Hubby and I found this great little galbi restaruant a few weeks ago, we liked it so much we took the kids back the following weekend.  To get here  take the blue line, line 4 to Chongshin University, go out subway exit #1 and walk straight  go to the first BIG intersection (you will have to wait for a light to cross), once you cross the street, turn right, you will walk about 1 block, right after you pass a small hospital (you will know it is a hospital because there is normally an ambulance sitting out front AND there are patients all over the streets in their hospital pajamas) you will see this restaurant, it is the very first restaurant past the hospital.  Just FYI, there are NO ENGLISH menus or pictures.
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This is the best little galbi restaurant I have eaten at here in Seoul, no joke!  I am sure there are better ones out there, but this is the best I have had, and the price was great!  For our family of 6 (we had beef and pork galbi) we paid 65,000 won!  Here is what our meal looked like....
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Oh baby, I'm hungry!
 
Dumpling Nazi 10/08/2009
 
The day Hubby and I went out to look for furniture we happened upon this really fun street.  While there, we noticed tons of people waiting in line, and very quietly I might add. It reminded us of the Sinfield episode with the 'Soup Nazi'.  You know the one.  First we passed this place up not knowing what they were selling, but Hubby mentioned he would like to get some of whatever it was just because of the line.  As we were leaving 'fun street' about an hour later there was still a very long line at this mysterious 'Soup Nazi' style place.  Hubby couldn't resist and even though he had no idea what he was getting in line for, he got  in line.
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the line...
Once we got a little closer we could see what it was....oh baby, fresh and steaming hot...
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DUMPLINGS!!!!!
I've had a few fresh steamed dumplings on the streets here, but none of them compared to these bad boys.  So, if you are ever out and about & you see this store.....
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RUN, don't walk to get your smokin' fresh dumplings!  We got both the spicy beef and the non spicy, both were equally delicious!  OH, and I forgot to mention, cheap!
 
Le Saigon 09/24/2009
 
If you know me at all, you know how much I LOVE Vietnamese food. I could eat bun or pho soup all day long, breakfast, lunch and dinner and never tire of it. (Well, maybe eventually.)  Last week this little restaurant opened up right outside the Kimchi Pot gate, so Hubby, Boy 3 and I rushed over for a quick lunch.  It turned out to not be so quick, I have no idea why, but they were very apologetic, and brought free drinks to us.
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Once our food finally came it was delicious, AND very inexpensive I might add.  Only 7,000 won for this noodle bowl!  We also ordered spring rolls and Vietnamese chicken wings for the little guy. 
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Hubby went back a couple of days later for lunch & reported that the pho soup was VERY GOOD.  I can't wait to go back and try it!  To get there, exit the Kimchi Pot gate, look across the street to the right and you will see Le Saigon.  The place isn't very big - seating only about 20 or so.
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Bluefin Tuna 09/20/2009
 
Recently on Hubby's birthday Boy 3 and I picked him up from work and took him to lunch.   Hubby wanted to try a restaurant we had walked past a couple of weeks earlier, Bluefin Tuna.  We were not disappointed!  Bluefin Tuna is a great place to go if you like tuna sushi & sashimii! 
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The prices were good and the tuna was fresh!  This is a place we will go to more often!
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To get there, go out the Camp Coiner walk out gate, turn left, then right down the first alley, go till you get to the main street (the one Camp Kim is on) turn left...walk a few blocks and you will see Bluefin Tuna on your left.  (It is pretty close to Outback Steak House)
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Just remember if you decide to go, the Camp Coiner walk out gate is only open at lunch time, AND it closes at 1PM.  Don't make the same mistake we did and forget.  We got back to the gate at 1:15PM and had to make that long haul on foot back to the Camp Coiner drive out gate, then over to our car.  However it was a good walk and since we ate far too much!
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I just love this picture.  Boy 3 is always asking to 'pet' his dad's hair, so whenever Hubby carries him he 'pets' Hubby's hair the whole time.
 
