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Fast Food, West Village
Tacos & Hot Dogs at New York Hotdog & Coffee – NYC
03.10.10 | Permalink | 1 Comment

Korean tacos were the craze last year because of the Kogi truck in L.A., but if you’re looking for Korean-Mexican fusion in New York, don’t go looking for it at New York Hotdog & Coffee on Bleecker, the first American outpost of the fast food chain in Korea. The tacos there are more of a Korean person’s loose interpretation of Mexican food with Korean ingredients, but it’s still tasty, and a great spot if you’re babysitting or happen to be drunk. MORE »
Gadgets
Pasta Maker Circa 1973 – Seoul to NYC
03.01.10 | Permalink | 6 Comments

My dad moved to New York first, leaving my mom, my older brother, and me in Seoul until he settled in. A year later, my dad called and told my mom it was time to make the big move. My mother immediately went out and got the tightest perm possible, because who knew if she would be able to find a decent Korean hair salon in New York, and my grandmother immediately packed up her pasta maker (circa 1973) for her daughter, because who knew if she would be able to find fresh Korean noodles in New York. So that’s how my mom came to the States, with a Korean afro, two kids, and a pasta maker in tow. MORE »
Flushing, Restaurants
Live Fluke and More at Yuraku – NYC
02.17.10 | Permalink | 3 Comments

By now most of you probably know how much I love pork and duck, but there is another side to me. A fishier side. Growing up, I actually preferred seafood over red meat. I was a weird kid, and unlike my brother who loved Big Macs and galbi (갈비, Korean beef ribs), I loved vegetables, ice cold naeng myun (냉면, cold buckwheat noodles), and hwe (회, Korean-style raw fish). (By the way, I believe this is one of the reasons I’m vertically challenged and my brother is not, lack of good ole’ American beef. Alas, I’m sure my childhood fondness for coffee and jumping from great heights also played a part.) So a few weeks ago, when Hannah (my sister-in-law) told me Yuraku, her mom’s restaurant in Flushing, started serving “live fish” flown in straight from Korea, I knew a trip to Queens was in my not-so-distant future. MORE »
Airports, Fast Food
Airport Food Round-Up – Hong Kong, Beijing, Incheon
01.14.10 | Permalink | 4 Comments

For those wondering if the end was nigh, well, it’s here. Until my next trip to Asia, this will be my last East Asian post, and it’s about airport food. Hell what?! Hell yeah, airport food! In East Asia, specifically in Beijing, Incheon, and Hong Kong, unlike here in the States, airport food is actually good. I ate roast goose, hwedupbab (회덥밥, similar to bibimbab, but with raw fish), and hot noodle soup; all within fifteen minutes of my departure gate. Not a single overpriced shrink-wrapped sandwich, stale bagel, or a generic hamburger was eaten. MORE »
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 »
Restaurants
Crabs & Live Octopus at Pro Soy Crab – Seoul
12.18.09 | Permalink | 10 Comments

When I went to Korea this year, one of things I insisted on eating was sannakji (산낙지, live octopus). I’d never had it. Years and years ago, I went with my family to a seaside restaurant on the Korean coast and I remember people eating sannakji all around us. I wanted to try it, but we ended up not ordering it because my little cousins (who by the way are not so little anymore and have somehow graduated from college) were going through a phase where they refused to eat anything except spam. Instead, we ate fish jigae (stew) and had the restaurant fry up some spam for the kids (if you can believe it, my aunt always carried a can in her purse).

So this time in Korea, as an adult who could set her own agenda and eat whatever she pleased, I told Joo Hyun and Soo Hyun we had to go eat sannakji. I’m pretty sure they weren’t too excited. Not because it’s weird, but because live octopus is one of those gimmicky foods Americans want to eat when they visit Korea. (It’s like, “Yeah, I’m in the Korea, let’s go eat something bizarre… LIVE OCTOPUS!!!”) Well, unfortunately for them, I am American, so off we went one night in search of sannakji. David oddly insisted on staying in at the hotel. MORE »
K-Town, Midtown, Small Shops
Pork Bulgogi Wrap at Woorijip – NYC
12.10.09 | Permalink | 13 Comments

I wasn’t planning to write about anymore food in New York until I finished my East Asian posts, but on Wednesday I ate something so good I had to write about it. That something was the Pork Lettuce Wrap ($2.50) from Woorijip (우리집). I wasn’t expecting much when I bought it. It was tiny, and it looked pretty ordinary, but I got it anyway because, strangely, I wasn’t very hungry that day, and also, I thought it would be a nice change from the kimbab I normally get. But to my surprise, it was FREAKING AMAZING! MORE »