Vegetarianinkorea

Dubai Take 2

Last week I made my 2nd trip to Dubai restuarant in Itaewon. I remembered my first trip as pleasant, and this one was even better!

 

Good spacious restaurant. Although pretty warm temperature wise.

Clean decorated bathrooms as well.

 

fabulous yellow lentil soup.

 

various salads.

trio of dips including fantastic baba ganoush and hummus.

Their falafel has really improved. Held up well. Love the sesame seeds.

I don't remember what this was, some sort of meat kebab dish.

(who cares what its called, its meat! haha)

Dubai is a block down from the fire station in Itaewon, above the UN Club.

Petra

(this is one of my articles for the October issue of Groove magazine)

Petra is a Middle Eastern restaurant located on top of the hill closest to Noksapyeong station. Yaser Ghanayem opened Petra in 2004. I sat down with Yaser for a late dinner one evening and he was very open about his life and his love of the middle eastern culture.

“At Petra, we don't sell food- we sell culture. We sell Taste. We sell heritage.” says Yaser.

I've been in Seoul for about 10 months now, and I have been hearing great things about Petra seemingly since I got off the plane. Their food is expertly cooked by a professional Levantine chef that has been with Petra since 2005. Nour Jmbarak was named the “Best Arabian in South Korea” three years running. Mr. Jmbarak runs a clean, consistent kitchen. The falafel crisp not greasy, the tabouleh is amazingly fresh and flavorful and the hummus is topped with sumac. “God gave me a great Chef”, Yaser told me during our talk. Being completely satisfied with every aspect of my meal, I would have to agree with him.

Yaser has fresh seasonings shipped in every 2 months. There is a good chance that if you have had middle eastern food in Seoul, either at a hotel or a cafe, the seasonings came from Petra. Yaser Ghanayem is more than just a restaurant owner, he is a savy businessman. He belongs to the Seoul Tourism Association and the Korea-Arab Society. Yaser has entertained all types of customers from members of the Korean National Assembly to comedians such as Roh Hong Chaol. The Royal Court of the King of Jordan has also dined at Petra.

I think its safe to say that Petra certainly lives up to its reputation as a top notch middle eastern dining experience.

My meal was taken from the appetizer listings because they(just like other Middle Eastern restaurants in Seoul) did not have a vegetarian entree listed on their menu. However, I pressed Yaser on this serious neglect issue and he said that his chef will gladly prepare their couscous dishes with vegetables and no meat. Yaser also said he plans to add a few vegetarian entrees to the menu in the coming months. Hurray for the vegetarian movement!I applaud Petra for their willingness to adapt to the growing vegetarian population, and I hope that other Middle Eastern restaurants will follow suit.

Yaser Ghaneyem is co-owner of a new upscale middle-eastern restaurant called Saffron. The restaurant, which will open publicly within the next few weeks, is described to be a masterpiece of style and sophistication.

No time for a fancy sit down dinner? Check out Petra's shwarma shop in Itaewon across from the fire station.

If you are not already a frequent customer of Petra, make a plan to go there for dinner soon. Yaser can be found helping out in the restaurant most days and he can assist you in putting together the perfect Middle Eastern meal, including showing you how to prepare each bite for maximum enjoyment.

Petra Restaurant
552 Itaewon-Dong,
02) 790-4433 or 019-840-9630

If I ate meat....

I would run to Itaweon and get a chicken wrap from Ankara Picnic.

 

 

There was a 10 person deep line waiting for these lamb and chicken wraps. And my husband and his buddy loved their first wrap (lamb) so much they WENT BACK FOR ANOTHER WRAP.

Wraps are $4,000KRW a piece. (A little more than $3 USD). And are filled with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles,a creamy Turkish yogurt sauce and a spicy sauce. You can request your own preferred level of spicy.

The spell of the roasting chicken was nearly enough to turn me in to a meat eater.

Nearly. 

Ankara Picnic is located directly across the street from The Hard Rock Cafe.

Dinner with Dan

A few weeks ago, I met up with Dan from Seoul Eats. 

