[Food_hotpot] 'Shabu Shabu' franchise 'Chae Sun Dang'

It seems like the number of franchise eateries are growing rapidly while independent restaurants are closing down at a fast pace. (Kinda sad...thinking Korea's big conglomerates are bullying around small business owners)

Anyway, I don't have anything against franchise restaurants. I like it sometimes when I'm in an unfamiliar neighborhood in Korea, and want to be safe in choosing my meals. In that sense, franchise are not bad choices.

One of the many chains, I go to 'Shabu Shabu' places alot. (Call it hot pot/suki yaki/shabu shabu whatever. It's one of those dishes where you have a hot boiling pot in front of you and you dip your vegetables, noodles, meat in the broth for few seconds before chowing down). It sounds weird at first, but it's really good if you haven't tried it yet. This type of cooking style is well practiced in Asian countries (Greater China, Japan, Thailand....etc) but called in different names.

So, if you're in the mood for something asian, but are not really confident about your choice of restaurant, you can rely on food chains like this. 

• Location : all over Seoul
• Price : 10,000 ~15,000 KRW / person
• This includes type of meat (or more veggies if you're vegetarian. Make sure to check for vegetarian broth), fresh noodles & usually some fried/porridge style rice will be served at the end
• What to do at the restaurant 
• choose your broth, meat (or veg), and check your sides. Start putting the vegetables first into the broth because it takes longer for them to cook (unless you like them raw). Once it looks like they're starting to soften (few minutes), dip your beef (or whatever) into the broth for less than a minute, and take them out to your personal plate. Try the dipping sauce as you please (usually either spicy/nutty/soy sauce), and enjoy!
• After you finish your meat, put in the noodles, cook for a few minutes and enjoy! After you are done, you can ask your server to cook either porridge/fried rice using the broth you have eaten.
• It's very common to share food at a Korean restaurant, and if you are appalled by the idea, this is a good choice since you can use tongs to put food into the broth and only eat out of your personal plate.

The Chain name looks like this

A simple 'shabu shabu' set

Menu (the one at the bottom is usually the choice - beef)

More menu, side dishes & drinks

Official website : http://brand.chaesundang.co.kr/
Map of the chain location : Google map link

[Food_Myeongdong] Famous Myeondong Gyoza - noodles & dumplings

I was in shock when I first tried this place about 7 years ago when I just came back from Canada.
What used to be called 'Myeongdong Kal gook su' is now 'Myeongdong Gyoza', and it became very famous among not just Koreans, but for tourists as well.

Their menu is quite simple, and they are famous for their hot noodles & dumplings. 

• Location : in middle of Myeongdong shopping district
• Price : 8,000 KRW / dish (for two people, share 1 hot noodle & 1 dumpling plate. It's enough)
• Misc. : They work the tables very efficiently, so don't be surprised if you have to share a table with a stranger. Also, if you try the kimchi, be aware that the one the serve here it has more garlic than most kimchis.

Hot noodles...OMG....

Dumplings...arg!!!

Part of the menu (the two on the right are the best sellers)

Location map

There can be a line up at the restaurant, but it moves VERY fast, and it's worth the wait.

Official website : www.mdkj.co.kr

*Again, the pictures are from other random websites. 

[Food] Portuguese-style egg tart ("Pastel de nata")

To be honest, I was never a fan of egg tarts.
Maybe it's because I only tried cold cheap ones from franchise bakeries like 'Paris Baguette', but yeah... it didn't do it for me.

My good friend just recently introduced me to one of probably authentic (I say probably...'cuz I never been to Portugal) Portuguese-style egg tart place in Seoul, and not it's one of my favorite places to go and indulge on some sweet, soft, crust-crumbling goodness. I love it with a hot cup of tea!

• Price : egg tart @ 2,200 KRW / ea, and different tarts can cost up to 2,700 KRW/ea
• Location : There are few stores around Seoul (Sookmyung women's university, Hongdae, Jongro area)
• visit http://www.eggtart.co.kr/main/index.html for location & for more info
• Misc : The place is very small, and some stores only allow takeout. 

Cover of their take out box

Assorted tarts

Menu

Egg tart

*all the images, I got from naver portal since I'm always too busy to dig in! (No time to take pictures...)
'Pastel de nata' website : http://www.eggtart.co.kr/main/index.html

[Living] The living cost in Seoul, Korea

What is up with the living cost and their housing options in Korea?
How can I find a suitable place to live??

Since I recently moved, I wanted to make a posting for fellow home-hunters...
From what I know, Seoul is a unique city that offers what's called (Jeon-seh, 전세) as one of their housing options.

Here are the three options in Korea :

1) Monthly rent - "Wall-seh', 월세
2) Down payment based - "Jeon-seh', 전세
3) Purchase - 분양/매입

So depending on your financial situation, you can choose whatever works for you. If you have no lump sum of money that you saved up/cannot take out a bank loan, then monthly rent is a good option. Depending on neighborhood and the size of the house, you can pay from $200 ~ $3,000 per month. Of course the cost and the condition of the house correlates!

If you have lump sum, but don't want to settle down in Korea for a long period of time, consider Jeon-seh. It's a good option because you get the whole amount back at the end of your living contract. However, be careful the owner may have taken it out as collateral, and there are unfortunately too many foul playing owners/realtors, so be sure to accompany a Korean friend or whoever has some experience with the Jeon-seh stuff.

As for the country itself...Korea is a small country (slightly bigger than lake Superior). It's population density per sq. km is 508.86 (with its population @ 50 Million)! Considering Canada has a population size of about 34.88 million, that is....very dense (I hear Japan is worse).... I actually cannot find a solitude space in Korea as of yet.
So, where can I find a decent neighborhood at an affordable price?
One of the few things I consider when looking for a place to live are...(is it safe?, easy to approach without a car&get around the city without a car?, in good shape?)
Here are some neighborhoods I know in Seoul (sorry, Seoul is quite exceptional)

Here's a link to Seoul Subway map

• Itaewon/HBC (cost good, approach-ability soso)
• On subway line 6, Itaewon station / noksapyung station
• usually the places will be 10~20 minute walk or <5 min bus ride from subway st.
• one of the old neighborhoods in Seoul, but your neighbors will be expats/other foreigners

• Hongdae/Hapjeong (Cost soso, approach-ability great)
• It's an up-and coming neighborhood, fairly new but very bustling with individual coffee shops, cool bars, underground music scene, and there's also the club scene.
• Also non-Koreans walking around here are usually exchange students/tourists
• Since many Korean celebrities are spotted here, there are fans visiting this area from overseas.

• Gangnam/Seocho area (Cost is high, approach-ability great)
• This is south of the Han river, and is one of the busiest areas in Seoul.
• Business district (trade center, many companies are located here) included
• You can see many non-Koreans walking around Gangnam station (I've seen more lately after Psy's 'Gangnam Style' song came out), but usually tourists.

• Bundang (cost good, approachable not good)
• This is a suburb area just outside of Seoul. Non-Koreans usually live in this area because of their work (Teaching English). 
• They have nice, quiet, clean neighborhoods but if you want to take a trip to the city, you should well expect at least 1~ 1.5 hours of bus/subway ride.

To be honest, comparing the cost of accommodation in Seoul with Canada, I feel it's more expensive in Korea (actually, Seoul to be specific). $500,000 doesn't go far in Seoul when trying to buy a house. You can probably get a 1-room apartment in downtown Seoul, but hey.. it's like comparing apples and oranges. 

For more [living] postings to come : motel culture, glamping, and more

* Please, feel free to add/correct me if I'm wrong since I'm no expert. I'm just speaking from experience.