Kabinett 09/19/2009
 
I have been to Kabinett several times, but this is my first time to write about it.  Kabinett is turning out to be one of my favorite places to go to have a nice glass of wine and hang out with Hubby.  They have an extensive wine list, with wines prices up to 16,000,000 WON!  Even though I would like to try a wine with that price tag, I would never order it; let’s face it, for a bottle of wine that expensive, I would be doing dishes at this restaurant for the rest of my life. 
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We typically stick to the house wine, as Kabinett does not have a bad wine in the building (that I have tasted anyway).  My favorite thing to order here is the cheese fondue, but be careful, it is hot and I did burn myself the first time we ordered it.  (I’m so graceful!)
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Kabinett has such cozy seating and the music is very romantic.  This is a perfect place for a date night.
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Spicy seafood pasta...oh so yummy!
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Lemon Chicken - delightful!

Kabinett is located in Iteawon. If you go out the walk out gate by the gas station, you are going to be walking quite far. It is doable, but if your girl is wearing heals you should really splurge for a cab.  Kabinett is on the left side of the street if you are coming from post, just past the Iteawon Hotel on the 2nd floor.

 
Pancho's! 09/13/2009
 
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You all know how much I love Korea, but if there is one thing lacking here, it is Mexican food.  Many months ago Hubby and I noticed this Mexican restaurant in Iteawon.  This past weekend we decided to give it a try.  It can’t be all bad when the sign reads 'World Famous Margaritas'! 
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Personally I would not call the margarita's 'world famous', but they were not terrible either.  However next time I visit Pancho's, I will order a Corona, or a mojito,  Hubby's mojito was very good!   First off we ordered chips and salsa, I like many of you other judge a Mexican restaurant on the quality of thier chips and salsa.  These were not bad, but they did not make me want to order a full meal either.  Hubby and I decided to order 2 tacos, at a heafty price of 12,000 won! Check out what we got....

(Notice LaTravola, one of our favorite Italian restaurants in the background of the picture above?)
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Check out the 'salad' mix on our tacos.  Nice.  Hubby said these tacos were a little better than Taco Bell, I had to disagree with him, especially for the price next time I will opt to go to Taco Bell!  (Yes we have a Taco Bell here.) 

All in all, Pancho's wasn't that bad.  Hubby and I both agreed that if we had a hankering for Mexican beer, chips and salsa, this would be the place to come! 
 
Chicken & Beer 09/04/2009
 
Who would have guessed that Koreans love fried chicken & beer (actually soju)?  Not me.  But after seeing the many, many chicken and beer joints around the area, Hubby and I decided to go to one of these chicken and beer places and bring the camera along for the ride.  (OK, so I have been to one chicken and beer place here which was fabulous, I thought I would recognize the sign when I saw it, but apparently I was wrong.)  This is the chain we went to....
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If you live in Seoul, you will see TwoowT's fried chicken joints all over town, but I really don't know why.  Maybe you have to order beer with it to make it better, I opted for a Sprite, and maybe that was my problem.  This is the yummy appetizer we got....(free of charge I might add - thank goodness!)
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Don't get me wrong, this wasn't horrible; in fact the plain fried chicken was good enough, just a bit on the greasy side - and to give credit where credit is due, fried chicken is supposed to be greasy.  Now the 'garlic' fried chicken we ordered, well, that was a different story, after one bite of that I needed a swig of soju, and I love garlic.   Hubby enjoyed the garlic chicken, but after a few bites I couldn’t kiss him for the rest of the night.
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'Regular' fried chicken with a tasty salad.
TwoowT's, I'm sorry but we will not be visiting you again....
 
