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Street Eats

Restaurants, Street Eats
Last Night with More Offal in Korea – Seoul
12.27.09 | Permalink | 7 Comments

There was so much food I wanted to eat in Seoul, but one week just wasn’t enough. There was the dduk I wanted to eat from the nice old ladies in the subway station (1 styrofoam tray for KR ₩1,000/US $00.84!), more street ddukboki, jajangmyun (자장면, noodles with black bean sauce), sweet potato fries, more samgyupsal (삼겹살, pork belly)… the list goes on and on. Fortunately, there was one thing on my to-eat list I made sure to eat before take-off to Beijing: my favorite, gobchang (곱창, small intestines). Well, not exactly but close enough, I ate daechang (대창, large intestines).

When Joo Hyun and Soo Hyun said we were going to go eat daechang, I was excited, but also apprehensive. The thing with large intestines is that it’s usually funkier than small intestines, and I mean funkier in a bad way. A little irony funk is nice, but too much and you need another bottle of soju to make it enjoyable. That’s been my experience so far in New York at least. However, when we got to Yeontabal (연타발), immediately I knew it was going to be different. First of all, the restaurant is strictly charcoal (숯불, sootbul). Meat always tastes better when it’s cooked on charcoal as opposed to a gas grill. Second, all the meat brought to the table was fresh. You could tell just from looking at it. But of course, even with the best intentions, food can be royally f*cked up. Happily though, with the help of Joo Hyun, I can report to the contrary. MORE »
Small Shops, Street Eats
Fried Old-Fashioned Ddukbokki – Seoul
12.09.09 | Permalink | 7 Comments

I first heard about Hyoja-dong Yetnal Ddukbokki (Translation: Old-fashioned Ddukbokki from Hyoja-dong) when Robyn posted about it a few months ago on Serious Eats. I’ve eaten a lot of ddukbokki, but never the stir-fried kind. When I was little, I used to fry up dduk with sugar, creating sugary crunchy logs, but I never thought to make savory versions. This was all new to me. So as soon as I got to Korea, I asked Joo Hyun about it. She said she never had it, but Soo Hyun had, and she was told it was greasy, but good. Mmmm, that was all I needed to hear. The next day, while David was out visiting a friend, I went on a search for fried ddukbokki. MORE »
Street Eats
Walk, Eat, Repeat – Seoul
11.19.09 | Permalink | 6 Comments

Korean people love to snack. It’s a snacking culture. You eat not because you’re hungry, but your mouth is bored. Walking around in Seoul, there’s a vendor or two on every street. (Remember the bbopki post?) I love it! The most popular, and most well-known, street food is probably ddukbokki (떡복기, rice cakes), but I’ll be posting about that next time. This post will concentrate on some of my other favorite street snacks: roasted chestnuts, hodduk (호떡, sweet pancakes), jeepoh (쥐포, dried file fish), and gohguma mattang (고구마맛탕, candied sweet potatoes), oh my! MORE »
Hotels, Street Eats
I Heart Bbopki & Free Korean Breakfast – Seoul
11.01.09 | Permalink | 13 Comments

When we first drove into Seoul from Incheon Airport, I was shocked. Seoul wasn’t the charming city I remembered twelve years ago. It was buzzing with lights, the view of the mountains obliterated by monster skyscrapers, and the streets were wide and full of crazy cabbies. That night, as I went to sleep surrounded by cold marble in my 500 square foot hotel room designed to resemble a 20th century French chateau (I was staying in a hotel named Artnouveau City. Could it have gotten any cheesier?), I was crestfallen. Where was I, and how did Times Square follow me back to Korea? MORE »
Governors Island, Street Eats
Veronica’s Kitchen at Governors Island – NYC
09.28.09 | Permalink | 7 Comments

It’s 5 a.m., but since I’m jet-lagged, I’m writing my last summer NYC post so I can get started on the Hong Kong, Seoul, and Beijing entries later on this week. I was trying to get it done while I was in Asia, but there was absolutely no time. Sight-seeing and eating takes a lot of work, and I have the blisters — but fortunately no abdominal woes — to prove it.

At the height of the summer, what seems like ages ago, David and I set sail on a ferry to Governors Island (Ferries leave on the weekends from the Battery Maritime Building at 10 South Street. See schedule for times.) for a little island fun, New York style. There were no gentle ocean breezes or white sandy beaches (the man-made beach at the Water Taxi Beach doesn’t count), but we did get our spicy Caribbean fix courtesy of Veronica’s Kitchen. MORE »
Greenwich Village, Street Eats
A Dilemma at the Dosa Cart – NYC
09.04.09 | Permalink | 4 Comments

Since I heard about NY Dosas (a.k.a. the Dosa Cart) in Washington Square Park five years ago, I’ve been on the hunt for the cart. For some reason or another, Thiru Kumar’s cart has always eluded me. It was either I went the wrong day (he’s there on Saturdays, not Sundays), or the wrong time of the year (he sometimes vacations in the summer in Canada, and in the colder months he doesn’t always make it to the city). A few months ago, I was on the way home from jogging on the Williamsburg Bridge, when I happened to see a car just getting off the bridge with the dosa cart in tow. I was tempted to follow the car like a mad dog, but I was suspicious it would be another wild goose chase, so I headed home instead. I have to maintain some dignity, or at least pretend to, after all. But a month ago, I decided to chance it again, and left to the park on my lunch break, and BINGO! It was dosa time! MORE »
Announcements, Giveaway, Street Eats
Bionic Bites turns 1 & Blogiversary Giveaway
08.16.09 | Permalink | 13 Comments

Time flies and all of a sudden your blog is a year old. (Technically, my blogiversary was last month, but that’s just a minor detail folks. Better late than never, I say.) I remember two years I ago I wanted to start a blog, but frankly, I was too lazy to do anything about it. Then after a year of hemming and hawing, I finally got my expanding ass off the couch and created Bionic Bites. Now, eighty-six posts later, I’m celebrating a year of past deliciousness. I savored jamón ibérico de bellota in Menorca, found dragon beard candy in Montreal, ate a ton of street meat in New York, and through it all, got sick only once. All publicly, for my enjoyment and yours. Thank you to all those who have been reading from the beginning, and for those that just recently stumbled on to my blog, shame on you! I’ll be expecting more from you in the coming year. MORE »