real name for this dish, but sometimes my memory fails me. The fried vegetable can be eaten together with the pork. They definitely compliment each other as you have the crispy vegetable with the savory pork.

Overall the food isn’t bad but some items aren’t that great for Korean fusion food. The service for the food can be a bit slow, so make sure you have some drinks in hand. It gets pretty busy on Friday and weekends as it attracts a young crowd.

We Rate Chui Restaurant:

Address:
1660 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1660+Robson+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1660+Robson+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6G+1C8&gl=ca&t=m&z=14″]

In Downtown

H-Mart Food Court: Wang Ga Ma, E-Mo Noodle, and Zac-Zac

December 10, 2012

Inside H-Mart Downtown are a bunch of smaller food vendors in their hidden food court. It’s on the second floor of H-Mart and easily spotted from the outside. Once you walk in, you can look at their menus, walk to the counter, pay and wait for your number to pop up on the computer screen to see when your order is ready.

Wang Ga Ma/ E-Mo Noodle

Tofu Soup is spicy and not for everyone. Inside the soup is a lot of tofu, an egg, beef and mussels. You also get a side of kimchi and rice. It’s good if you like spicy food. You can try to ask the staff to see if you can tone down the amount of spice.

Spicy Beef Broth is delicious! I chose rice instead of noodles for this dish. It’s a bit spicy, but good for those that like it hot. Similar to the Tofu soup, but without tofu and has noodles and bean sprouts.

Kimchi Fried Rice is delicious! You get a large plate of kimchi fried rice and a side of pickled radish.

For the price, it’s a good value! It was not spicy at all and the flavours were really nice!! You gotta try this for yourself! One of the best Kimchi Fried Rice I have ever had! On the downside, it is a bit oily.

Beef Broth is a bit bland, so you need to flavour it up with a bit more salt. It also has some kimchi and rice on the side. Don’t let the size of the bowl deceive you, it’s quite large.

Wang Ga Ma and E-Mo Noodle share the same kitchen and also a cashier. You order at one place and can order off both menus. Sometimes it can be a bit confusing for first-timers. Nonetheless, the prices are under $10 and you are guaranteed to get full.

Zac-Zac Japanse Curry House

Hidden at the back of the food court is Zac-Zac Japanese Curry. It’s not Korean food! They have cool varieties of Curry from Chicken, to beef, to tempura…to even natto beans. Natto beans are equivalent to how some people feed about Durian. It’s fermented beans and they are either loved or hated.

I chose the Chicken Curry and it was pretty basic. It just seemed like the curry base is the same for all the dishes and then the protein in the dish changes. I’ve never been to Japan, so I’m not sure how real authentic curry should taste like. Nonetheless, the curry was good and made for a quick lunch.

At the first level of H-Mart, there is a cafe and you can find juices, fruits and vegetables. It’s cheap! I’ve had a few of the drinks and they aren’t bad at all…just stir it up before drinking. For less than $1, it’s so much better than plain water.

I love going to H-Mart when I need a quick and cheap lunch.

We Rate Wang Ga Ma, E-Mo Noodle, and Zac-Zac:

Address:
590 Robson St Vancouver

Website:
http://www.hanahreum.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=590+Robson+St+Vancouver&hl=en&hnear=590+Robson+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6B&t=m&z=16″]

In All You Can Eat

Pork Belly Beer House: Korean BBQ without the Grill

November 5, 2012

The Pork Belly Beer House is a Korean restaurant just off of Robson Street close to Safeway. It looks shady on the inside and outside, but it quite popular with Koreans. It gets quite packed in the evening since you can eat all the pork belly and side dishes for under $20.

The last time I was at Pork Belly Beer House, we had a mediocre all you can eat pork belly. We decided to come back to celebrate new jobs with friends and eat meat. For $16, you get pork belly, bulgogi, salad, rice, soup, kimchi, pop and sauces.

One of the biggest changes was that you can’t cook your own meat anymore. 🙁 Due to fire regulations and their inability to provide proper ventilation in the restaurant, the meat comes to you already cooked.

This was very disappointing because the point of Korean BBQ is cooking your own meat to your liking. We were not impressed because I like my Pork Belly crispy. We asked them to bring a few other dishes on the crispier side, but that never happened.

The pork belly is poor in quality and there is more fat than meat. What I hated the most about this pre-cooked option is that when you are half way done the plate of meat, it all goes cold.

The bulgogi was just lightly seasoned beef and grilled. Nothing amazing about it.

