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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 »
LES, Raising the Bar
Tuesday Nights at Allen & Delancey – NYC
12.25.09 | Permalink | 2 Comments

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays lovely readers! I’m still working on my post about my last night in Seoul, but in the meantime, check out “Raising the Bar: Tuesday Nights at Allen & Delancey” on SE:NY. Half-off drinks and tongue is involved… tongue of the edible kind. Anything beyond that can’t be guaranteed.

Again, warm wishes to everyone. I hope a fabulous meal awaits all of you today. If not, make it work anyway.
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 »
Events, MePa, Recipes
Grand Tasting at the NYC Wine & Food Festival – NYC
10.18.09 | Permalink | Comment?

I still have an infinite amount of Asian fooding photos to go through, but I thought I would take a break and write about last week’s Grand Tasting at the New York City Wine & Food Festival (NYCWFF). Last Saturday, David and I spent an hour and a half at Pier 54 where lots of wine and food were to be had. We ate, drank, and ate some more, but since I want to keep this post to a reasonable length, covered here are just the day’s most delectable bites. MORE »
Restaurants
Dim Sum at Victoria City Restaurant – Hong Kong
10.05.09 | Permalink | 9 Comments

When David first suggested a trip to East Asia, Hong Kong wasn’t part of the plans. That was completely my doing. Being a huge fan of Chinese food in New York, and hearing from my coworker how much more delicious it was in Hong Kong, I had to go. Of course, at the time, I didn’t realize it would extend the plane ride an additional five hours (fifteen hours and forty minutes total, one way!), but l’m glad to say it was definitely worth it. Thank god.

Our first day in Hong Kong, dim sum was obviously in order, so with a little help from Chowhound, I picked Victoria City Seafood Restaurant and off we went with fingers crossed. We were in Hong Kong for only three days, and we didn’t want any duds. MORE »
Raising the Bar, West Village
Finger-Lickin’ Good at Bar Blanc Bistro – NYC
09.30.09 | Permalink | 3 Comments

I’m not a tease, the Asian posts are definitely coming soon. I promise. For now, read about my first night eating out after my vacation “Raising the Bar: Finger-Lickin’ Good at Bar Blanc Bistro” at Serious Eats: NY. I ate fried pig ears and a crostini with delicious Spanish anchovies. I’m bringing some offal love to Serious Eats.
Bite vs. Bite, Little Italy, Small Shops
Pork Banh Mi with Pâté at Banh Mi Saigon – NYC
09.12.09 | Permalink | 2 Comments

Yes, I know banh mis are so early 2009, and yes, I know everyone knows about Banh Mi Saigon, the small Vietnamese sandwich shop in the back of a jewelry store on Mott Street, but I recently made an invaluable discovery. For the longest time, although I love the Pork Banh Mi ($3.75) at Banh Mi Saigon, I missed the pâté the other famous Vietnamese shop in Alphabet City has in their pork sandwiches. (As I mentioned in a previous post, I actually prefer the Alphabet City store, but for some weird reason I got food poisoning once, and now I go almost exclusively to Banh Mi Saigon.) So on a recent trip to Banh Mi Saigon, I asked if there was a way I could get some pâté in the Pork Banh Mi, and of course, it was just a matter of asking. For one dollar extra ($4.75 total), the wonderful people at Banh Mi Saigon will spread a very generous layer of creamy pâté, even possibly too much, into an already overstuffed sandwich of roast barbecued pork, Vietnamese bologna, fresh cucumber sticks, cilantro, jalapeno slices, pickled daikon, and pickled carrots. One bite and you’ll be serious umami heaven. Now if only I could get them to add some Vietnamese headcheese (giò thủ), life would be closer to perfect. MORE »