(And yes, dining with Dan is much like dining with....oh say....Alton Brown or Bobby Flay. Well, at least so said my nerves!)

In addition to be the creator of Seoul Eats website, Dan is the food and dining editor for Groove magazine. He's just as fantastic in real life as he is on his website so if you arent already following him, you should. It matters not if you are in Seoul Korea or a little town in Iowa, his writing and photography are inspiring and witty.

I'd love to tell you all about my (delish) dinner, but I'm saving that for a future issue of Groove!

Arabian Restaurant: Thumbs down for vegetarians

I had heard good things about Arabian Restaurant in Itaweon.

I suppose I should have known better, since the recommendations came from meat-eaters, but I do love middle-eastern food, so we braved a giant monsoon and headed to Arabian for dinner.

Our group of 5 were the only customers of the evening. The advantage being that we received attentive service from the Iraqi owner and his staff. We also were given a few freebies like lentil soup to start out meal, and an Arabian tea to finish our meal. Compliments of the owner, for selecting his restaurant on a rainy rainy night.

Lentil soup to start...

Now, this soup was good. they added in rice and celery to the mix, both of which really helped to bulk it up into a delicious starter for your middle-eastern taste buds.

Was it the best lentil soup I have had in a middle-eastern restaurant in Korea? No. Dubai's soup is superior.

But, I was still pleased with the soup. I only wish the soup had been just the beginning of a wonderful meal.

Not so.

It took a long time for our dishes to come out. I think there were so timing issues going on in the kitchen, because I saw some of our dishes sitting on the counter for at least 10 minutes before they were served to us. As the only customers for the evening, I expected our food a little faster, but the group I was with was very relaxed, so I went with the flow.

My "eggplant salad". Also known as Baba Ganoush, but the menu opted to list it as eggplant salad...

This was very good. The peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant tasted very fresh, and I liked that it was chunky, more salad like. Not necessarily the dish I think of when baba ganoush comes to mind, but their interpretation was good.

The hummus...

Bland, lack-luster. Wasn't even interested in finishing it, and I am normally the one sliding my piece of bread around on the plate to get every last bite.

The Falalel....

Very greasy, way to crispy on the outside, lacked flavor on the inside.

Can someone explain to me why middle-eastern restaurants in Korea serve french fries with so many of their dishes? It seems so out of place and tacky to me. And its not as if the fries are any good either. Tasteless and cold.

And yes, that was pretty much the only vegetarian options on the menu.

My husband (a meat eater) got the lamb steak dish...

He said it was "good", but room temp by the time it was served.

Others at the table got the Lamb Biryani, and I think this is the dish this restaurant is known for as my dining partners gave it rave reviews.

We finished our evening off with complimentary hot Arabian tea.

Fantastic.

The prices were fair, the ambiance was top notch, but the vegetarian dishes were big disappointments.

My favorite vegetarian dishes can be found at Dubai and Ali Baba. You wont be disappointed.

Restaurant Review: Dubai

Hey! Guess what? We went to another Middle Eastern restaurant for date night!

Located on the 2nd floor on the main street in Itaewon is a large Middle Eastern restaurant named Dubai.

Restaurants are usually small in Korea because space is at such a premium. Dubai defies the odds (or rather pays a hefty rent) for a large airy dining room.

The menu lacked a variety of vegetarian choices, but had some staple favorites like hummus and falafel.

 

 

We started out with a sampler of hummus, babaganoush and yogurt dips with fresh hot flat bread.

I then moved on to a amazing lentil soup (although it looks like like a yellow split pea doesnt it?).

I suspect (although I have no confirmation) that it was made with a chicken broth base, but it was good so I decided to overlook that possibility.

Easily one of the best soups I have ever had. At $3,000KRW (a little less than $3USD) a bowl, it was well worth it. 

For my main meal, I had the falafel plate.

 

This was the best falafel I have ever had in my entire life. BEST EVER.

It came out piping hot. The outside was crispy, and the inside was very moist and flavorful. I wrapped bites of falafel in the flat bread, occasionally with a dab of one of the dips, and popped it in my mouth. So good.

