Where to eat in Seoul – Restaurant Review: Min’s Club

November 11, 2010

Tradition and…

Today Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is the host of the G-20 summit. Thousands of government officials from 20 major countries and journalists have converged on the city. The place is crowded, and very busy.

This summit is maybe one of the most contentious so far. South Korea, an OECD country, is the 13th largest economy of the world but was embedded in poverty only 50 years ago. Then per-capita income in South Korea was lower than in Nigeria, the Philippines and even North Korea. All together a different story today.

When I visited Seoul about two weeks ago, I had the chance to look around and get a feeling for this East Asian capital city. Of cause I also explored it’s culinary sides (as far as I could and my schedule allowed).

..the modern city

Seoul is a fabulous place, a modern city with many restaurants and eateries. Korean food is amazing; and distinct from other Asian cuisines. We were invited by our South Korean hosts to have dinner at Min’s Club, a Western style fusion restaurant housed in a traditional style Korean compound (the residence of Queen Min), the most beautiful surrounding one can imagine under such circumstances.

The gate

The main hall of the restaurant

The menu of the Min’s Club

Our hosts had ordered a set-menu. It started with a fabulous tuna fish – incredible, the texture and the flavours -, followed by a pea soup (also with a very intense taste), reminding me of winter days in my native Trier, Mosel.

The next dish was a mussel decorated “fine cuisine style”, followed by a white fish with lemon on a bed of vegetables. I even did not say no to the dessert, vanilla ice cream with a crusty waffle cover.

The tuna carpaccio

The pea soup

An artisan’s mussel

White fish with lemon on vegetables

Dessert: ice cream with a hat

The rice water to conclude the meal

I might have missed to photograph a couple of dishes.

Interesting was that at the end of meal, a kind of sweet rice-water was served. It balanced the stomach acids which were heavily tilted towards acidity by the many fermented vegetables consumed as side dishes.

We drank French red wine with the meal, wine from one of the many Mouton Cadet Bordeaux lines. I could not find out which one. It would have been impolite towards out hosts to ask, I guess. My picture-taking was already embarrassing enough.

Red wine cabinet

The décor

The décor of our dining room was just beautiful with lots of Chinese calligraphy, wall paper made out of fabric with flowery motives, and antique European furniture.

A very happy camper

Our dinner was very lovely with lots of interesting and stimulating discussions and conversations. What a wonderful evening. If you are in Seoul look out of Min’s Club; it’s worth it.

Address:
Min’s Club – Fusion restaurant
66-7 Kyungun-Dong Jongno-Gu (Insadong),
Seoul, South Korea
Tel.: +82-2-733-2967 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +82-2-733-2967      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
http://www.minsclub.co.kr (Korean only)

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Korean food – a discovery

November 10, 2010

My recent trip to Korea was a kind of revelation as regards the discovery of Korean food. I was ignorant for too long about the intricacies of this type of Asian cuisine.

This is the first of a series of blog entries dealing with my recent experience in Seoul and on Jeju island.

Even Korean fast food, such as “tuna kimbap” (김밥) as shown on the photos below, can be extremely tasty.

It consists of a filling (here tuna with some salted or preserved vegetables) surrounded by rice and wrapped in seaweed. Delicious.

Tuna kimbap

Tasty Korean fast food

What to drink with it, you might ask? Well, I would suggest a beer. But one could also drink some of the many varieties of rice wine, for instance “makgeoli” (막걸리), a fermented Korean milky drink on a rice-wheat basis with about 6-7% alcohol. More about this later.

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Food blogs: The culinary world acknowledges bloggers!

October 28, 2010

A rather Spartan breakfast

I was very pleased today when I read in the Wall Street Journal that food blogs have come of age and that the culinary world acknowledges food bloggers. Great news indeed. Finally, one could say.

Bruce Palling is writing that food bloggers knowledge of haute cuisine is quite remarkable and that the impact of food blogs is significant. For the first time the New York based James Beard Foundation includes in its food writing awards (Bruce calls it: the “Oscars of the Food World”) not only mainstream print media but also blogs.

Bruce cites a couple of outstanding food blogs. For instance Ms. Aiste Miseviciute, a 28 year old fashion model from Lithuania. She writes about what models eat (Who said models don’t eat?). Moreover, Bruce brings example of bloggers eating regularly at Michelin star restaurants such as Felix Hirsch (from Luxembourg, a neighbour so to say for us people from Trier) and Andy Hayler. Their blogs receive 400 respective 2,000 unique visitors a day! Amazing.

Nowadays, food bloggers are even invited by restaurants to eat free of charge and then write about the food and the eating experience as a marketing strategy. This reflects the fact that bloggers are trusted sources of information and as such a valuable avenue for advertisements.

