It is very difficult for me to mention bad things about food, but I had a bad experience at a restaurant yesterday. Since neither Jisun nor I worked, we decided to have lunch at a tuna restaurant. We weren't getting the unlimited raw tuna for lunch, but were going to try some of their lunch menu. The restaurant we chose was right by my apartment, and we walk buy it regularly, so finally decided to give it a try.

The restaurant is named Dongwon Chamchi (동원 참치). Chamchi means tuna for those of you who aren't familiar with Korean at all. It is a raw tuna restaurant, and they advertise some pretty cheap items on the lunch menu. Their regular menu, however, was on the expensive side. I didn't look at it all that closely, but it ranged from about 50,000w all the way up to 150,000w for various meals. Good thing that we hadn't chosen to go there for dinner, because I can't afford prices like that! Fortunately the lunch menu had things in the 5,000-7,000w range, which is more my budget.

The restaurant itself is in the basement of an old building, which is kind of a turn off, but not that big of a deal. On top of it, the furnishings were old and fairly decrepit, which isn't a big deal if you are ordering a 5,000w meal. However, if you go there paying the 150,000w for the VIP menu, being in a run down old restaurant probably isn't ideal. We ended up sitting in one of the small private rooms on the side and noticed that the walls were completely covered in stains. Not only was everything old, it was also dirty. The walls were stained, and there were cigarette burns all over the floor. Not too classy.

The definitely saw us come in and said '어서 오세요!' (eoseo o-seyo! which means come in directly), but for some reason they didn't bring us a menu for ten minutes. We got the menu, which was when I saw how high priced the place was. This made me decide that I should definitely stick to the lunch menu, so we ordered one chamchi hweh deopbap (참치회덮밥) and one albap (알밥). the Chamchi hweh deopbap is a type of bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables) that is topped with chunks of raw tuna. Albap is arice that is served in a hot stone bowl with fish eggs (Al means egg) and some other items that get mixed together. Both of these were advertised at 5,000w a piece.

The lady took our orders and then left for another ten minutes. She then returned and asked if we wanted cold water or warm water. By this point, in case you aren't good at math, we had been there twenty minutes and hadn't even gotten water yet. Don't forget, we got there at 1:30pm, so it wasn't even crowded from lunch. We were possibly the only people in there! Finally we get our water and our food, and by this point the waitress is acting like we really put her out with our demands, even though we hadn't demanded anything. Oh, that is untrue, we did ask for utensils, since they weren't brought with the food, and that seemed to be too much of a hassle for her. I guess she just wanted us to eat with our hands. Judging by how dirty and run down the place was, I guess she was not only too lazy to provide good service, but was also too lazy to do any cleaning.

Another problem we had was in the temperature of the room. Since we were sitting on the floor, the ondol (온돌 - a type of floor heating system) was supposed to keep us warm. However, for whatever reason, the side that Jisun was sitting on was cool to the touch, while my side of the table was boiling. I'm not kidding here, I had to sit on four pillows in order to keep my rear end from burning. It was seriously that hot. While this may seem like a petty thing to complain about, coupled with the dirtiness of the restaurant and the poor service, it is worth mentioning.

Now, to be fair, the food was good. There was a decent amount of banchan (반찬 - side dishes), and the chamchi deopbap had quite a large amount of chamchi in it for 5,000w. The albap was also delicious, so those were positive points. Unfortunately, there is delicious food all over this city, and most of them will offer good service with the food, so I would say to avoid Dongwon Chamchi at all costs. Sure, I might have caught them on a bad day, which could explain the poor service, but it doesn't explain the dirty decrepitness of the interior or the scorching floor. It also doesn't explain the last straw which made me write this article.

Since our service was so slow, we ended up getting our food at around 2:00 and finishing at about 2:30. Both of our dishes were supposed to be 5,000w, according to the lunch set. However, when we went to pay, the lady said that the albap was 8,000w, and showed us the price in the menu. So I told her that the menu that is advertising outside says the lunch menu price for albap is 5,000w. She then said that it was 2:30pm and the lunch menu was over. Of course I countered by saying that we had arrived at 1:30, which is typically considered lunch hour (in my experience/opinion, lunch deals tend to be from 11:00-2:00), but she just looked at me and said that no, in fact it was 8,000w.