So good in fact, I only offered Jason half of one piece of falafel! Ha!

Jason ordered the lamb shish kebab.

 

I thought it was a little...tacky? that it was served with french fries, but Jason said the meat was delicious. 

Dubai- I will be back for more falafel and lentil soup!

Hey! Guess what? We went to another Middle Eastern restaurant for date night!

Located on the 2nd floor on the main street in Itaewon is a large Middle Eastern restaurant named Dubai.

Restaurants are usually small in Korea because space is at such a premium. Dubai defies the odds (or rather pays a hefty rent) for a large airy dining room.

The menu lacked a variety of vegetarian choices, but had some staple favorites like hummus and falafel.

 

 

We started out with a sampler of hummus, babaganoush and yogurt dips with fresh hot flat bread.

I then moved on to a amazing lentil soup (although it looks like like a yellow split pea doesnt it?).

I suspect (although I have no confirmation) that it was made with a chicken broth base, but it was good so I decided to overlook that possibility.

Easily one of the best soups I have ever had. At $3,000KRW (a little less than $3USD) a bowl, it was well worth it. 

For my main meal, I had the falafel plate.

 

This was the best falafel I have ever had in my entire life. BEST EVER.

It came out piping hot. The outside was crispy, and the inside was very moist and flavorful. I wrapped bites of falafel in the flat bread, occasionally with a dab of one of the dips, and popped it in my mouth. So good.

So good in fact, I only offered Jason half of one piece of falafel! Ha!

Jason ordered the lamb shish kebab.

 

I thought it was a little...tacky? that it was served with french fries, but Jason said the meat was delicious. 

Dubai- I will be back for more falafel and lentil soup!

Ladies night out in Itaeweon

My weekend started Friday night with a Ladies Night out on the town with my gal friends.

In total, I believe there was 7.

While I have hosted 2 ladies night's at my apartment, this was our first outing. Since I organized the event, I chose the restaurant and -suprise suprise- I went with Indian! Of course! I chose Chaakra in Itaewon, the alley behind the Hamilton hotel.

They were having a big Buffet, so for only roughly $13 per person we got to try a variety of appetizers, salads, main courses and desserts. Great deal.

My first course was composed of a variety of Indian salads and a creamy tomato soup.

The salads were fresh and good, but the soup was amazing. I think the key to it being so amazing was fresh chicken stock, but I am pretending  that's not the case, as I am a vegetarian. Oh well. It was good.

Round two was saffron rice and a chick pea and spinach main dish.

Our server, a very courteous Indian man, brought out fresh hot Naan to our table and this big plate of Chicken Tandoori.

The dessert choices...

Of course, I had to sample it all.

Some of our group of gals had never tried Indian food before and I think the buffet offered them a wide range of tasty choices. Sure, buffet food often pales in comparison to freshly made to order meals, but all in all, it was a good choice for us. I will definitely go back to Chakraa for the hot delicious Naan and them extremely polite server/manager.

Next, we headed to a nearby bar called The Bungalow for a drink.

 

This place was very cool. It was made up of 3 levels and offered patrons the option of kicking off their shoes and enjoying their drinks in sand pits and hammocks! We choice to sit on a porch decorated with paper laterns.

I enjoyed a very lightweight pina colada.

We all agreed our drinks were too expensive and too watered down to stay for another round, so we headed off to bar #2.

A street over found as at a bar called Bedlam.


I got a mocha martini, but after a few small sips I decided it was waaay too strong for me.

Look, our feet!

This bar was INSANELY hot inside, so we decided to switch to one last bar, an English pub that Kristen and I have been to before called The Wolfhound.

They make the best fresh mojitos around.

We had an awesome night on the town. I'll tell you what! Moms NEED time out like this just to be women!

Ali Baba's in Itaewon

Jason was home on Tuesday and we arranged to have the nanny come at noon time and watch the kids for the afternoon so we could spend some time together.

I had my sights set on an honest to goodness Mexican restuarant named Amigos, that I had heard good reviews about. Mmmm....mexican food.........