Bruce Palling ends his essay with the following words:
“We should all be grateful that there has never been such a profusion of fascinating accounts of fine dining so available – and provided free of charge”.

Although I cannot claim to have as many visitors as the two gentlemen above, it somehow fill me with pride to be one of the club. I guess motivation to continue blogging should not be a problem for a while.

PS: I have learned to appreciate the Wall Street Journal as a newspaper, although I never played in my life at any stock exchange. I am somehow averse to gambling.

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The best Mongolian hotpot ever

October 15, 2010

The Bull Brauhaus, Mongolian Hotpot restaurant in Ulaan Bataar

I was invited by my Mongolian friends to dine at “The Bull Brauhaus”, a Mongolian Hotpot restaurant in Ulaan Bataar, the capital city of Mongolia. The restaurant was packed with customers when we arrived, among them a large group of young Tibetan monks. The time of my visit coincided with an international conference on Mongolian Buddhism; even Richard Geere was in town.

I had hotpot before, in places as diverse as Japan, Korea, Thailand, China and Indonesia. However, the hotpot experience at “The Bull Brauhaus” was another matter. I guess it was the best hotpot ever. The quality of the meat was outstanding. A great variety of condiments was on offer. Each of us had its own little hotpot stove. Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of them.

Look at the condiments

Look at the meat

We drank ‘Mongol’ beer with the food which was a good choice.

Mongol beer

The Mongolian quality vodka: Chenggis Khan

At the end of the meal the obligatory vodka was served. Chenggis Khan vodka seemed to be the preferred brand by my host. In the following day s of my visit I should have more of it. Needless to say that we had a jolly good time. If in Mongolia do as the Mongolian do, is a famous saying. The Bull Brauhaus in Ulaan Bataar is definitely worth a visit.

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A day in the country – Italy at its best

October 8, 2010

There is nothing more beautiful than a leisurely day in the Italian countryside. These beautiful long summer evenings with olives, figs and prosciutto, and , of course, an insalata caprese with mozzarella di buffalo.

What should the wine be? Well, there are many choices. If it is still hot and warm, I would have an Italian white, an aromatic wine from Alto Adige, or a Frascati or a Pinot Grigio.

But that particular evening, we had a red wine, a bottle of Cannonau di Sardegna by Sella and Mosca. It is claimed that the grape variety came from Spain to Italy in the 14th century. This is very likely because Cannonau is the local term for Grenache. And Grenache is of Spanish origin. It is one of the most widely planted grape varieties and makes delicious wines.

The modern style of this variety is lower in alcohol than the traditional one. It is a very enjoyable wine, full of forest fruit with fine tannins and a good balance. You should try a Riserva, though. We had only the simple “country wine” version. Anyway, it was just ‘a day in the country’

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Restaurant review: Quán Ăn Ngon, Hanoi, Vietnam

October 4, 2010

Quán Ăn Ngon and the tents in the garden

My favourite restaurant in Hanoi is Quán Ăn Ngon. When I went there recently I indulged in delicious Vietnamese food. The pity is if you are just one person it is difficult to just grasp the full potential of a Vietnamese meal. Who can eat five-six dishes all by himself?

The place was packed with people when I got there, but the friendly waiters found a table just for myself. I started with a Hanoi beer, then ordered some Chinese rolls, some soup, some salads and had a jolly good time watching the buzzing place and the happy people around me.

Hanoi Beer

My meal

The picture one of the very friendly waiters took of me

Postscript: This is the place to go to when in Hanoi. A people’s place. I just love the food. They have also a branch in Ho-Chi-Min City but I find the Hanoi one much more appealing.

My verdict: five out of five.

Caution: Not much for wine drinkers. Hanoi Beer is the go.

Address:
Quán Ăn Ngon
18 Phan Boi Chau,
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel.: +84-4-3942-8162
Fax: +84-4-3942-8164‎

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Crêpes de Paris

September 26, 2010

As mentioned before, to many of this summers’ stories I only slowly get around to. As you can see Crêpes do not need to be sweet. Our friends Norbert and Myria took us to a wonderful little Crêpes restaurant where we had lunch. Crêpes lend themselves to fusion. One can combine them with all kinds of different raw materials and spices. Most were made with buckwheat.

Chicken curry crêpe

Crêpe with avocado

Crêpe with tomatoes and cheese

A salad

Crêpe with cheese only

Crêpe with ice cream, chocolate and pears

The drink of choice was not wine, but apple cider. Delicious stuff on a hot summers day in Paris.

