MangoPlate - New Restaurant App in English

For the past 7 months, I've been trying out this thing called working.  By trying out, I mean that there's been zero room for anything else in my life, and this includes this blog and my poor cat who now hates me and tried to piss on me the other night.

My terribly mannered cat trying to filch a cube of chicken.

So my current job stems from annoying experiences as an expat, namely eating.  Is anyone surprised?  I mean...I do like to eat.  What I always found frustrating is the path of discovery for restaurants.  Most good meals I've had in Korea found their way to my face through haphazard happenstance.  There's never been one single way, or even a few solid ways, of discovering a good restaurant.  A Facebook post here.  A magazine article there.  A random conversation.  With no organized method of how I came across these tasty tidbits of info, I felt something like an ant feeling around without antennas.

Al Matto in Haebangchon

It's Halloween.  They don't normally hang spiders around their restaurant.

As someone who knows nothing about business, but knows what to look for in a restaurant, I have a lot to say about Al Matto.  I'm going to need a soap box.

As a new restaurant in Seoul, especially in the Itaewon area where there is a large foreigner population, you should really be supplying a need - a niche if you will.  In other words, there needs to be a food that is different or superbly well done.  Why would I go to your restaurant if I can do it better myself? (Eh hem, Hungry Dog).  I really detest the whole bandwagoning concept behind restaurants.  I feel like some restauranteurs walk into a restaurant and see that it's doing really well selling pizza or kebabs or brunch items, and think, "I can do this too."  *dollar signs*  I have nothing against making money.  Money is fantastic.  But it's painfully obvious when it's the driving factor behind a restaurant.  Such restaurants never last long.  I'm also okay with restaurants that serve food that's not particularly original (pizza, kebabs, or brunch).  But if you're going to do what someone else is already doing (especially in the same neighborhood), do it better than them.  Do it AWESOME (i.e. - Pizza Peel).  

When I walked by the freshly-opened Al Matto, I was excited.  It looked Italian (who doesn't love Italian?), and there was an open kitchen.  Open Kitchens are my reality TV.  

It was also clear that they were still getting things organized.  The menus were on sheets of A4 computer paper stapled together.  All it needed was a coffee stain to look like the kind of crappy paper I would submit in college after an all-nighter.  When I went back a second time, the menu was in an actual booklet though the content had not changed.

Upon closer inspection, none of the food stood out to me.  I was so completely underwhelmed.  Eating at a restaurant is a dining experience.  Believe it or not, a well-designed menu speaks to that dining experience in a big way.  It helps the diner to get a feel of the chef's vision, style and direction.  In that sense, a good menu is not so different from a good resume.  This resume was bad.  I can forgive the misspellings, though it would cost almost nothing to have a native English speaker tick through the menu and save the restaurant the embarrassment.  This menu left me more questions than answers.  One item was simply "pancakes."  What kind of pancakes?  If you're selling just plain, ole pancakes, why am I at this restaurant?  I make fantastic pancakes.  Spruce it up with blueberries, ricotta, chocolate chips, buttermilk...something.  I also think Al Matto would benefit from having the menu in three different translations, especially since the co-owner is Italian.

It became very clear to me what the strong points of Al Matto were when the food came out.  This became even clearer on my second visit.  I didn't think it fair to write a review based on only one visit, especially as they were still in their first few days of opening.  Anyway, strong points - pizza and personality.  The first time I had visited, the Italian waiter (also the co-owner) seemed really quiet; I honestly felt like he was hiding from us.  On the second visit, he was a totally different person - outgoing, charming and accommodating.  It really turned the dining experience around.

Though I was excited about their open kitchen, it's not really open.  The shutters remain closed most of the time.  If they have the option of an open kitchen, they should make it open.  It makes me wonder, "What're they hiding?  Are they washing their hands?"  If the shutters were open, you'd notice that Al Matto has an actual brick pizza oven.  It's a beauty.  And it churns out some excellent pizzas.  It's a shame that their menu is so unfocused.  To give you an example, my sister ordered chili cheese fries while I ordered breakfast and Noel ordered pizza.