So, we hopped the subway to Itaewon.

Many restaurants choose Mondays as their day to be closed, so we were shocked when we discovered Amigos was closed on Tuesdays! What bad luck.

So we wandered around and saw a middle Eastern restaurant (big surprise I know!).

Ali Baba- 3rd floor of that building, see the large sign on the side?

We were the only lunch guests, but I bet this place is full at night. I can just picture an awesome night time dinner here with a group of friends.

(want to come?)

We started with a plate of Babaganoush (eggplant spread) and warm pita bread.

Oh my. It was good. And pretty too huh?

We followed that with a salad of tomatoes, cabbage, onions, garlic, oil and vinegar and some mysterious but very delicious spices.

Jason chose the chicken shawarma and and I had a falafel sandwich.

(We sat by the window and the noon sunlight streaming in really helped capture some great food shots!)

SO GOOD. SO SO GOOD.

Lunch with a friend

I've got a little group of mom friends that I am now close with. This is not to say that I am not open to making other friends, just that now I have a core group of friends. I've met them thru playgroup meetups, and we all have children ranging from 11 months-4 years.

Of the girls in my core group is Kristen. She and her husband have been to our house for dinner, and we've been to theirs. They have an 11 month old son. Kristen and I decided we needed a lunch out and she picked me up Monday (my kids stayed at home with the Nanny, her son stayed at home her husband) and we headed to Itaewon in search of- what else? Indian food.

We had intentions of going to Petras, the Mediterranean restaurant I had been trying to find when we ended up at Alsaba the Indian/Pakistani restaurant. But, after located Petras, we discovered they were closed on Mondays (as many places here are) and drove around the hilly neighborhoods of Itaewon in search of another middle-eastern restaurant. We headed to the subsection of Itaewon that houses the one and only Mosque in Seoul. We knew there would be middle eastern food there.

This street held several restaurants, ranging from Turkish to Indian.

We found a little Muslim run restaurant and decided to give it a try.

Funny story. So, Kristen and I had to go to the bathroom. She went first, and the waitress escorted her out of the restaurant, around the corner and to a building two shops down. When she came back, I asked her how the bathroom was, because I needed to go, and she warned me that the toilet was just a hole in the floor. She was not kidding. I contemplated going back to the restaurant to get my camera and take a picture of said "toilet" but thought that might be a little too touristy. Or Rude.

FYI: I did not pee on myself. Very proud of that fact given my choice to wear tights that day.

For an appetizer  I ordered a salad.

For the meal, I ordered a Chana Curry ( chickpeas, onions, garlic, curry seasoning) and Kristin ordered some sort of beef kebab.

My chana curry (very similar to the chana daal I had at Alsaba) was so savory and delicious. The chick peas just melted in my mouth. There was a heat to the sauce, but it was just the right strength, strong enough to give it a little kick, but not so intense that I needed multiple glasses of water.

I had so much rice and chana curry and naan (bread) left over I had a full meal the next day for lunch!

After we left the restaurant, we headed to Starbucks for a pick-me-up.

Yes, the Starbucks has valet parking! And yes, we did.

Do you know how delicious latte's are? I did not know before. But I do now. Mmmmmm.

Kristen's husband and son stopped by for a visit...

I think she found it a little odd that I photographed our entire day together.... Oh well.

Middle Eastern Food- I wish I could quit you!

I love Middle Eastern Food. Be it Indian, Mediterranean or some other Middle variety, I love it all.

Middle Eastern food seems to have the most (and most delicious) vegetarian choices of all.

For our Saturday date night, I wanted to try a Middle Eastern restaurant in Itaewon. I found out about it by reading a review from a website run by an American living in Korea. It's my go-to website for finding great places to eat in Korea.

(dressed and ready to go out)

The restaurant was called Petras, and was known for great dishes including babaganoush and falafel. I had directions from the subway stop nearest the resturant, but we ended up sharing a cab with our friends Jake and his wife Jen, and- well- the directions didnt match up and we couldnt easily find the restaurant.