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Wild pig from Schoden, Saar

September 15, 2010

I am afraid some of you might not like this post and the pictures which I present today. But meat comes from animals and they have to die so that we can enjoy the meals we make from it. Wild pigs are a real pest in Germany theses days, and very difficult to hunt and kill. My friend Heinz shot the little boar in Schoden, Saar.

My mother prepared a wonderful Sunday lunch with the best parts of the meat. We enjoyed it together with a bottle of our Merlot (2004 Two Hills Merlot), and I tell you that was just heaven on a stick, as we say in Australia.

Wild piglet hide

The carcass

…from a different side.

The butchered boar meat

…and in the pan

…and finally on the plate

How tender is this?

My favorite Australian Merlot

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Restaurant review: Sjoebaren in Gothenburg, Sweden

September 13, 2010

While walking the streets of Gothenburg, Sweden (which is a very lovely city) where I attended an international conference, I noticed the many Japanese sushi restaurants. Well, I thought the Swedes love to eat fish; why not Japanese?

For dinner, however, my colleague Jules and I, we wanted to check out the original, a Swedish fish restaurant. The receptionist at the hotel pointed us to a couple of interesting places. We decided on a restaurant nearby, the Sjoebaren as it was called (freely translated as “seal” or “sea bear”). We were told that there are two restaurants with that name. We went to the one in Lorensberg.

The entrance of the restaurant

We had not made a booking and the place was full when we arrived. Fortunately, the waiters were very kind and accepted a booking for 20 h. We had an hour and a half of additional time to kill but that was not a problem for us (more about this later).

Kuentz-Bas, 2007 Pinot Gris Tradition from Alsace, France

It was clear, we wanted to eat fish. The first thing I selected was the wine. I opted for a ‘2007 Pinot Gris Tradition’ by Kuentz-Bas from Alsace, France. Decanter awarded 87 points to this wine.

The vintner of Kuentz-Bas is Jean-Baptiste Adam, an icon of the Alsatian wine industry. He runs his vineyards following biodynamic production methods. I am not related to Jean-Baptiste despite the coincidence with the family name.

Wine prices in Sweden are a bit on the high side. We went for only a glass. I loved the Pinot Gris. It was not overpowering, but fine and firm with a complex acidity and an impressive finish.

The starter

The herring was just too good to not order it. We did not expect what was put in front of us by the cheerful waiter. Look at that. This beautiful arrangement was just amazing. One piece of herring was marinated in a cinnamon heavy marinade, the other piece came with fish eggs on top in a white sauce. In addition we were given potatoes, onions, cream cheese and some other delicacies. I t,ell you this starter is to die for. My taste buds went ballistic. What a wonderful start to an Swedish meal.

Two kinds of herring

Fish of the day

My friend Jules ordered the fish of the day. Very tasty.

Graved lachs

I went for “graved lachs” (marinated salmon), my favourite dish from Sweden. Ever since a Swedish friend of ours had introduced us to this delicacy and ever since my wife makes her own version of it, I just cannot resist this fish. The portion was huge. And for the first time ever, I could not finish my plate. It was just to much. Unbelievable. I had to apologize to the waiter with a compliment to the kitchen.

Potatoes in dill-cream sauce

The painting in the middle of the restaurant.

Sjoebaren Lorensberg, when we left it

Sjoebaren is a hot tip if you are in Gothenburg. Do yourself a favor and treat you to something very special. The service is great, prices affordable and the quality extraordinary.

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Restaurant review: Chez Clément, Paris, France

September 8, 2010

Champs-Élysées

During our summer vacation we also visited Paris for a few days. It is only about 2 1/2 hours by train from my hometown Trier. So why not seeing the French capital?

One of the highlights of the visit was a lunch on the Champs-Élysées. We chose a nice “little” place (the inside is huge but quite lovely, as we discovered when looking for the bathrooms) called ‘Chez Clément’ , a chain restaurant though, but nevertheless very attractive.

The entrance of Chez Clément

Oysters was one of the starters we could not refuse. The unpasteurized Camembert was the other. For the main course three of us went for the Toulouse sausages, one took the Charolais beef tartar. The house white was just the right wine, a Sancerre if I am not mistaken.

The food was just divinely delicious. The service was great. It might have helped that we arrives slightly before the lunch time crowd did. It was one of the best meals we had in Paris during our stay. I can highly recommend the place. Just walk up to the triumphal arch and look out for Chez Clément.

Oysters from Brittany

Croustilland de Camembert

Toulouse sausage

Charolais beef tartar

Rucola salad with parmesan

And a espresso afterwards

Address:
Chez Clément
Champs-Élysées
Paris, France
http://www.chezclement.com

PS: I was traveling in Vietnam and had no access to wordpress.com for that time. This is why I had to postpone updating my blog. The above story is form this summer.

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