I did pay, and didn't say anything directly to the lady, but swore I would take my revenge! Unfortunately, the place isn't advertised on Naver, or else I would have bombed it. Instead I have to just write about it on my blog, where the chance that anyone would actually go to that particular restaurant anyway is quite slim.

To wrap it all up, I wouldn't recommend anyone go to Dongwon Chamchi restaurant. The food was good, but the service and decor were all subpar. They also screwed me up on the price I had to pay, which is uncalled for. So, if you are in the Seouldae area and want some good tuna, try someplace else, there are at least five zillion other restaurants nearby. In fact, when I get time later, I will enumerate them for you. Until then, here are the pertinent details of the place to avoid. Dongwon Chamchi is located near Seouldae station. If you go out exit 3 and walk straight for about two hundred meters, you will see the place. It is in the same building as Hulala (Hoolala?) Chicken and right next to an Alpha Stationary store. I won't put a map because I don't want you to go there, so just keep in mind that this is a place to avoid in the Seouldae area.

EDIT: Ok, I might be wrong about the lunch menu times. I just went to a nice Italian place (more on that later) with some coworkers and their lunch menu was from 11:30-1:30. Still, even if the price was right, the place wasn't worthwhile.

Although I do go to quite a few western restaurants, I don't really care to take the time out for a real review. If I have hung out with you in the past six months or so, I am sure you have heard me explain why at least a dozen times. Every single English language food blog in Seoul seems to focus on nothing but western restaurants, which means that I shouldn't have to bother. However, a new restaurant just opened up in my 'hood which hasn't seemed to make the westerner's rounds yet. Unfortunately it isn't located near Itaewon, Hongdae, or Gangnam stations, so it probably won't be. Because of that, I feel like I should at least give the place a little love.

A couple weeks ago, I was walking down the street near Seouldae Station and noticed a sign that said 'Trattoria'. Intrigued by this, I went home and immediately started searching on Naver. At that time there was only one review on the internet, so I decided that I would just have to try the place out myself. The only things that I really knew about the restaurant were that it was called Jina & Franco or TJF (Trattoria Jino & Franco), and was run by a husband and wife team. I also knew that Franco was an honest to goodness Italian (read that eye-talian so you can feel my ignorance and bigotry) and he was in charge of the kitchen.

This was enough to want to get me in the door. The problem was convincing my girlfriend that it was worthwhile to spend that kind of money on food. After about a week of whining and begging, she finally agreed to go for a lunch this past Saturday. I was really excited, but wasn't sure what to expect. As I said, at this time there was only one review online and the restaurant had no menu out front. Still, I wanted to eat some real Italian (eye-talian, please) food that wasn't poisoned by the wonderful ideal that is fusion.

The menu at TJF is fairly standard, with a decent range of antipastos to start with, a good selection of pasta and risotto and of course pizzas. On top of this, they have a good beverage selection, offering a couple Italian beers and liquors coupled with a wine list that extends well past the 100,000w range. Since I judge my alcohol by the ratio of volume to cost, I won't be able to accurately tell you about any of those, though, as my scale doesn't have that much range.

I can talk about the food, though. Since it was lunch, and my girlfriend is very meticulous in watching my spending, we went with the lunch sets. TJF offers two seperate lunch sets, one at the 16,800w price point, and another at 24,800w. Guess which ones we got. To be fair, the cheaper set was still quite a meal. With this set, you receive a salad, your choice of pasta (of the cheaper varieties) or pizza (cheaper ones, again) and a choice of desserts (fruit plate or chef's special of the day). The more expensive set will get you the salad, soup, and one of the 'premium' (my word, not theirs) pastas, along with the same choice of dessert.

