Hotteok

Street food is everywhere in Seoul. We found this vendor just outside the Noryangjin Fish Market

These are hotteok--griddle-fried dough. It's coated with caramelized sugar and delicious-- W700

It had a peanut filling.

2013 09 16

Breakfast in Seoul

I had read about a breakfast place in Myeong-Dong but we couldn't find it. Many of the restaurants don't have English signs. 

Instead, we saw this porridge place. It's located at 20 Myeongdong 7 ga-gil. It had a lot of pictures of different porridge but there's no English name posted.

Different kinds of kimchees.

My husband had the pumpkin porridge for W7000. He liked it. It wasn't too sweet.

I had the abalone porridge for W15,000. This was expensive but it had such intense flavors, it was worth it. This was my favorite porridge of the trip.

2013 09 16

Churros in Korea

My husband always has to have something sweet after dinner. We found a place selling churros near the BBQ place.

W2500 ($2.30) for the large churros. Not quite as good as the ones we had in Malaga but not bad. It satisfied my husband's sweet tooth.

2013 09 15

Korean BBQ

We had planned on going down to the night market but after seeing the Belfry, we saw a street full of neon and people. It looked like a happening place so we decided to look for dinner.

We found a BBQ restaurant that was full of people so we decided to give it a try.

Hot stone with gas line to keep it hot.

The restaurant didn't have an English name but it was under CM Pizza, Pasta & Coffee.

We ordered pork belly (turned out to be thick slices of unsmoked bacon) for W9800 and duck for W9800. Both were tough cuts of meat. Exchange rate was $1 = W 1086.

We also tried soju—fermented rice wine for W4000. I tried it but couldn’t stomach it so my husband drank the rest of the 375 cc bottle. Dinner was W23,600 because there is no tax & no tipping in Korean.

2013 09 15

Belfry in Seoul

Back to Seoul ...

After we arrived at Hotel Aventree Jogno, we checked in, took a shower, then went in search of dinner. Just after the Jogno Tower, we came upon the Belfry.

It dates to 1396. Here hung the town bell, which was used to notify the people of the opening and closing times of the city gates and of town emergencies, such as fires. The bell was rung 33 times, symbolizing the 33 heaven of Buddhishm, at opening and 28 times, symbolizing the stars of the constellation, at closing.

It's so interesting that this old belfry is located in the midst of very modern towers.

2013 09 15

Friday Night Dinner at Flavor Bistro

I had friends visiting from Canada and we went to Friday Night Dinner at Flavor Bistro this week. All this for $49.95.

Torte A La Provencale--Organic Warm Tomato & Zucchini Tartlet Flavored with Sweet Herbs & Comte Cheese paired with 2009 Domaine Carneros by Taittinger, Brut Cuvee, Carneros. This tart was very flavorful--not sure how they're able to concentrate all the flavor to make it so tasty.

Fruits De Mer--Day Boat Scallops, Jumbo Prawns, Local Calamari, Mussels & Clams Served in White Wine Jus with Spicy Aioli & Warm Garlic Flatbreads paired with 2012 Paul Hobbs Winery CrossBarn Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast. The seafood was fresh and the sauce was amazing. Even people who don't like seafood were enjoying this dish.

Macaroni Au Fromage "French Mac & Cheese"--Petite Organic Pasta Baked in Roasted Garlic Cheese Sauce Flavored with Shallot Confit & Roasted Organic Mushrooms paired with 2010 MacPhail Family Wines Pinot Noir, Toulouse Vineyard, Anderson Valley & 2011 Walt Wines Pinot Noir, Gap's Crown Vineyard, Sonoma Coast

Agneau En Croute--Double Loin of Lamb Filled with Ratatouille Relish & Basil Pistou Baked in Puff Pastry served in Olive Beurre Sauce paired with 2011 Austin Hope Syrah, Hope Family Wines, Paso Robles & 2010 Luca, "Laura Catena" Malbec, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

Galette De Fraise--Warm Strawberry Galette served with Vanilla Bean Custard paired with 2007 Navarro Vineyards & Winery Riesling Cluster Select, Late Harvest, Anderson Valley

2013 10 11

Smothered Pork Chops

I bought a 12-pack of Cream of Mushroom Soup from Costco and had to come up with ways to use it. I looked on the Campbell's website and found a slow cooker recipe for pork chops. I didn't like the recipe so I embellished it.

Before cooking for 8-9 hours in a slow cooker. 

The pork chops were fork tender and the sauce was delicious. It was a nice brown color, mainly from the browned onions and pork chops. The original recipe didn't brown the onions or pork chops and I added the chicken broth to thin the sauce.

Smothered Pork Chops

6 bone-in pork chops

2 Tbs olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

½ cup chicken broth

2 slices bacon, partly cooked and chopped

Heat olive oil and sauté onion until caramelized. Place in bottom of a 3½ quart slow cooker. Brown pork chops on both sides, adding more olive oil as needed. Place the pork chops over the onion. Stir in the cans of soup, mixed with chicken broth. Sprinkle with chopped bacon.

Cover & cook on low for 8-9 hours.