Mad For Garlic! 08/14/2009
 
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All my friends have been RAVING about this Mad For Garlic place, so I figured it was about time for us to take a field trip to check it out. On a recent Saturday night date with hubby, this is where we went.   There are several locations here in Seoul, we chose to go to the Sadang restaurant in Pastel City. This location was super easy to get to from post.  Go out the visitors gate (the one with the dog kennel), hop on the subway, take it to Sadang subway stop, exit 12, go to the 2nd floor (I think) and sha-bang- there it is right in front of your face!

Now, I love garlic and I love Italian food, so this combination sounded just wonderful to me!  We started off with cheese fondue with roasted garlic – I know, not sounding so Italian anymore.  Cheese fondue?   Even though I enjoyed the cheese fondue with roasted garlic, it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, and Hubby agreed, leaving our introduction to the food was a bit wobbly.  It did look pretty though.
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For dinner we shared a bowl of mussels in a spicy white sauce, and a margarita pizza.  The mussels were good & spicy, but nothing to write home about.  The sauce on the pizza was a bit too sweet for my taste.
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So, the question is, would I eat here again?  Yes, if I were out and I happened upon a Mad For Garlic and I was hungry, I would eat there.  But for good Italian food, I will just walk down the street to CasAntonio or La Travola in Iteawon.
 
CasAntonio 07/26/2009
 
A few months ago I wrote about a FANTASTIC Italian restaurant in Iteawon, Antonio's.  Well, it is no longer Antonio's, the new name is LaTravola.  Upon entering I realized not much had changed other than the name, but if you know me, you know I had to ask questions. This is what I found out - Antonio didn't want to franchise his restaurant anymore, so he sold (unless something got lost in translation, that is the story).  He opened a new restaurant in Itaewon named CasAntonio.  You can find CasAntonio on the second floor above Los Amigos.
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CasAntonio has a more elegant feel to it.  You might want to dress just a tad bit nicer than if you were going to the local taco stand.   The caprese salad  was to die for...that ball of buffalo mozzarella was melt in your mouth delicious!
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The pastas are scrumptious!  This it the penne arrabbiata, we had buffalo mozzarella and chicken added to this dish. I love an arrabbiata sauce and this one was right on.  The amount of heat was perfect and the taste of fresh basil just right.  This is something I see myself ordering again and again. 
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SIL & I ate in the wine room. (Big surprise there huh?) The wine room holds up to 8 people and is much cooler than the rest of the restaurant.  This is one of the two rooms where you can have a private party. Antonio is in the restaurant most of the time mingling with guest or playing the piano.  Here we are with Antonio.
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When you arrive here, day one is pretty much a wash, first off, guest are always jetlagged. Since we live on a military post, we have to in-process them, which mean we have to fill out paperwork, (which I do early) show copies of their passports to some higher up official whom I don't know. He approves them to stay with us here on post and then they are allowed to get a temporary ID card.  This process is really painless; it just takes a bit of time.  After we in-processed them, we took them (just Twin & SIL) to our favorite little restaurant, you all know which one I am talking about, yes, that is right, the Mackerel Lady.  Now, I have to say, I did not think this was such a great idea for their 'first Korean meal' but Hubby really wanted to do this so I went along.   You ask why?  Well, for some people Korean food has to grow on you a bit, and I thought this might be true for SIL.  I thought she might kill over with a heart attack when we walked by the Mackerel Lady and she was standing outside with her plate of mackerel in the sun, with no ice on it.....SIL did great, although she questioned this practice several times.  The in-laws also thought it was quite odd that we were eating in the Mackerel Ladies house.  We just accept this as an added treat.   

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Later in the evening Twin was feeling up to going out to explore just a bit, so we took him out into Iteawon to one of our favorite little dive bars with live music...you remember Woodstock don't you.  Bob wasn't there, but it still proved to be fun.  A vendor walked through selling these hats, so I had to buy one for myself and SIL to wear to the mud festival the next day! 
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As for all first time visitors, day one proved to be fun, relaxing, tiring and overwhelming.  Just wait to see what we have in store for them the next day......