Since we went with the more inexpensive sets, I can't say about the soup or the expensive main dishes, but I can tell you about what I had. We both ordered a lunch set, one with the spaghetti bolognese and one with the pizza margherita. We also ordered bruschetta to start us off for 4,500w. The bruschetta was by far the best I have had in Korea, and some of the best that I have ever had. The bread was crisp, but not overly so, and the vegetables on top were marinated in oil and soft enough to fall apart in the mouth. Of course me saying this means nothing, because I have yet to eat anything that I haven't found exquisite, including a hair covered piece of hard candy I found in an abandoned elevator shaft. So, to prove that it was really this good, take my girlfriend's word for it. After eating the bruschetta she said that the place was actually interesting, but still too expensive.

Then the salads came. The greens were crisp, the light flavor of oil mixed with ground pepper and just a hint of cheese made every mouthful a delight. Remember, though, hard candy, elevator shaft. We should just let my girlfriend, Jisun, do the reviews. She found the salad to be better than anything she had previously. Not only did she eat every vegetable on the plate, but she conceded that perhaps the price wasn't so bad, but only for lunch.

When the main course came, I was sufficiently warmed up to want to devour my pasta. However, being a somewhat civilized person, I knew that in a nice restaurant that I should use utensils and not eat like a dog. I took the pasta while Jisun took the pizza, and again, both were great. The margherita had just the right amount of basil in it to make me forget that I had ever ordered a 5,000w pizza from Pizza school. The pasta on the other hand was properly cooked and used proper meat and sauce in way that made me forget about all those times I got oven cooked spaghetti and what seemed like watered down ketchup as sauce from Sorrento. By this point Jisun was actively talking about coming back and trying their dinner menu. If you knew my girlfriend, you would know that her agreeing to spend more than 8,000w for a meal is the equivalent of approximately fourteen and a half Michelin stars.

Finally, the dessert. Since there were two options, we decided to try both. The fruit plate was just a few pieces of fruit on a plate (imagine that), but it was fresh and delicious. The chef's special dessert of the day was a cake soaked in some kind of orange sauce covered with fruit and topped with cream and chocolate shavings. Since I didn't ask what the dessert actually was, I can't do it justice in describing it. Suffice it to say that again, it was delicious. Delicious enough, in fact, that Jisun was contemplating just staying at our table until dinner and having a second go at it.

All in all, it is a restaurant that I would definitely recommend. In our case, a lunch for two cost 41,910w. We had two lunch sets at 16,800w each, with bruschetta for 4,500w, and 10% VAT added. Not too overly expensive for a nice meal, but considerably out of my normal budget, which includes eating dry dog food and anything that might be found in abandoned buildings. So, next time you are in the Seouldae area, head out exit 2 about fifty meters and look up. Trattoria Jina & Franco is on the second floor of the O'Superium building, right above Cold Stone and Roti Boy. Give it a try, English was well spoken by everyone in there that I communicated with, and the atmosphere is friendly.

Last but not least, I am the worst food reviewer ever, not because I like eating everything, but because I never remember to bring my camera. Take a look at these Korean blogs if you want to see mouth watering pictures.

Trattoria Jina & Franco - T:02-887-2827 - A: 206-7 Daewoo The O'Superium 1Danji, Nakseongdae-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, ROK.

I have probably mentioned that I love haejangguk more than is healthy. I don't think I have ever gotten into it too deeply before, so I would like to take care of that today. First of all, haejangguk is hangover soup. It is supposed to relieve hangovers. Haejang literally means a stomach problem, but it is actually used in the same way as we would use 'hair of the dog'. So, haejang actually means a morning nip to neutralize a hangover. Of course the guk part of the name means soup. Put them together and it is a soup that neutralizes a hangover. Not with alcohol, but it is still considered the food of choice after a late night (or early morning). Haejangguk also is very popular just as a meal these days, as well.

