Owl's Pork Cutlet/부엉이 돈가스

Looking to eat a juicy yet crispy pork cutlet in the Hongdae area? Look no further! Owl's Cutlet is probably the best pork cutlet I've eaten in Korea. 

Sometimes you can sit in the awning section at the front. It is nice if it is raining in there, as you can feel like you're on a camping trip (a delicious one)

The whole restaurant is kitted out with owl paraphernalia and there are some cute owl mascots hanging on the wall. Don't worry, you won't be eating an owl (but now I'm curious of the taste)

Just one section of the owl-over treatment

You can choose from four different pork cutlets: Original, Salad, Spicy or Snow Cheese. I opted for the cheesy one because I've had it before and it is super delishy. There's other options on the menu too, take a look: 

You get a small cup of cream of corn soup while you wait for your dinner, topped with, yes that is cornflakes. Of course we all think of them as breakfast but it's quite a tasty addition to the soup!

Pickle your fancy?

 Here it is in all it's glory! Give the cheese a minute to melt - or don't!

With rice, nachos, teeny tiny brocolli, tomato and soft fluffy potato wedges! Don't forget to dip it in the sauce!

I can almost hear you saying 'Oooooh YES' 

Ever tried holding chopsticks in one hand and a camera in the other? It ain't easy!

How to get there:

Sangsu station (Line 2 - Green line) exit 1. Walk straight and turn on the third right, it is behind the Mini Stop and glasses store, as seen below.

Behind the building on the right.

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Jeonju Gyodong Seokgalbi/ 전주 교동 석갈비

In the Jeonju Hanok Village (traditional building village) you can find this fab restaurant selling Seok-Galbi (Stone cooked rib meat!). The food is many in number and delicious in flavour. Going to this part of Korea? You MUST eat here (for under 20,000pp!)

The thing around the lights is a kind of pillow which people hug during summer slumbers to keep themselves cool. I was told only men use this and that the Korean name translates to 'bamboo wife'.

This meat has been marinated for what must be a long time, because it is so delicious. It's cooked on a bed of onions, garlic and mushrooms, which soak up all the deliciousness too.

Oily noodles with vegetables -  Jabchae 잡채

Pumpkin - soft and sweet

Yumminess.

Quails eggs with pickled garlic and beef.

Soup and rice

Other sidedishes included:

- beetroot pickled radish
- lettuce and sauce for making a mini-meat sandwich
- salad
- kimchi (three kinds)
- raw garlic


I thought that the above was the whole meal , but a bowl of iced buckwheat noodles also arrived, complete with vegetables, sesame seeds and a hard boiled egg. These noodles are really chewy and as much for the texture as they are for the taste, at least for me anyway.

How to get there:

Hmm... a bit of a difficult one, ask around or use naver maps to locate it (just copy the Korean from the title if you can't type it yourself)

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Byeokjae Seolleongtang 벽제한우 설렁탕

This is a restaurant specialising in a soup with a broth that has been boiled with bones for hours to make it extra tasty. They also sell Gomtang 곰탕 (another bone soup) which is what I ordered. Byeokjae (벽재) is the name of a region in Korea but is also the Korean word for crematorium. Quite interesting considering that it is bone soup. Anyway, carry on...

Nice enough!

The side dishes were tasty, especially the one of the right. The soy sauce on the bottom left is for dipping anything you want in (within reason).

Beef, leeks and bone soup, all you need now is...

tripe! Yum!

Can't get to the bottom of your bowl? Don't worry, do this!

Afterwards, you will get a small cup of fruit tea and it is worth sticking around for!


How to get there: Jonggak station, exit 1 (it might be closed due to construction so find another exit and then locate where exit 1 is from there). From exit 1, you can see a shopping centre with lots of cafes on the ground floor. Go to the second floor and find this place:

Entrance in the corner.

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Seasons Table/계절밥상

A bloomin' good buffet!

Seasons table is a buffet restaurant in the iPark mall at Yongsan Station. There are other branches but that is the one I went to.

Growing real plants in the restaurant. Ain't no plastic leaves here.

This is a healthier option than other buffets around the same price, such as Ashley or VIPS (22,000 for two hours) and they have lots of choices, and a good amount of pudding options!

Here is the meat section where you can get freshly cooked steak (cooked to different levels for your taste - just root around), prawns, samgyeopsal and other tasties.

The chef is taking a break to do some exercise, apparently. Unfortunately, the sweet potatoes aren't real and not on the menu.

Lots of salads here too, all made in front of your very eyes. They are also making rice wrapped in leaves, called ssambap 쌈밥 which is simple yet tasty. You can see the ssambap on the plate below, above the hummus looking thing and below the noodles.

Kitchens that you can see help you know what you are getting!

The croutons were not crispy like I've known them before, and instead chewy and sweet. Enjoyable but not exactly croutons.

The pancake station, just one part of a larger desert menu which also includes traditional Korean crackers, ice cream and a bingsu (shaved ice) area, which you can add toppings to.

I would replace my heart with one of these if I could, and my blood would be liquid sugary nutty honey.

If you are lucky, Mr. Ice Cream will come around and offer you a red bean ice cream. As you may know, I am a self confessed ice cream addict so I had to take one when it came around, even though I had just finished my first plate. Let's call it an ice cream intermission.

This is a parody of Korean ice cream men of the past.

How to get there: Yongsan station, follow the signs to the iPark mall and it is on the 7th floor. The Korean name is 계절밥상.

Overall, a wonder-mybellyisso-ful(l) buffet!

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P.S. ICE CREAM SANDWICH

Trevia Pizza

A good, doughy and scrumptious pizza!

Trevia Pizza is an Italian style pizza restaurant near Itaewon. There are lots of pizzas to choose from (vegetarian and carnivorous), as well as cheese boards, paninis and a yummy lasagne.

You might need to write your name in the book outside the restaurant, and then wait for a short while for a table. Once inside, grab a menu and when you are ready, order at the counter. You can pay an extra 500won for extra tomato sauce, too!

One pizza costs 5,000-7,000won and it comes in four slices. For two people, you would feel happy after eating two pizzas between you and pretty full after four shared. The lasagne is good but a little more expensive (13,000won) and the other options are all around this price range.

This is a self service restaurant, so you need to get your own cutlery, side dishes and water. 

Park yer bum 'ere.

Mushroom in the top, chorizo underneath.

Shrimpy on the left, beefy on the right.

It is well worth any journey you might incur (for me an hour) and definitely worth the wait outside - if you are fourth or fifth down the line you will have some time to explore the area.

Overall - a fan-topping-tastic pizzeria!

How to get there: Noksapyeong 녹사평역 exit 1. Cross the big road to your left (about three crossings) and then head left down the big road you just crossed. Trevia pizza is a little way down on the right. 녹사평역 

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