The Bap (더밥)

With holiday is over and school kickin' off this week, everything is (almost) back to the normal routine for me. After a couple of weeks of holiday, I think it'll take me some time to adjust back to the school & work schedule. I kinda wish we have longer holidays like the rest of regular university in Korea but, oh well. 

Anyways, lately I've been craving for Soybean Paste Stew (Dwenjang Jjigae 된장 찌개) everyday and can't get enough of it for some reason :P So sharing one of my favorite places to get a traditional Korean meal such as the soybean paste stew, The Bap (더밥). Located around Hyehwa Station, this place is famous for their Stews (Jjigae 찌개) and delicious side dishes (Banchan 반찬). Ordered a couple of things from the menu, everything was great and the Dwenjang Jjigae didn't disappoint. And their eggplant side dish has probably became my number one favorite banchan. We'll see if anything will top that eggplant in the near future :)

New England Lobster

Today, I went on a little lunch date with my mom at New England Lobster Market & Eatery in Burlingame, CA. We found this place through yelp and decided to give it a try since we didn't know what to have for lunch. The ambiance of the place is really nice. They have plenty of tables on different rooms that you can sit on, so you wouldn't have to worry to have to fight for tables during lunch/dinner time (although I read the place got pretty crowded on weekends so you might have to wait for tables). We ordered the Dressed Lobster Roll, 1lb Maine Lobster Platter, and Lobster Corn Chowder to share and they were delicious. The lobster roll and the chowder have plenty of big lobster chunks and the lobster meat is very fresh. Eating it plain is good, but we squeezed some lemon juice to the meat and dip it into the melted butter that came with the order and we liked it better :) Also, they have a market section where you can buy fresh lobsters and east coast shellfish right from the restaurant.  

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Dal Sik Tak (달식탁)

To start off, this was the first time I went to a restaurant that has a huge horse lamp statue in the middle of the dining room. So that left quite an impression. Dal Sik Tak (달식탁) is a traditional Korean restaurant that is located at Garosu-gil (가로수길), Sinsa-dong (신사동). The restaurant is located in the basement of a red building. I've past by this place a couple of times, but since I can't really see the inside of the restaurant, I never really tried eating there. I always find it too intimidating to try a new place that I can't see what the inside looks like :P But then, one of my friend recommended to try this place since apparently it's a pretty famous restaurant in Sinsa area. So I went with two of my friends and tried it out.

The food was really good. They serve traditional Korean food, but the taste is very different than the Korean food that I've eaten before. We ordered Mushroom & Tofu Hot Pot (버섯 두부 전골), Grilled Marinated Beef served with Cabbage and Greens (차돌박이 배추쌈), Mixed Rice with Dried Octopus and Bean Paste (부추문어쌈장밥), and Soy Bean Paste Soup (된장찌개). Each dish has a very distinct flavor one from the other so it was nice to try different flavor combinations. Despite the color of the Hot Pot, all the dishes we ordered weren't spicy at all. If you're looking for a place to eat in Sinsa neighborhood, this place is a good place to go to.

DAL SIK TAK (달식탁)

서울 강남구 신사동 541-11 지하1층
541-11 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

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Sinchon Samgyetang • 신촌영양센터

Samgyetang (삼계탕) is probably one of the most well known Korean food amongst the local as well as foreigners. I happened to went to a restaurant that, in my opinion, has better samgyetang than the famous Tosokchon (토속촌) samgyetang that is very well-known amongst tourists. But then again, it could be just me :) I actually ended up going to this place because one of my Korean friend took me there. The place is called Sinchon Nutrition Center (신촌영양센터). I've been here a couple of times and the two things I've ordered are the Samgyetang (삼계탕) and 삼채닭한마리 and they are both delicious. I think the thing that won me over is their broth—it's so light but tasty. Their kimchi is also good, but oh so spicy. I know Koreans usually eat these during the hot summer days to fight the hot weather, but it's even better to eat it during cold days in my opinion :) 

Sinchon Nutrition Center (신촌영양센터)

Address: 서울특별시 서대문구 창천동 13-37 1층
Telephone: 02-312-5460
Hours: 10:30 - 22:30 (Everyday)

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Sinchon Hwangso Gopchang • 신촌황소곱창

Visited Sinchon Hwangso Gopchang, which apparently one of the most popular gopchang 맛집 around Sinchon area. I was looking forward trying out gopchang, but my friend who ordered for all of us ended up ordering daechang (대창) (large intestine) instead (I think). Anyway, after our order came out, we have to wait for a good while. After a couple of minutes of waiting, the ahjummoni came over to our table and pretty much cooked the whole thing. After that, it's another couple of minutes of waiting time again. I think this is probably not a good place to go when you really hungry and want to eat right away.

After they say it's all cooked and ready to be eaten, we started eating. It's my first time eating daechang and it certainly has an interesting taste. It has rubbery and chewy texture and after eating a couple of pieces, it's very oily. I'm not quite sure if I like it or hate it. I might need to give it another go :p Anyway, we also ordered the fried rice, so after we ate all the daechang, they cooked the fried rice in front of us. Next time I come here, I'll try their famous gopchang for sure. 

Sinchon Hwangso Gopchang • 신촌황소곱창

Address: 서울특별시 서대문구 창천동 52-148
Telephone: 02-337-2640
Hours: 15:00 - 03:00 (Everyday)

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