All posts tagged: lunch

Bacon + Guac Springrolls

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I basically wanted to shove some salad into a spring roll but I had a bunch of things in my refrigerator that needed to be eaten.  Why not just throw it all in there? I thought.  Sure! I told myself. I can buy this really thick cut bacon in Korea and it works really well for these rolls but any bacon is going to taste great.  Depending on how many folks you have to eat this will cause the amounts you need to vary.  The ingredient list and directions are quite simple. Ingredients: green onion carrot red pepper yellow pepper sprouts guacamole: 1 avocado, juice of 1/2 a lime, 1/4 cup of diced red onion, cilantro, salt + pepper thick cut bacon spring roll wrappers Directions: Place spring roll wrapper in hot water until soft, place on a flat surface. Add your ingredients and carefully roll tight but not so tight it rips. Hint: I tried different ingredient placement to see what worked best. Put your guac on top of other ingredients and cover it …

|Review| Double Trouble

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In the back alley of the most annoying of all the Gangnam Streets, is a basement restaurant that I heard through the viral grapevine had a fairly accurate representation of a Philadelphia Cheese Steak. I was game. It’s been YEARS since I’ve had a cheesesteak. I lived in Philly for a bit in a previous life and had the fortune to try the sandwich on it’s home turf. When done correctly, it’s a sandwich that melts in your mouth with warmth, salt and cheese. The bread should be warm. The meat should be salty. The cheese should be cheesy.  It’s a real work of art when done right. I’m really happy with this place for one main reason. They don’t pretend to be ultra authentic. It’s obviously a Western/Korean fusion restaurant. They have ddeok and cheese as a dish. The corn on the cob was coated in mayo. The Philly Cheese Steak is actually called a Seoul Cheese Steak. The honesty doesn’t go unnoticed. There’s nothing worse than advertising some authentic place and then biting …

|Revisiting| John Cook’s Deli Meats

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  Oh, how I love this place! I really intended to go and try something other than a sandwich but it’s a warm, summer day and a sandwich just sounded so perfect. I must go back to try the damn bbq…and I will…but at a later date. Today I decided to have a chicken + avocado sandwich on ciabatta bread. It was divine. The bread itself was so soft and had a perfect chewiness. The chicken was chicken breast, not processed, and the avocado was as perfect as that fruit can be. The sweet staff brought two “service” items. For those of you not in Korea, service items are freebies that Koreans love to give and Koreans and Westerners alike love to get. We got a little toast with German style meatloaf and a roasted pepper and sausage salad. Fantastic. And I just want to throw out there that they make their own pickles. So they are tangy and crisp…like they should be. There isn’t a sweetness in sight. Plus, they sell them in big …

Beetroot | Quiche

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As soon as I saw this recipe I wanted it in my stomach. I saw that color and I saw that crust and I knew it had to be made in my kitchen. I wanted to add goat cheese to this recipe but my hookup is all backed up. It’s probably a hard thing being the only organic goat cheese operation in Korea.  So I substituted tofu for the cheese because I just wanted to give the eggs some creaminess.  The crust is whole wheat white flour but I’ve made it several times with white flour. The beets taste mildly sweet and blends with the eggy creaminess and crusty dough like the best of middle school friends. Ingredients: 3 large beets 2 eggs 1 cup of soft tofu 2-3 pieces of cooked bacon | optional fresh oragano salt + pepper to taste recipe for buttery pie crust | I substituted whole wheat white flour and added 1/4 more ice water. Directions: Peel your beets, brush with oil and place in aluminum foil. Bake in an oven …

Le Brunchic | A Review

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  I got it into my head that I just had to try this place after I saw it reviewed on A Fat Girl’s Food Guide to Eating in Korea. I love her blog and all its tidbits about restaurants in Korea as well as recipes. If she liked this brunch, I was pretty confident it was real western food. I only have a couple minor complaints and I’ll just get them out of the way first. This brunch place has amazing decoration. Again, its modern and industrial, like so many of the more trendier places popping up. But there’s not view because its in the basement of a mall. An amazingly beautiful mall. But, a mall nonetheless. Now having googled the restaurant, I see there is a branch in Sinsa-dong on the street level.  I’ll be trying that one next :D. Second, and more importantly, don’t let people order the monstrosity I saw a couple order right next to me.This couple,  who were obviously in the very early stages of dating and super cute, tortured …

Summer Fruits |Salad|

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 I got a beautiful bunch of some summertime fruits from a friend and needed to eat them up quickly. A salad is a rock solid way to throw them all together and eat them while feeling good about your dinner.  The star of this show was the freak on the outside-beauty on the inside dragon fruit. This fruit has a lovely, mild taste and is a bit like a kiwi in texture. It combined like a champ with the other fruits. To eat you just cut off the crazy green outside with a pairing knife. After you cut up the fruit, the fuschia skin simply peels off. It’s all much easier than it looks. I had this salad with a little roasted duck on the side but on its own is also incredibly flavorful. I just love my proteins. For the Salad: Lettuce Red onion Avocado Dragonfruit Nectarine Hazelnuts, halved For the Dressing |for 2|:  1/2 cup of olive oil 1 tablespoon lemon salt + pepper to taste black + white sesame seeds bit of dill   Recipe Adapted From: …

John Cook Deli Meats | A Review

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Directions can be found on their website here: John Cook Deli Meats.    Oh! I am so happy I recognized the name of this delight as I was wondering around the streets near Hyundai Department Store in Apgujeong looking for an awesome meal. I know I must have seen “John Cook” on FB or some blog I’ve read. And how perfect of a lunch was it? It was as perfect as a rainbow tickling a kitty lounging on a cloud. Wow…That’s a bit much. But, they have a wonderful menu and I’m anxious to go back and try their American style BBQ with side dishes. We had a salad and sandwich as we had a big dinner ahead of us. The deco was modern and industrial with beautiful tables and chairs and real flowers for the table. I will tell you how good the meal was by telling you what it was lacking. The salad and sandwich did not include: weird dressings, too much mayo, sweet relish, sweet pickles,thin and soggy bacon , sweet and/or …

Jungsik, New Korean |a review

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  This place is outstanding. Nestled into a quiet area of Sinsa-dong, Gangnam. It’s back to an adorable park. Simple and understated design and deco. It was wonderful. While it is an upscale dining experience and is perfect for a special meal. It is also perfect for a food lovers dining experience. There are two types of tasting menus.  Design Tasting Menu: Where you choose your own appetizer, rice/noodle, fish or meat main and your dessert. |Lunch price 44,000 won| Chef’s Tasting Menu: The chef chooses everything but your main. The main is a choice between a steak or lobster. |Lunch price 66,000 won| We choose the Design Tasting Menu so we could pick our own. I highly recommend this one. Click below to take this food adventure with my friend, Phil and I. The menu. We had many choices. I made almost all of them at Phil’s request. Nice + simple deco. Slate place mats, black table linens. Subtle wall art. Glass walls facing the woods. Phil’s mimosa. I suspected he would really enjoy this. Amuse-bouche: …

Mediterrean Cucumber Salad

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It is time. A diet has come. I have avoided this for most of my chubby adult life. But, I decided that being winded most of the day was not the life I wanted to live anymore :D. So I decided to join a 100 Days of Real Food Challenge. I can still have desserts and bread but everything must be unprocessed. Wish me luck! I feel like I’ll be dreaming of dancing fried chicken for many of the next 100 days.