The food is just passable, but is only a good place for people who want a lot of food and drink. The meat is quite fatty, so make sure you don’t come here too often! Make sure you have a Korean with you since it’s easier to communicate with the servers to ensure you get what you order.

We rate Pork Belly Beer House:

Address:
Robson Street/West End
841 Bidwell Street
Vancouver, BC V6G

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=841+Bidwell+Street+Vancouver,+BC+V6G&hnear=841+Bidwell+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6G+2J8&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Coquitlam

Ajuker Fried Chicken: Korean Fried Chicken in Coquitlam

November 4, 2012

Ajuker Fried Chicken (AFC) is located on North Road in Coquitlam and serves up delicious Korean fried chicken. Their name was taken from a Korean chain restaurant. BusanGirl always frequents this restaurant with a bunch of her friends, so I made her take me to try their fried chicken.

Lots of Koreans and university students like to frequent this place at night for drinks, fried chicken, and hanging out with friends. The interior isn’t too big, but if you have a large group, they can accommodate them.

Hite Beer is a Korean beer that has a light flavour profile. It’s great with fried chicken.

Makgeolli is a Korean rice wine. It has about 7% alcohol and is made of fermented wheat and rice.

BusanGirl has a trick of adding a can of Sprite into the Makgeolli to make it taste better.

It a very popular drink in Korean culture, but I didn’t particularly love it. I’m not used to it. Everyone else at the table did enjoy it.

Complementary peanuts came to the table. It’s great to accompany the wine and beer as we wait for the food to arrive.

Complementary spicy tofu soup came to the table. We had no idea how to split this between the 4 of us, so we just stuck our spoon into it and drank it slowly. It didn’t look spicy at all, but it had a kick of spicy red peppers.

Complementary pickled radishes goes very well with the fried chicken.

Small Original Fried Chicken was really crispy on the outside and moist inside. I really like it a lot.

Sauced Fried chicken wasn’t spicy, but it was kinda like honey garlic with a kick. It’s the same as the original fried chicken and then they throw the sauce on it.

Korean Pancake was HUGE! It was so big that the plate couldn’t even contain it. The taste was OK, but not great. They definitely needed a bit more filling. The sauce that comes in it is a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.

Korean Fried Rice with Slices of Rice Cake was good!

Complementary Spicy Rice Cake (tteobokki) came at the end of the meal, we were quite surprised that so many complementary dishes arrived. It’s a normal occurrence at Korean restaurants since it’s part of their culture to have “service” come with the meal.

Overall, we did like this restaurant. Great to hang out with friend with some late night food and drinks. You get a lot of complementary dishes that come with your meal.

We Rate Ajuker Fried Chicken:

Address:
101-508 Clarke Road
Coquitlam, BC V3J7V6

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=101-508+Clarke+Road+Coquitlam,+BC+V3J7V6&hnear=508+Clarke+Rd,+Coquitlam,+British+Columbia+V3J+3X5&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Coquitlam

Woo Ree Jip Korean Restaurant: New Korean Restaurant

October 26, 2012

KoreanGirl keeps telling me she frequents this place with her parents, but she never takes me here even though she likes this places. One day, a few of us decided to come here for a dinner as I’ve already been to most places in “Korea Town” aka North Road.

They have the usual popular Korean dishes. If you want a truly authentic experience, I would suggest being a bit more adventurous.

The interior isn’t too large, but can fit a few large groups.

Woo Ree Jip literally translates to “Our Home”. So, they are trying to give you the feeling of a home cooked meal.

Complementary Salad was given to us at the table. It was a small salad with a light dressing.

Seafood Pancake comes divided into 8 slices. It’s shaped a bit weird, but it tastes good!

It comes with a sauce on the side. So, you just dip your pancake in here. It has vinegar, sesame oil, and soy sauce.

Small Pork Belly Set has 2 rows of cooled pork belly with minced garlic on top. There is also pickled vegetables that you use to wrap the pork belly.

Nom nom nom. The pork belly isn’t crispy, but is pretty good.

You can wrap the pork belly in the lettuce or the pink thing with the kimchi and pork belly. Tastes gooooooood!

Overall, the food is good, but it can be a bit pricey. I’ve heard the soups were good too.

We Rate Woo Ree Jip:

Address:
9928 Lougheed Hwy
Burnaby, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=9928+Lougheed+Hwy+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=9928+Lougheed+Hwy,+Burnaby,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]