One summer weekend, I was out and about from the morning. I went to Gourmet 494 at Galleria, stopped by Itaewon and made it to Garosu-gil too, so here is a quick record.
The biscuits I saw on Rainy’s blog
A food blogger raved about these, so I bought a box, but I am not sure there is any reason to make a special trip for them. They are crisp and the butter aroma is rich, but they are no Echire, and in Tokyo you can find this level anywhere in a department store basement food hall. Then again, I have no idea where else you would buy biscuits like this in Korea. For that reason alone, they are worth picking up now and then.
Palets Bretons
Where the box above holds several small biscuits, this one holds two big ones. Taste-wise I think this one is better. For casual snacking, the one above is nicer
Domori chocolate
Gourmet 494 at Galleria has so many curious things. I will have to go back a few times and check it out properly. They had Domori chocolate, so I bought some; the chocolate itself is good quality, but it was far too sweet. A little disappointing.
The banh mi sandwich from Lypost in Itaewon
From Galleria I teleported over to Itaewon. It was a hot day too.. anyway.. this is the sandwich I brought back, and it tastes as good as ever. Lately I feel like I have become everyone’s bread runner.
Turkish delight
Bought at a place in Itaewon called Kervan Bakery. I remember trying Turkish delight that a traveller had brought back from Turkey years ago, and this was better than that. Back then I was hugely disappointed, but this is decent enough. Maybe because it is a traditional Turkish sweet, it has a chewiness a bit like Korean traditional yeot candy, and I suppose that texture is the point. The ones with nuts were especially good. I have heard their desserts are extremely sweet across the board, so I am not sure I will go back.
Back home for hayashi rice..
I had bought some beef sirloin over the weekend; two thirds went into steak-don and the rest into hayashi rice. Kodoku no Gourmet had just shown the steak-don in Hakone, and I was seriously craving it. Steak-don is a simple dish: sear the meat well, lay it over rice and pile on Mizkan Ponshabu ponzu and wasabi. For something you throw together at home, it is unbelievably good. Of course the cost is just as high. The Ponshabu was 10,000 won, the fresh wasabi 3,000 won, and hanwoo sirloin is not cheap either, so the ingredients alone came to nearly 10,000 won per person for one meal. It was so good that I do not regret a single won, though.
The next day I made hayashi rice with the leftover meat, and this is another real treat. If you have never had it melt in your mouth like this, you would not know. A dish like this costs too much in ingredients for any restaurant to serve to customers. It is a delicacy you can only have at home. When I went to Gourmet 494 this time, they were selling the very same hayashi rice roux I brought back from Japan. About three times the price, mind you. Still, it is a relief that this kind of cooking is possible in Korea. Long live Gourmet 494.
BrewDog shirt
Pongdang Craft in Sinsa-dong was holding a shirt sale, so I dropped by for a bit. And here is the proof shot.. A quick search showed you can order directly from the UK too, so it might be worth getting people together to bulk-order merch and beer. The problem is that imported beer in Korea is taxed at 173%.. a beer that sells for 3,000 won abroad becomes 8,200 won here with zero margin. Even so, imported beer is still the better choice, which is why people drink so much of it. Honestly, eating well in Korea is not an easy thing.
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