This City's Got Seoul

I'm not a huge fan of sushi buffets but when my aunt and uncle brought me here for dinner one night I decided that Bono Bono would be the one exception. Bono Bono is in a brightly lit, very large space that can fill a lot of people - but even at full capacity, it's not loud or clanky. Instead, you can hear classical music playing in the background and the servers are dressed very nice.

The serving stations are spread apart so you never feel like you're just walking in a long procession of a food service line. The platters are well presented and always well stocked. First, the salad station has a wide selection of different types of fresh salads including a make your own salad option. The sushi bar is quite extensive - there is a variety of sashimi, sushi, and delicious rolls available. The sushi chefs are constantly at work and can take requests also.
There's also a hot serving station with Chinese, Korean and Western dishes along with a beef carving station.

After all that, if you still have room there's a dim sum and noodle station where you can create your own bowl of Udon. There is of course a large dessert station and fresh fruit available to end your evening. If I could, I would stay there all day to try everything.

They also have a full wine, beer and sake list with some pretty decent offerings. They serve wines by the glass and bottle. The buffet costs 25,000 at lunch at 35,000 at dinner which is very reasonable.

You can find the restaurant on the first floor of the HSBC building 4 blocks from the Posco intersection. You can also take the 2 Green Subway line to Samsung Station and get out of exit 4. Walk straight about 500 meters and you'll see it.

It's definitely a great place to bring family - it will please everyone.

I accidently learned about Saworae Boribap when I was on my way to meet my friend for lunch. It started to pour and so I ducked into this restaurant for cover. Located straight out of the Apkujeong subway station exit number 2, it's a easy and delightful find. When I told my friend to meet me there, she was more than happy - she had visited this restaurant once before and really enjoyed it.

It's open both at lunch and dinner and is usually quite packed during the high meal traffic times from 11am - 1pm and 5pm to 7pm. You can sit either at a table with chairs or on a "madang" which is the traditional way Koreans eat in the countryside. You just leave your shoes next to the steps up to the "madang" and take a seat at your table indian style or whatever way your legs find it most comfortable.

This restaurant has popularized "bori-bap" which is barley rice. Once a poor mans rice, "bori-bap" is now eaten across the classes and is known as a healthier option compared to short grain white rice. Popular lunch items are the bibim-bap (an assortment of meats and vegetables, red pepper paste, and rice mixed into a large bowl - the more red pepper paste, the spicier) and the "godeungoh-jjim" which is mackeral boiled in a thick kimchee stew. Both platters are absolutely delicious and come with plenty of sides including "gaeran-jjim" (stewed eggs), "jang-jorim" (cold boiled beef marinated in pickled soy sauce), and an assortment of peppers, sauces, and lettuce leaves to wrap your rice in. Both the bibim-bap and godeunoh-jjim are priced very cheap at 7,000 won and 8,000 won. For the amount of food you get, that's a ridiculous price!

To sooth your stomach after your meal you also get a warm stone bowl of "nureung-ji" which is basically a soup of the slightly burnt rice stuck at the bottom of the pot which is boiled in water. It sounds like nothing, but the taste is amazing! If you're more of a meat person, don't worry. Saworae Boribap has you covered. They also offer a bulgogi platter and various bo-ssam platters. Bo-ssam is pork back/butt. A very tender and soft meat, it is paired with different sauces and can be wrapped in plain cabbage, radish slices, or kimchee. The meat is chopped into thick slices and is very hearty. The bo-ssam platters run from 13,000 - 30,000 won depending on the portion size. Other sides include potato pancake, acorn jelly salad, and thick miso-bean paste stew.

There are several locations but the once I frequented the most was in Sinsa-dong outside of Apkujeong Station exit #2. You can also find it in Daechi-dong about a 2 block walk from Dogok station exit # 1 and in Gangnam outside of Gangnam station exit #6.

If you want a real taste of fresh country food that is guaranteed to fill you up for the day - head to Saworae boribap.

8 Steps is located on the tree-lined street of Samcheong-dong gil which is the main road in the beautiful Samcheong neighborhood. Basically, the cafe/restaurant gets its name from the 8 steps you take to reach the elevated space. The steps are made of stone and bring you to this traditional oasis fused with a modern twist. Like many of the buildings in this neighborhood, the restaurant owner has rehabbed a traditional hanok (traditional Korean house with philosophical architectural structure with the idea that the house is built with a mountain in the back and a river in the front) but fused it with modernity by elements of minimalist interior design. The courtyard holds four large tables covered with cream colored canvas umbrellas and follow the natural color scheme of the nature surrounding it.

