Restaurant Bucket List #11-7

We've made a list and we've checked it twice: there are 11 restaurants we have to re-visit before we leave Korea. These are not necessarily our top 11 favorites, but are mostly places we haven't been in a while and have to pay one last visit to. For example, we hit up Yum Thai and Ho Lee Chow a few days before the list was drafted, so we don't need to go back so soon. We've crossed the first five off our list, leaving 6 left in to go over the next 7 days. The results so far:

#11- Everest

Before returning to Korea, I always related Indian food to those TV dinners that might send you to the bathroom within a few minutes of consuming them. We don't have any Indian restaurants at home, so that had been my unfortunate experience. Luckily, Seoul has quite a few delicious Indian places and I've become obsessed with tucking into a nice curry at least once a week for the past year!! Best restaurant by a country mile: Everest near Dongdaemun Station, exit 3. It's a little out of the way for us, but everything tastes fresh and delicious and the prices are half of what you see at Indian places in Gangnam. Love it! We got Chicken makhani, paratha, and samosas.

#10- Popeyes

Actually, Popeyes kind of sucks. Mel hates it. But, for some reason, when we were making this list I decided I had to have their "Cajun Tong Sandwich" again. It's a slightly spicy chicken burger topped with mayo and a slice of ham. Dunno why, but I like it. It was great. Mel hated it.

#9- Pizza @ BBQ Chicken

Their chicken is good, but in my opinion BBQ Chicken makes the best pizza in Korea. At 8,000 Won for a large it's a steal, too. The sauce is amazing. The pepperoni might actually be real! Unfortunately, almost zero BBQ Chicken places serve pizza. The only two we've found are way down in Busan (outside Busan Station) and Dongnimmun Station in north Seoul. We went to the one at Dongnummun and it was, of course, amazing.

#8- Hakoya
Japanese food is my least favorite of the world's cuisine's that I've sampled, but for some reason I love everything at Hakoya. My favorite is the kyushu, a completely unoffensive (try a few Korean soups for an example of 'offensive') pork soup with noodles. The sweet slices of BBQ pork in the soup seal the deal. The gyozas and rice bowls are amazing too. There's one in Yongsan Station and one on the food street behind Gangnam Station exit 7.

#7- Todai

A visit to this place really breaks the bank, at 33,000 Won each, but luckily we've sold a bunch of our old furniture on craigslist and we used the proceeds to fund this trip. Actually, I haven't spent a penny of my own money in 4 days- thanks, craigslist! Todai, near Sinmokdong Station is an amazing dining experience. It's a buffet, but everything looks fancy and tastes fresh. There's so much good stuff here. Examples:

Bulgogi, pork belly, potato pancake, sweet & sour pork, beef teppanyaki, mandarin chicken salad, pizza and a chicken skewer.

salmon sushi, inari sushi, roasted eggplant, salmon salad, chicken skewers, roasted mushrooms and garlic, bulgogi, chicken salad.

Build yer' own pho, more BBQ pork belly, flower bread and another potato pancake.

mango cheesecake, strawberry sweetmeat, watermelon, pineapple, plum, creme brulee and tiramisu.

Cream puff, tiramisu, pineapple, brownie, apple pie, strawberry mousse cake, orange trifle cake, strawberry sweetmeat and a few other cakes that I forget the names of.

All this plus unlimited coffee, smoothies, juices and colas made for a very full tummy on the ride home.

#6-1 still to come. We have a lot of eating to do, and such little time!