These days the most popular chain of haejangguk restaurants is Cheongjindong Haejangguk, which is named after the area of Seoul that popularized it. If you aren't familiar with the chain and live in Seoul, just look out your window, there is a 90% chance that you can see one of their distinctive yellow signs. Think I am exaggerating? There are four of them within a five minute walk of my apartment, and countless other non affiliated haejangguk restaurants, as well. And no, I don't live in Cheongjindong.

Cheongjindong Haejangguk restaurants offer several different types of the soup, and generally the other shops will have similar offerings. First there is byeo-haejanguk (벼해장국), where byeo literally means bone. In this type of soup, you get meat right off the bone. Wikipedia claims that they are ox bones, but in the restaurant, they just call it cow meat. I'm not sure what the distinction is between cow meat and ox meat, so I'm going to leave it alone. Basically this is a spicy soup with some veggies and a bunch of meat on cow/ox bones. As far as I have seen, you get pieces of the neck bone with meat attached. This is my favorite type of haejangguk.

You can also get seonji haejanggug and yangseonji haejangguk (선지해장국 or 양선지해장국). In this case, you don't get the bones with meat on them, instead you get congealed blood. Sound gross? It is actually pretty good. The regular seonji is just cow/ox blood, and the yangseonji is lamb blood. These also normally come with small pieces of stomach, lungs, and other meat pieces that I can't quite identify. It isn't a bad dish as long as you aren't too squeamish about eating congealed blood (the consistancy of jello or a pudding, perhaps) and strange animal innards. I, for one, am not. There are two reasons that I typically prefer the bone to the blood. The first of which is that it is fun and manly to eat the meat off the bones without using utensils. The second is that I tend to find the blood soup to be a bit less spicy, and I do prefer a spicy soup.

Also on offer is kongnamul haejangguk (콩나물 해장국), which is just bean sprout soup. Basically you get the regular haejangguk just without meat. This is not a vegetarian option, however, because it is in a meat based broth. This soup is decent, but I am a meat lover, so generally don't order it. However, if you are looking for a lighter option, this isn't a bad way to go.

On top of these soups, you can also get kamjatang (감자탕), which is very similar to the byeo haejangguk, just with potatoes. I'm sure if you actually looked into it, there is quite a difference between the two soups, but as far as Im concerned, they are pretty much the same. One difference is that the haejangguk is ordered by the bowl, and kamjatang is ordered in a big communal dish that is put on a gas range in the middle of the table. Also, normally when you order the kamjatang, you can also get a free bottle of soju, which is a nice touch.

Why did I suddenly bring this up today, you might be wondering. Well, a new haejangguk restaurant opened up near my apartment, so I decided to check it out. This place is also a chain, albeit one that I had never visited, called Yangpyeong Haejanggguk (양평해장국). Since it opened so close to home, I decided to check it out. Here is where I ran into a little bit of trouble. First of all, the haejangguk was 6,000w, compared to 4,000w at my favorite spot and 4,500w just about everywhere else. Not one to be put off, I reasoned that it was probably that much better.

What I didn't realize was that haejangguk from Yangpyeong was different than that of Cheongjindong. Not a big deal at all, but I was just surprised when they brought me their special seonji haejangguk instead of the byeo haejangguk that I normally get. No worries there, though, because as I said before, I am not a stranger to eating blood jelly and innards, not by a long shot. The positive point about this haejangguk is that there was an extraordinary amount of meat in it. When I say meat, I mean blood jelly, just so you aren't confused. I like the blood jelly, but even still, this was an overwhelming amount. I managed to eat all of it, and then realized that I had just eaten like 300ml of blood, which kind of made me feel weird. However, the haejangguk itself was delicious, it was spicy enough, and everything seemed nice and fresh. Of course the place had its grand opening today, so it had better be fresh. The portion size was really good, and all in all I would say that it is a worthwhile place to go.



That being said, I don't know how often I will go there. I do prefer the bone soup, and on top of that, I also prefer spending 4,000w as compared to 6,000w. That might only be 2,000w ($1.70US or so), but it is an additional 50% of the price. So, even though I would recommend it to haejangguk fans that aren't afraid of eating some blood jelly, there are better places in town for me to get exactly what I want.