For those who don't want to sit outside, they can still experience the beautiful view from the large windows that cover most of the walls of the restaurant allowing for natural light to come in at all times. My friend and I wanted to enjoy one of the very few beautiful days of an otherwise hot and muggy month of August in Korea. So we sat outside and waited for our server to bring us our menus. She also brought water and some fresh bread and olive oil. The menu is a mix of Italian and French and offers a wide variety of salads, pastas, entrees, desserts, cafe style beverages and a beautiful collection of French and Italian wines. Since it was brunch, we didn't want to overdue our alcohol consumption so my friend ordered a light Sauvignon Blanc and I a Perrier.

While waiting for our food we tried to peak into the large ceiling to floor window facing us. There was a demonstration kitchen with a long counter which was surrounded by stools. One of the chefs was in the room preparing dough. It seems that 8 Steps might offer some type of cooking class for guests - which sounds like a wonderful idea! Especially since Italian and French food have become such popular fixtures in nouveau Korean cuisine. In less than 10 minutes, my seafood arribiata and my friend's tomato and mozzarella salad arrived. The seafood arribiata was topped with all kinds of seafood including mussels, large shrimp, scallops, and squid and was perfectly spiced. My friends salad went perfect with her wine and she scraped every last bit of the vinaigrette off with a slice of bread.

For dessert we shared a slice of chocolate torte (which was rather large considering Korea's meager portions when it comes to specialty desserts) and both had Illy espresso. We lingered around to people watch, chat about our weekend and our plans for the day.
It really was such a pleasurable experience. The outdoor and indoors spaces are very intimate - only 4 tables outside, 6 tables inside, and a private balcony with a table for two. Very romantic!

The prices for salads ran from 6,000 - 10,000 won, pizzas and pastas from 9,000 to 16,000 won, meat entrees from 15,000 - 30,000. Their glasses of wine run from 8,000 - 12,000 won and cafe beverages from 3,000 - 5,000. Truly a great value for quality food. The best of French/Italian in Korea.

When I first heard of Kraze Burgers, I was a skeptic. I didn't know how I felt about eating a burger in Korea - I mean, burgers are as American as football but this summer after craving for a little taste of home (besides your typicaly McD's or Burger King) I gave in. My friend and I first went to the Kraze Burger at the Coex Mall. The prices are a bit steep - but after you see the size of the burger, you understand why. I got the K.Onion for 7,900w (about 8 USD) and she got the K.B. original for 6,700w (about 6.80 USD). We also shared an order of the chili cheese fries for 5,900w (about 6 USD). The burgers are made fresh to order and look like they're 6 inches tall! The burgers come split in half because they're so big usually people split one burger. But, as hearty meat loving Americans, we proceeded to nosh on our whole burgers.

SO tasty! The buns are an original honey wheat recipe that add a nice touch. My burger came with a thick beef patty, lettuce, thick slice of tomato, honey bbq sauce, special white sauce, and two onion rings. Yes, I know, heart attack in a bun, but so worth it!

If you're not a fan of burgers there are many other alternatives like the sandwiches, steak burgers and salads. They also offer an array of drinks including evian, perrier and beer. All in all a nice twist to an all-American meal.

You can find Kraze Burgers in Seoul, Busan, Daegu, and at Incheon Airport.

I met up with a friend for the first time in two years and she wanted to take me somewhere nice. The Chungdahm neighborhood is known as the ritziest part of Kangnam - all the designer stores like Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Max Mara and Hermes line the main thoroughfare. Across the street from the original Galleria department store behind Corso Como is where you can find many trendy boutique restaurants. Kate's Kitchen is located in that same area, but the restaurant is more than just that, it's experiential. From the outside, the restaurant looks like an Italian villa in Cinque Terra. Stuccoed walls and shuddered windows make you forget the nitty gritty streets of Seoul. Inside, the restaurant is very dark and the wood floors and wooden furniture are inviting and cozy.

The menu is seasonal and the offerings are quite varied. You can't put a label on the menu - but mostly leaning towards Italian with French, Mediterranean, and Asian influences. Honestly though, having such a varied menu means one thing: Kate doesn't have any specialty or expertise in one area and it showed in her dishes. We shared the arugula and pine nut salad with orange manderine vinigrette. The salad was nice and light - it passed, but wasn't anything spectacular. For my entree I had the half baked chicken with wild mushroom risotto. The risotto was bland and tasted more like jook (Korean rice porriage) and my friend had the Green curry chicken which added just the right amount of spice to offset my bland risotto. Our bill came out to about 86,000w (88 USD).

For ambiance, I give kate's kitchen two thumbs up. As for the food, I say she needs a little more work. They offer lunch and dinner set menus which might be more worth the try.