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Last weekend I was fortunate enough to go to one of Korea's most famous restaurants the Songchoo Gamagoll(click for link). This particular restaurant specializes in Galbi, which are short savory butterfly thin beef ribs are served raw but you can cook them quickly on the table grill. Normally I try to stay away from eating meat on a daily basis but every time I eat Galbi it's soo good that I end up eating way too much.



Of course this meal could not have been complete without the thirteen side dishes that came with it. Among these were Korean style mashed potatoes, two types of salad, garlic, stew, rice, lettuce (for wraps) and a traditional sauce to dip your cooked meat in after grilling.




The Menu-------------------------
Gamagoll Galbi (Marinated and Grilled Beef Ribs): 32,000 won / $26 USD
Cheonhaeyeom Galbi (Grilled Beef Ribs Marinated in Mineral Salt): 38,000 won /$31 USD
Teukseon Yukhoe (Sliced Raw Beef): 35,000 won / $29 USD
Naengmyeon (Cold Buckwheat Noodles): 6,000 won / $5 USD

Now at first this might seem a little step but considering the service that you get with your meal is simply amazing. There are many tables throughout this establishment and their is about one waitress to every 3-4 tables. So as are meal was cooking our waitress either came to fill our glasses, flip the meat for us, cut our meat for us, or bring us more side dishes. Which is A LOT for an American like myself who isn't used to seeing this extra effort in a restaurant. And to clarify, when I say 'us' there were nine people in our party that sat down for a meal and we each were tended to. Since the food was replenished after eating (with no charge) you can easily see why I was stuffed :)


How to get there-------------------------
Now the particular restaurant I went to was in Yangju-Si. The address is Gyeonggi-do Yangju Jangheung-myeon Bugok-ri 624-34. To get there you can take the Seoul Ring Expressway, get off at Songchu IC, and go towards Uijeongbu on National Road No. 39.

Local Transportation-------------------------
Bus: Take Bus No. 23 at Uijeongbu Station, Bus No. 360 or 34 at Uijeongbu Ganeung Station, or Bus No. 23, 34, 360, 7724, or 704 at Gupabal Station, and get off at Songchu Elementary School or in front of a Zelkova Tree

Lastly our evening was concluded with some ice cream for the kids and so Soju for the adults. There outside seating is also gorgeous. Where those who would like to enjoy a casual first date might consider moving their meals outside.


When I took this picture I laughed because it greatly identifies the two most important parts of the South Korean diet. The great majority of all the food I have tried has had a spicy option. They will serve Jalapeños or chili peppers as a side dish. While that is easier to pass up if you know the proper phrase you can always enjoy a nice glass of Soju. At first I couldn't stand this drink but I think it has grown on me. It is the equivalent of drinking a sweet vodka.

With that I'm off. I will write again soon. So until then, stay well, be healthy and Thanks for reading!

Joe - OUT!!

Now I'm not actually in Busan, unfortunately, but I did have a chance last weekend to taste what the food would be like if I ever decided to go. Considering that Busan is a beautiful port city in Southeastern Korea and Galbi refers to traditional Korean dishes which usually require grilling, I thought "How could this get any better?!"

To begin, I had the opportunity to go to lunch with my good friend Sarah. This was cool because since she has taught longer than I have, is part Korean and speaks Korean I used this as a chance to ask a lot of questions about types of food and etiquette. She should be given a medal, because normally my inquisitiveness is bad enough for even Mary Poppins to tell me to "take a teaspoon of sugar, and shut the Hell up!"



Since this restaurant was located in Itaewon I was comfortable navigating my way around. After attempting to find a good spot for lunch Sarah and I came across 3 potentials after walking down a busy alley. Each of us were feeling pretty indecisive at the time so we chose this particular restaurant by playing a very sophisticated game of Rock, Paper, Scissors (which I lost).

Once inside I ordered a bowl of Mixed Noodles while Sarah ordered the Bulgogi. Bulgogi is typically made of thin slices of sirloin or cuts of beef. The meat is usually pre-marinated marinated in soy sauce, sesame seed oil, garlic and sugar before it is grilled. What you have in the end is this tender meat mixed with vegetables and served with.....




