Travel | Seoul 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2014 | Wangbijip 왕비집 @ Myeongdong 명동

When in Seoul, eat BBQ! That was part of the plan, and it was opportune that Wendy's friend would be joining us for dinner. Wendy is someone whom I've known since university days. We were hostel mates, "Wheel of Fortune" (am not sure how many of you remember this!) virtual contestants and basically, one who will remember each other's birthdays, though we only meet twice a year. Wendy was my travel buddy to Seoul, last year.

"Meet at Exit 9 at Myeongdong at 8pm. Don't be late." she warned.

Arrived at Exit 9 wifi-less and mobile phone pretty useless. Time was 8.05pm. No Wendy.

Oh no, did she get mad and left already? She is particular about timeliness after all. Waited for about 5 minutes before running around Myeongdong station for signs of Wendy. No luck. Gave up at 820pm.

Should've asked her earlier where's our dinner venue. Sobs. To head back to hotel, or to roam around Myeongdong? Chose the latter, 'coz already there mah.

Was wandering around aimlessly, feeling cold, hungry and anxious, thinking of whether I should eat the streetfood or head to one of those brightly lit restaurants or whether Wendy was angry, or... when I noticed a familiar looking tote bag. Of all the different paths we could have taken, the time that had lapsed, the many shops that one could've gone into, I bumped into Wendy and her friend. It was a "wow" moment for me.

Hence, she brought us to Wangbijip (she did the research), a Korean restaurant specializing in grilled meat (galbi).

restaurant's entrance, go up the stairs beside the beauty shop

There was a queue and so we waited for 15 minutes before getting a table. The menu was simple. For grills, there's a choice of pork and beef. Wendy doesn't take beef, so we settled for pork belly. One portion each. Plus a kettle of makgeolli.

No problem ordering as the staff is conversant in Mandarin as well.

waiting for our food

side dishes 반찬

spring onion salad with raw egg

we are so ready

Wangbijip's staff will do the cooking, but their attention would be divided as there is no one person assigned on a per table basis. So ours was impatiently flipping the meats then left it over the grill for quite a while as he went away to do the other table. But it was alright, as the pork belly still tasted better in Seoul than back home.

dinner

we're almost there

gorgeous meat

The restaurant was full of tourists actually. To our left, was a family from Singapore and to our right, was probably from Hong Kong. 

The pork belly was so good. Wrapped a hot one with the fresh crunchy lettuces, accentuated by the tangy kimchi and a dab of that gochujang. Yums! 

pot of rice wine

It was a tiny pot, but we poured about 6 to 7 small bowls. My dinner kakis claimed they'll drink, but pssshh, not true lo...

cheers 건배

Did about 3 bowls and feeling a good buzz. Offered one bowl to the Singapore family and that was it. Done.

all grilled pork belly, should taste like this

What was so good about the grilled pork belly? The meat was not frozen and cooked just right. Fatty and oily enough to sizzle, tender and every chew entices even more. 

The meat was about ₩13,000 per pax and the makgeolli was about ₩5,000.

Paid about $20 per pax.

Tburu Bar & Grill, Sushi Restaurant - Orchard Gateway@Emerald | Restaurant Week March 2015

Tburu is a month-old fine dining Japanese restaurant, located at Level 5 of Orchard Gateway@Emerald. Orchard Gateway@Emerald is where we find the Crate & Barrel shop. Took the lift to the fifth floor and you will see the entrance to the restaurant.

Tburu entrance

would you like to dine with me?

While Tburu may be new, its owners are veterans in the F&B scene. Having owned restaurants in Hong Kong, and in Singapore; One on the Bund (defunct) and the currennt KIKU Kappo Izakaya Restaurant at Duxton.

menu cover

Ordered a Kirin draft beer that was served in a rather unusual looking mug.

Kirin draft beer (@$11+)

Counter seat offers a clear view of what the chefs are preparing, plus you get to see seasonal items from Japan.

looking at ya, fishes from Kyushu

Chatted with the chef while waiting as I was rather curious about the odd looking fish that was staring at me. Learnt that the middle one is called Kawahagi 皮剥ぎ, or otherwise also known as leatherjacket fish. The skin can be grilled and good as beer food, while its flesh is for sashimi. Was told that Kawahagi's liver is fattiest in Autumn.

