Indo-burritos?

With a few friends coming round on Monday night for dinner, I couldn't decide what to make. I'd normally put together a lasagna, some ribs or a selection of pastas; but I wasn't in the mood. It was cold and I wanted something a little spicier... Then it hit me, if Dos Tacos can throw together a burrito then why can't I?

I whipped up a batch of chili con carne, picked some coriander, grated some cheese, spooned out the sour cream, threw together a simple vegetable curry and coerced my wife into making chapatis (After years working as a props designer/basket weaver, she's a natural at making flatbreads).

The end result?

Indo-burritos Ajosshi style...

Exciting Deli News

I'm a sucker for new food shops and this week sees the opening of High Street Market in Itaewon. Located next door to the Imperial Palace Boutique Hotel (head out of Itaewon station past the defunct Hard Rock Cafe, La Tavola, Helios, Macaroni Market and Spazio Luce, it'll be on your left opposite the Cheil building), this new deli promises many delicious things according to a recent Korea Times article:

Imagine most of the items a host would require to throw a memorable party, and you begin to see what will be available at this wonderland of gourmet pleasures. Among the hard to find food items are various breakfast cereals, European style bread (bread that doesn’t taste sweet!), reasonably priced foreign cheeses, imported directly for High Street market, and fresh roasted coffee beans by weight. Even scented candles to add that romantic touch to a homemade meal will be available for sale.

Plus according to 10 magazine there's a special competition on this weekend starting at the grand opening on Friday 17th December at 9.00 am:

Here’s a list of all the enticing prizes that can be won!
- 2 kgs of gourmet coffee (W80,000 value)
- mixed meat basket: rib-eye steaks, turkey breast, smoked turkey, breakfast sausages (W120,000 value)
- case of wine: 12 different bottles of wine (W300,000 value) sponsored by Perioth Wines International
- gourmet cheese: grok, parmesan cheese snack (10 gr, 1 ea); mini bri (10 gr, 2 ea); happy swiss (10 gr, 1 ea) sponsored by Gourmet F&B
And the grand prizes are as follows:
- 2nd grand prize: W100,000 gift certificate
- grand prize: Illy espresso machine

It all sounds wonderful, but I'll reserve judgement until I see the price tags. High Street Market could be a great addition to the Itaewon shopping scene, or it could be another over-priced, over the top, pretentious shop that caters to those with more money than sense.

In a perfect world this place would live up to its name by offering high street prices, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and will report back once I've taken a peek and snaffled all the free samples.

Cakey Cuteness

Last week while wandering round the backstreets of Itaewon I found a cute little cake factory, with some interesting samples on display.



Some decorations were cuter than others...



Some a little more sinister...



And some just impressive (and still sort of spooky).

Turns out whoever owns this place also runs this website and they seem to be running Christmas cake classes for anyone who's interested.

It's amazing to see how Korean baking culture is evolving and great to see bakers who are taking risks and trying new designs.

My Past Is Art

Today has taken a rather bizarre turn.

I was reading an article in The Korea Herald about Design Korea 2010 and their new project in Hannam dong, it all sounded very interesting, especially since that's my old neighbourhood.

I clicked through to the Design Korea 2010 website and took a look at their maps for the area. Were those my old apartments highlighted? I decided to trot down the hill to take a look.

Lo and behold, my past accomodations have become art installations.

It was an odd feeling seeing my first apartment in Korea painted pink, with a rastafari back gate. I moved in here back in September 2000. A tiny unfurnished one room place that I slowly made my home. No fridge, no tv, just a futon, a sink, a gas burner and a bookcase.

And here it is now, redeveloped, turned into an art piece. I don't remember it being this small, but I've got used to 20 pyeong apartments and the memories of my one room hovel have been buried for many years.

The artists had a big bash last night, so they weren't about, but I hope to go back again with my wife and revisit our old haunts.

The neighbouring room had a rather different feel.



Downstairs things were a little fishy.



Decidedly dark.



And a tiny bit abstract.



Onto the next place. I stayed in this house for a month with a group of actors when we came on tour to Korea in May 2000. Then in 2001 I moved into the sub-basement apartment with my director friend, the fabulous Gina Lee.



This is what remains of our spare room.

And here's what's become of next door.



Not all the rooms were open today, and there are a fair few houses to explore, so I'll be back to take a closer look at each installation. The houses are open from 10.00 am to 10.00 pm every day till the 30th of December, if you're in the Itaewon/Hannam-dong area it's worth a detour.

Delightful Dimsum

It has been a busy year for me, so consequently some planned posts have dropped by the wayside. To remedy that I'd like to introduce you to a little Chinese place I visited back in October, a rather high class dining establishment that serves the ever elusive Dimsum...



