Vegetarianinkorea

Default Dining

I planned to check out H Diner earlier this week for lunch. I had heard good things from Dan over at SeoulEats. H Diner is closeby (to me) and had a promising menu.

Unfortunately, they must be closed on Tuesdays! TUESDAYS! Craziness. I was very sad. As I was short on time, I checked out a next door Korean lunch spot instead.

 

The Korean restaurant offered up the normal fare. I ordered bibimbap...

and was so so sad it didnt come in a hot stone bowl! I love the crunchy rice!

And my dining partner and I shared some buckwheat padjeon (like a Korean pancake).

It was fantastic dipped into a soy and rice vinegar mixture.

 

Not a bad lunch, but not the lunch I wanted!

(both this Korean restaurant and H-Diner are located across from the Capitol Hotel on the outskirts of Itaewon. There is a Starbucks on the corner)

Food Photos

This little crab dish was brought out along with other kimchi dishes at the Samgyeopsal restaurant we dined in last weekend.

While I couldnt stop staring at the tiny little crab bodies, I also wanted to push the dish to the other side of the table- because honestly- those little beady small suction cup things on the ride side of the plate were freaking me OUT. 

And no, we didnt eat them.

Reader submission: Korean food in the DC area!

From time to time, foodie friends will submit articles for VegetarianinKorea, this one was by my friend Stefanie. It is her first visit to a Korean restaurant! I love hearing all those "first time" stories! Interesting perspective. Thanks Stefanie!)

Korean Food in the DC area!

Chalica did a shout-out a while back asking for folks to write a guest blog for her food blog. Me, being the wanna-be foodie that I am, said, “ooh, me, me!” However, I don’t live in Korea. I live in the U.S.A.  – Washington, DC area.  So, she wrote me back and suggested I find a local Korean restaurant.

I did a Washington Post search (I totally trust its food critic, Tom Sietsema), and his review was pretty good of this local restaurant, Yechon.

We headed out to this Annandale restaurant. It’s right off the highway, so getting here, on a weekend, wasn’t too bad (in DC we care about traffic - the closer, the better. Free parking? Bonus points!)

The outside makes Yechon look like it’s having an identity crisis. The wood paneling makes it look like a Texas Roadhouse. The “open 24 hours” sign gives you a giggle. What, are they serving bacon and eggs in there? When you walk in, though, it has the traditional seating you would expect to find in a Korean restaurant.

We ordered tuna sushi as an appetizer. Turns out we didn’t need to do that. Our server brought out about 10 small dishes for tasting. I wonder if this is common in Korean restaurants. The dishes (honestly, not sure what they all were) consisted of soup, veggies, rice and noodles.

The menu is broken up into tradition Korean dishes and Japanese dishes. I stuck with the Korean choices, ordering the Bibim Bap: rice mixed with assorted vegetables and rice. 
 

My dish came out in a stone bowl. The presentation was beautiful. The rice on the edges of the bowl was crispy, giving the dish some much-needed texture. It was a very generous portion; tough to eat it all after all the small tasting dishes. I was a bit disappointed, and surprised by the lack of seasoning my dish had, though. I’m assuming I should have used more of the sauces that were provided to me. 

I noticed a lot of folks ordering the Korean BBQ - looked rather appetizing. I may just have to go back and give it a try.

Any restaurant the gives free appetizers is a winner in my book. An extra bonus for those as good as Yechon’s. Overall, this was a fun dining experience. For those of you interested in trying new things, and have a group of friends that want to come with you, I would suggest Yechon.

Visit Yechon at 4121 Hummer Road, Annadale, VA 22003 and online at http://www.yechonrestaurant.com/.

(Do you have a food story to submit? Email me a vegetarianinkorea AT gmail DOT com)

Korean Street Food: Worms anyone?

Known as "Beondegi" in Korean, this is a big pot of silk worm larvae that a street vendor is cooking up .

For people to buy.

And then eat.

Yes, seriously.

As seen at a a Korean buffet...

Yum or Yuck ?

Lunch on a Korean road trip

Last Friday I had the pleasure of touring the Hite Beer Brewery.

 (don't worry, I will share more on that later!)

As part of our day adventure, we stopped at a Korean restaurant for lunch. 

 

Our restaurant had us sitting on small mats on the floor in front of a low table.

 

My short little legs fit just fine at the table, but I think a few of the others in our group could use some yoga classes.

There were a few kimchi dishes out on the table upon or arrival.

 

(Clockwise from top left: bean sprouts, gochujang- hot pepper paste, fish cake, radish kimchi)

I am not a fan of the radish kimchi, and was happy when they brought out cabbage kimchi later on.

The meat-eaters in the group ate Kalbi Tang...

 

And the lone vegetarian in the group (me!) had the Doenjang  Jjigae soup.

 

It has tofu, mushrooms, onions and bean paste among a few other Korean ingredients. I have had much better Doenjang.

Everyone was given a dish of rice too. 

There was also a salad on the table. 

 

I claimed that as my own.

For my husband and I to eat, it was only 11,000KRW total. So certainly not a bad deal. 

I have no idea the name of the restuarant, or its location. It was about an hour and a half outside of Seoul, and maybe 30 minutes from the Hite Factory. 

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Good experience, but I was seriously hungry about an hour later!

Bibimbop in Namdaemun

What is bibimbap you say? Well, here's wikipedia to answer that for us!

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Bibimbap is a popular Korean dish. The word literally means "mixed rice" or "mixed meal."

Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot.

Vegetables commonly used in bibimbap include julienned cucumber, zucchini, mu (daikon), mushrooms, doraji (bellflower root), and gim, as well as spinach, soybean sprouts, and gosari (bracken fern stems). Dubu (tofu), either plain or sautéed, or a leaf of lettuce may be added, or chicken or seafood may be substituted for beef. For visual appeal, the vegetables are often placed so that adjacent colors complement each other.

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I know it might seem odd, but it is SO SO good. You add on a spicy red sauce and mix all the ingredients together and it is YUMMY.