First course in the Restaurant Week set was the "Truffle Kanpachi Carpaccio". Sort of like Japanese fish, Italian styled.

Truffle Kanpachi Carpaccio

The dipping sauce was not needed since the fish slices had been adequately sprinkled with sea salt. Every mouthful was a delight. That burst of saltiness from the ikura and sea salt, plus the kanpachi flesh was firm and oily. Yums.

While waiting for the next course, a complimentary plate of crunchy Japanese cucumber キュウリ was brought out. The housemade miso has other ingredients mixed into it, was a tad dry and not overly salty. Can be eaten on its own.

housemade miso, toasted sesame and Japanese cucumber

Next was an ala-carte order of a grilled item.

can you guess what this it?

The smoke escapes and whiffs of rosemary floated passed and dissipated faster than you saying, "whoa".

grilled A4 wagyu oyster @$22+

The meat could do less time on the grill as it turned out to be rather chewy. Hints of rosemary was evident in the meat.

Next item was continuation of the Restaurant Week set menu; The Bincho-tan Charcoal Grill Platter.

roasted potato and garlic

kurobuta belly, mentaiko tori, yasai

The kurobuta belly was oily and that's how it should be. Nicely grilled till its edges are a slightly charred. Loved the smokiness of the meat. Mentaiko tori was so soft and succulent. Usually I won't order ginkgo for yakitori and I still won't.

For yakitori, was quite interested in the pork intestine and duck tongue. Perhaps, next time? Was informed by the maître'd that most grilled items in the menu is priced per stick for individual portion, and the lamb chop and iberico collar offers a bigger portion as it is meant for sharing.

For the last course, it was Tburu Makimono.

Tburu Makimono

salmon and eel makimono

Dainty morsels of balanced taste.

For RW dinner sets here, there is definitely space for something with more carbs. Was informed that the Dan Dan Somen was the top item ordered by regulars.

Tburu is a quiet, unhurried place with elegant settings.

Travel | Seoul 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2014 | Dr. Bang Masan Monkfish 方박사아구찜 @ Sinsa-dong Ganjang Gejang Alley

Ganjang 간장 means soy sauce and ge 게 means crab while jang 장 means condiment.  Ganjang gejang simply means raw crabs marinated in soy sauce. Yup, that's right, raw crabs. Sounds like something that Andrew Zimmern would eat? Actually, this seasonal delicacy was rather yummy. It was on my "die die must eat" list we visited Seoul in late Oct last year.

Was at Sinsa-dong 신사동 Ganjang Gejang Alley to find a place to lunch at. Convenient as plenty of shops sells the same stuffs, so we didn't know which one to choose. For tourists, Pro Ganjang Gejang is often cited. Their service staff was uniformed and looked like valets.

We wanted to find out if their prices were similar, so we went around asking about the prices. Outcome was yes, most have priced their ganjang gejangs similarly; 2 small crabs for ₩55,000 with banchans. Usually, the minimum order is 2 small crabs.

Finally found a place that can do two small crabs for ₩50,000, inclusive of rice. On top of that, we requested for one crab in marinated soy style and the other one spicy yangnyeom gejang 양념게장 style.

Dr. Bang Masan Monkfish

dining area

Yes, this is another place where one needs to remove their shoes.

side dishes with the crabs

Not a whole lot of side-dishes, just 4 types. The konbu and blanched cabbage were eaten as wraps. The soup was bean paste soup with some vegetables that tasted like dried vege that's used to boil soups.

soy sauce marinated crab 간장게장

yangnyeom gejang 양념게장

Raw marinated crabs have very soft flesh. Very much like raw shrimps. To eat it, one simply squeezes it from bottom up and suck on the soft tasty flesh. Plastic gloves are provided so that your hands don't get too dirty.

We squeezed out some of the flesh onto the blanched cabbage (or konbu) and wrap it with some hot rice. The hot cold combo with soy or spicy, tasted awesome! For the soy crab, put some rice onto the shell, top it up with roe and mix well. The umami taste was just heavenly!

rice with millet

The spicy version was very shioks and its spice level was about a scale of 3 out of 5.

Enjoyable experience. Saw the locals indulging in a pot of red stew with noodles. That should be the agu jjim 아구찜, a braised spicy monkfish. Huge pot meant for 2 pax. Ganjang Gejang Alley was used to be known for its agujjim, but nowadays it is more popular for raw marinated crabs.