Peek-a-boo.  See the pizza oven?

Their standout items are brunch and pizza.  They have a beautiful oven that churns out some beautiful pizzas.  Thin, Neopolitan-style crusts with simple, well-married toppings.

The second pizza, 'Norma', was a surprise.  Eggplant, olives, and a wee bit of Parmesiano Reggiano over some rich passata.  It was a concentrated, piquant combination - one I loved so much I went home and made it.

Their brunch wasn't so good the first time around.  The Al Matto breakfast (12,000 won) is advertised to be fried eggs, French toast, bacon, sausage, beans, grilled tomato, grilled mushrooms, and hashbrowns.  The first time around, they seem to have forgotten the French toast and the beans.  The second time around, the plate has everything, and everything tasted fine.  The hashbrowns are clearly from Costco, and they may need some practice making eggs.  The portion of beans was a bit small, but the mix of mushrooms was great.  The proteins were cooked well, and the sausage was amazing.  They use good-quality sausage.  Anything with egg in it (french toast, fried eggs, and omelette) wasn't cooked very well.

 The omelette was slightly overcooked on the outside, but the omelette itself wasn't bad.  The accompanying potatoes weren't seasoned.

Overall, the dining experience only improved with consequent visits.  I would recommend their Al Matto breakfast because it offers a better value than competing brunch sets in the area (Hungry Dog, Indigo's, etc.).  I liked having French toast with my breakfast in addition to the yummy sausage they use.  If not brunch, I would definitely check out their pizzas.  They're not amazing, but they're delicious and offer slightly more creative options than other pizza joints.

Directions: From Noksapyeong Station, Exit 2, walk straight until you reach the kimchee pots.  Veer left as you enter the neighborhood of Haebangchon.  Keep walking straight, passing Phillie's and Jacoby's Burgers.  On the left, you'll see Al Matto right across the street from a butcher.

Al Matto can be found on MangoPlate, a restaurant discovery app available in English and Korean.

24 Hour Korean Food Delivery in Gyeongnidan/HBC

Late night picnic of 제육덥밥.  Yummay. 

It's super frustrating to be hungry at 3 a.m. with little to no food options.  I've googled my way to food several times only to find out they're not actually located in my neighborhood and can't deliver, or they're closed.  My hunger gives birth to an insatiable rage which usually results in me angrily stomping off to a GS25 to eat every disgusting 삼각김밥 (samgak kimbap) and watery yogurt in sight.

That was before I found 밥사랑 (Bap Sa-rang), my favorite 24-hour Korean food delivery.  The name translates to "rice love," and this is my go-to for quick, cheap, good food.  I order here after almost every hangover or 3AM late night picnic.  They're usually pretty quick, and when I say "no onions, please," they actually listen.

The tray of 반찬 (ban-chan) or "side dishes" change each time I order so I never know what I'm going to get.  For the most part, they're all pretty good, and if not, then at least the main courses are, without fail, very very good.  Especially for 3AM.

Chili King - But Not Really

Good chili requires some key criteria.  A rich, complex chile flavor that combines sweet, bitter, hot, fresh, and fruity elements in balance. A robust, beefy flavor.  Beans that are tender, creamy, and intact.

Chili King's chili is not bad, but it's not great.  When we ordered a bowl of their steaming hot chili, I was expecting greatness.  This expectation was founded on rave reviews online, an article in 10 Magazine, and a friend's recommendation.  Unfortunately, Chili King really under-delivered.

T.G. Brunch Café. All Day. Every Day. Yay!

Was that the worst title ever?  I hope by sounding like a cabbage patch doll, I've been able to express my enthusiasm for my favorite neighborhood restaurant.