(Itaewon at night)

(In the back of the cab)

No matter! Itaewon has many resturants of the Middle Eastern variety! After walking about a block, we saw a Pakistani and Indian restaurant by the name of Alsaba and decided to try it out.

What a great find!

The decor was beautiful. Persian rugs, tall plants, ulphostered seating and thick white table linens.

(Jake and his wife Jen, new to Middle Eastern food)

(seriously! look at the fabric! This place is top notch!)

My glass of house red wine. Very good.

Appetizers. On the left is a cucumber, tomato and onion salad, and on the right is a samosa, an Indian potato and veggie stuffed pastry. We got dish of each of the appetizers and shared it.

Bottom dish is saffron rice, diagonally up left is my Chana Dal, to the right of that is Jason's Chicken Ginger, two baskets of nan bread, the big black bowl is Jake's Mutton Karahi, and Jen got Chicken Multani (very top of the picture)

Here is a close up of my dish...

If you dont feel like enlarging the menu picks, my dish was a "split chick peas, cooked with tomatoes, onions and a curry sauce".

SO SO GOOD.

For dessert...

Gulabjaman- sweet milk balls served in a thick sugary syrup, with dates on the side.

Think, soaked doughnut holes. But way better. Very very delicious.

This restaurant, the food, the amazingly service, the ambience, fantastic!

Unlike the first Indian Restaurant we went to in Korea (for V-day) this place was owned and run by Middle Easterners instead of Koreans. The menu was more extensive, the service was much for attentive and helpful and the ambience was far superior is style and warmth.

All that (two appetizers, our two meals, two alcoholic beverages, and the dessert) for $40. AMAZING.

We will definetly go back!

I love Middle Eastern Food. Be it Indian, Mediterranean or some other Middle variety, I love it all.

Middle Eastern food seems to have the most (and most delicious) vegetarian choices of all.

For our Saturday date night, I wanted to try a Middle Eastern restaurant in Itaewon. I found out about it by reading a review from a website run by an American living in Korea. It's my go-to website for finding great places to eat in Korea.

(dressed and ready to go out)

The restaurant was called Petras, and was known for great dishes including babaganoush and falafel. I had directions from the subway stop nearest the resturant, but we ended up sharing a cab with our friends Jake and his wife Jen, and- well- the directions didnt match up and we couldnt easily find the restaurant.

(Itaewon at night)

(In the back of the cab)

No matter! Itaewon has many resturants of the Middle Eastern variety! After walking about a block, we saw a Pakistani and Indian restaurant by the name of Alsaba and decided to try it out.

What a great find!

The decor was beautiful. Persian rugs, tall plants, ulphostered seating and thick white table linens.

(Jake and his wife Jen, new to Middle Eastern food)

(seriously! look at the fabric! This place is top notch!)

My glass of house red wine. Very good.

Appetizers. On the left is a cucumber, tomato and onion salad, and on the right is a samosa, an Indian potato and veggie stuffed pastry. We got dish of each of the appetizers and shared it.

Bottom dish is saffron rice, diagonally up left is my Chana Dal, to the right of that is Jason's Chicken Ginger, two baskets of nan bread, the big black bowl is Jake's Mutton Karahi, and Jen got Chicken Multani (very top of the picture)

Here is a close up of my dish...

If you dont feel like enlarging the menu picks, my dish was a "split chick peas, cooked with tomatoes, onions and a curry sauce".

SO SO GOOD.

For dessert...

Gulabjaman- sweet milk balls served in a thick sugary syrup, with dates on the side.

Think, soaked doughnut holes. But way better. Very very delicious.

This restaurant, the food, the amazingly service, the ambience, fantastic!

Unlike the first Indian Restaurant we went to in Korea (for V-day) this place was owned and run by Middle Easterners instead of Koreans. The menu was more extensive, the service was much for attentive and helpful and the ambience was far superior is style and warmth.

All that (two appetizers, our two meals, two alcoholic beverages, and the dessert) for $40. AMAZING.

We will definetly go back!