....you guessed it, Side dishes! Coming to understanding that all restaurants in South Korea offer you side dishes I still get excited when I see them come out with a tray of bowls for you. They really do spoil you with food and side dishes out here. In this picture we have some spinach, lettuce, coleslaw, kimchi, garlic, bean dip, sliced radish and bean sprouts.



And this is Sarah showing me how it's done.



This was my main dish Mixed Noodles! They weren't spicy at all, but the noodles tasted kinda funky. They were very thin and chewy, not my favorite. After about 4 bites I returned to the side dishes and the Bulgogi.



Regrettably my fixation with the city of Busan was not enough to deter the veraciousness of my taste buds. I will have to rate this restaurant as FAIR. Although the food was cheap and the helpings were plentiful, it doesn't really matter if you can't enjoy the food. But hey if your don't believe me go check it out for yourselves.

Its Itaewon, located near the Hard Rock Cafe. Its to the left of the this building...



... and down this alley short alley way.



Thanks for reading, take care of yourselves and until the next blog....

Joe - OUT!!

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity of doing two really neat things. The first was meeting some really cool people that are friends of my coworker. And the second was that I had the chance to experience the Korean rendition of American foods.

Both of these were novel to me because since this was my first month here in South Korea I jumped at the chance to meet new English speaking Foreigners. Plus making new friends is the equivalent of finding a 50 dollar bill in your couch (kinda gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling on the inside). Plus I was curious to see how this American style breakfast tasted and if it would bring back any memories of home.

I first made sure to hike up Bulgosan mountain prior to meeting up with everyone, so that way I would have an healthy appetite. Once I finally arrived in Itaewon it was still relatively early in the day. After we all met up at a local Starbucks (yeah, go figure) we headed to the All American Diner for a midday breakfast.

I know, I know what you're thinking. Joey just shut the hell up and tell us what you ate. Now I had this delightful little dish:



Two words....Simply Amazing!! I'm serious, I've been to Canada so I know what a good pancake tastes like. Even the sausages were up to par. Plump, juicy, and not burnt. My only complaint was that there could have been a wheat toast option then it would have been perfect.

Now the best thing about this place is that it doesn't just serve breakfast. It also prepares sandwiches, burgers and the like. All of which, I am sure, are as delicious as their breakfast menu. On that note I rated this place as EXCELLENT because of it's diverse array of foods that they serve at any meal time. A case and point; this monstrous dessert was only $5 USD. Unfortunately I didn't pick one up. If I weren't making so much headway with this new diet I would have definitely picked up two....what? One for now and one for later Baby! ;)



Now these great folks were cool enough to waste some of their day hanging out with me. It was really good to chat it up with these kats (From left to right: Sarah, Clint, Alec, Leana and yours truly).




Another good weekend for the books. As far as I'm concerned everybody wins. I get to eat great food and meet new people while you get the inside scoop. Before you run off and pick up some food yourself (because I know that you're hungry now) don't forget to leave a comment. Take care of yourselves and until the next blog....

Joe - OUT!!

Here it is, the moment that you all have been waiting for....Korean Food! This particular place is very close to where I stay and teach at. Not only is the location good but food is Great as well!!

The service is really fast and the people here are very friendly. Clint and I went to grab a quick bite to eat before our evening classes started, and we were happy to find place somewhat empty. Due to the fact that this small restaurant is always busy.

We got an order of Kimchi Chigae. It's really good stuff, think of a spicy beef stew broth mixed with sliced kimchi (cabbage), vegetables and dok-bok-ee (rice cake).




With it came plenty of side dishes. Starting from the back (from left to right) we received cooked eggs, kimchi, fried tofu, (middle) seasoned roots of local plants, dried fish, and finally rice.



At the end of our meal we were able to wash up with a complimentary wet napkin. I normally would have just used the tissues behind it but they were nice enough to provide us with the wet napkin.



Now the best part of this whole experience was the cost of this little feast. All of this was only 4,000 won ($3.62 USD). Needless to say that I will be coming here more often when I don't feel like cooking.

Let me know what you think and be sure to leave a comment!

Joe - OUT!!