Paper Garden in Sinsadong

A few days ago, I arrived at one of my fav spots, The Flying Pan, only to discover the entire space was rented out for some private event. But I was on Garosugil so it wasn't like there was a shortage of restaurants. We wound up at the Paper Garden, an Italian restaurant, on a small side street. The atmosphere was minimalist and chic, but the menu was an eyebrow raiser. Why was there kimchee fried rice on the same page as the pastas??? I understand it's Korea and the obligatory saucer of pickles can't be avoided at even the most authentic of Italian restaurants but really? Trying to imagine what kimchee was doing in the same kitchen where alfredos and marinaras were being prepared made my stomach cringe.

It's a limited menu, so I begrudgingly ordered the caprese salad (17,000 won). It came out on a behemoth platter with the communal dining idea in mind. This makes it very awkward to eat if you're as selfish with your food as I am. The only thing worth noting is that the mozzarella is one of the best I've had in Seoul. So fresh, creamy, lactescent and not too tightly wound. Otherwise, I have nothing further to say about Paper Garden. The Flying Pan better be open next time I go.

My Everest

My cardinal post. And it must be about my carnal (but truest) love – FOOD.

A few nights ago, I chowed down at a restaurant that I’ve only heard people rant and rave about as I rapaciously rubbed my stomach with a mournful expression on my face. Mournful face and jealous tummy-rubbing no more, I went there.

Everest is a Nepalese/North Indian restaurant in Dongdaemun - not the glitzed-out, shopping-on-amphetamines part of Dongdaemun by the old stadium but the part on the other side of Cheonggyecheon. We ordered lassies and stuffed kulcha to start (or at least that was the idea. We didn’t get the stuffed kulchas ‘til the latter part of the meal). Lassies were a tad Koreanized…yogurt and syrup, but still slurp-worthy and tasty.

Expect to overhear spatterings of conversations spoken in English (and obviously Korean). This place is a mainstay of the expat community. The décor is simple – walls, tables, and chairs all heavily blanketed in what I can only guess are tokens of Nepalese/Indian culture. The waitress really knows how to pour water. I stared in amazement each time she came over, and I drink a lot of water.

Then for the plats principal – Palak Paneer (Indian mozzarella in a spinach sauce), Mutton Masala (spicy red lamb curry), basmati rice, and garlic naan. Palak paneer is the kind of dish that has a subtle sweetness that not everyone can appreciate. I feel like if you eat a caprese salad and kind of cud around the mozzarella and basil in your mouth and roll your eyes in pleasure at the lactescent richness lolling around on your tongue…you’ll get it. The palak paneer was creamy, smooth and moderately spiced. Squeezing down on the little cubes of cheese bobbing around in the sauce was a little bit of a *high five* moment for me. But my dining partner, who may or may not have had his taste buds brutally mutilated as a youngin’, didn’t like it. He doesn’t get it.

The lamb wasn’t too dry or stringy in the mutton masala. Everything melded together really well, but the unusually hard green peas in the sauce made me tilt my head in a human question mark. Otherwise, I don’t much have to say about the mutton masala, not because it was whatever, but because it was a well-made curry that punched in at each criteria for a good masala curry (minus the hard peas). It’s so hard to find a well-spiced curry with well-cooked meat in Korea. Many times (even at Ganga), I’ll end up with a curry dish so spicy its scent alone could sear the roof of my mouth.

Garlic naan…yum in my mouth. Chewy with a nice thin skin of toastiness and of course beautifully peppered in garlic crumbles. Basmati rice was…basmati rice. Beautiful yellow color and aromatic…and long grained. And finally the kulcha – a happy marriage between nan and some kind of lentil stuffing with a side of yogurt sauce to slather all over it. I thought the yogurt sauce was a little too sweet and the stuffing wasn’t anything special…just beans. I probably won’t get this again.

Prices are very moderate especially for the level of authentic cuisine in a pleasant atmosphere. I don’t think any main dish exceeded 10,000 won. My dining partner practically tapping his heels in delight at the little licorice sugar crystals they serve at the cashier counter. Service was excellent – it’s Korea. Join the club, eat here.

Directions: Dongdaemun Station on Line 4 (baby blue line), Exit 3. Walk to the Woori Bank and go left into the small street. Bear right and you'll see the blue sign for Everest. It's on the second floor.

www.everestfood.com