If you're in Seoul, you will quickly notice the number of Italian restaurants everywhere. Most western dining experience in Seoul includes pasta and pizza. Okay, I stopped asking myself why...the the first few months of my arrival, haha. Do Koreans really love their noodles and cheese or what? However, with this said not every place that serves Italian does it well. After being disappointed countless of times, I started making/eating Italian at home. Then you might find a few good restaurants ones here and there...
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What is one's Korean American experience with Chinese food? For me (and I'm sure many others may share this experience) it was growing up with Korean/Chinese fusion: jjajangmyun (black bean paste noodles), jjampong (spicy seafood soup) and some form of sweet and sour pork amongst others. Then again, I think this is what's most popular in Korea as well, and many may actually think this is authentic Chinese!
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Korean bibim bap
As strange as it sounds, even though I am currently residing in Seoul, I have not quite scoped out all the greatest Korean restaurants here yet. It seems like it's a continuous hunt, trial and error, or MSG overdose. Then when you do find one where you want to give your own Michelin star rating, I tend to 'hand pick' these favorites and tuck them away in my back pocket. Yeah, I am kind of revealing my bad tendencies, hahaha. However, from this point forward I decided to start unraveling those very places that deserve to be noted for. I would like to begin with Mugunghwa.
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“Creativity is born from authenticity, but it is supported by tradition. An artist does not reinvent the rainbow; he uses the colors in a different way.”
-Pierre Gagnaire
Pierre Gagnaire’s food conceals my peculiarity.
So he’s a 3 michelin star, world renown French chef. Yes. Most of us may know that...In truth, I was a bit too nervous the first time I met him because I wanted to be ‘as professional’ as possible (so this is the before meeting him planning in my head thoughts). Then in actuality, as soon as I saw his smile, I melted. Hahaha. Ok. Not so much in the romantic sense. Chef Gagnaire has a tender soul and a genuine spirit about him. I could see why he’s a natural leader in the kitchen, and why his staff waits for the beat of his drum.
I stole a few peeks of him working with other staff members in the kitchen during a busy lunch hour...impressive. His staff was all open ears with every word he uttered...and they listened with eagerness and a thirst to learn. He visits the Seoul restaurant twice a year, and with each visit, you can feel the excitement.
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