You'll need to be prepared to spend a fair amount of money for your dumpling treats, so bring cash and an empty stomach. Here's a selection of Mong Jung Heon's finest:



First off 당초운탄 (Deep Fried Shrimp Dumplings). Light, crispy parcels of prawn heaven. 8,000 won.



Next 소매 (Pork, Seafood and Mushroom Dumplings). Traditional Shomai dumplings, staple of every dimsum table. 7,000 won.



Moving onto 선하부피권 (Deep Fried Shrimp, Pork and Vegetable Rolls) Wrapped in tofu skins, these rolls are both crispy and soft, a paradoxical dumpling that brings pleasure to your tastebuds. 8,000 won.



And finally, the holy grail of dimsum (at least for me), XO장의 소포 (BBQ Pork Bun). I know them as Char Siu Buns and these sweet and fluffy porky treats are my favourite finish to a dimsum lunch. 7,000 won.



Mong Jung Heon is located in Bukcheon-dong (behind Anguk Station). Robert Koehler over at the Seoul Selection website gives the best directions, so I'll leave it to him to fill you in...

Now, if only I could find somewhere that serves Cheung Fun, I'd be a happy man.

Alternative Christmas Tree

Over at the Gasum Lounge near Hangangjin station, they've decorated their Christmas tree a little differently...



Old socks, coat hangers, ramyeon pans and bottles of Bokbunja, Bacchus and Sanghwatang adorn this beautiful tribute to a recycled Christmas.

A Beautiful Girl is not A Girl but A Beautiful Girl

They've done a little redecoration over at the Leeum Museum and artist Tsang Kin-wah has wrapped up the building in his own peculiar way. "A Beautiful Girl is not A Girl but A Beautiful Girl" addresses the "notions of beauty and ugliness, and truth and fiction."



"Tsang's ambiguous and paradoxical sentences embarrass us by revealing our own double standards about beauty and truth."

Macaroni Market 3.0

It's been a long while since I last managed to find the time to go to Macaroni Market in Itaewon, today I managed to sneak in for lunch expecting a dose of their delightful mac and cheese... but was met with an altogether different menu.

The owners are still the same, but the chefs at the Market are all new, with Leo Kang (trained under Gordon Ramsey) leading the charge. They have switched into brasserie mode, lowered their prices (a little), offer a selection of reasonably priced wines (by the glass, half bottle and bottle) and have lunch and dinner fixed price menus, as well as a wide a la carte selection.



Before I talk about the food I feel I must mention that I'm on good terms with the owner/manager and he's always happy to talk to me about his restaurant. He was also kind enough to give me a glass of wine and 10% off the bill. So take my ramblings with a pinch of salt if you must, but I'll do my best to be fair and honest about today's lunch.

There are two lunch menus on offer: 18,000 won for soup/salad, pasta/sandwich of the day, dessert and 23,000 won for soup/salad, meat/fish of the day, dessert. I decided to go for the onion soup and linguine with chicken and artichokes in a cream sauce.



To start, the complimentary bread basket. Good texture, a little soft on the outside, but not a bad little loaf. Greatly enhanced by the normal and anchovy butter provided.



Next up, a French classic: Onion soup topped with a crouton and emmental cheese. Stick to the ribs hearty fare perfect for a winter lunchtime starter. For some reason my first mouthful contained what tasted like a whole peppercorn, but the rest of the soup was unaffected and helped remove the chill from my bones.



The linguine followed, the combination of tender bite sized pieces of chicken with the soft artichoke was a real winner. The pasta was very lightly dressed with the cream sauce, a good example to some of the hideous restaurants where your spaghetti is left to drown in a half litre of cream. A very pleasant pasta dish.



And to finish... Vanilla crème brûlée with raspberry sorbet. Certainly the star of the meal, this cute little burnt custard was slick with vanilla seeds and complimented beautifully by the scoop of sorbet on top.

To find more on Macaroni Market take a look here, here or here. You can visit their website here or give them a call on 02 749 9181.

WARNING: May Contain Improvised Dance

This won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for those of you who are interested in experimental theatre and dance in Seoul, I have some good news.

"Awesome Butoh Warrior" Jeremy Neideck is back in Korea for a few weeks making some interesting theatre with Korean artists.

He has just finished a week of workshops and is now embarking on rehearsals proper. So for those of you interested, here's a glimpse at what he's been working on...

Best North Korean Pasta Place Ever

Sometimes you find the oddest things on twitter. With thanks to @Mardhiahs...

It reminds me of eating spaghetti in Seoul 10 years ago.