Pyeongtaek's Pizzas Supreme

Pizza Mall's "Chicago Deep Dish" pizza. 

Korean pizza (피자) is a great experiment in glocalization. Where else in the world can you find sweet potato mousse stuffed crusts, obligatory sprinkles of canned corn on every variety of pizza including cheese, plus pizzas topped with hearty potato wedges? Love or hate it, the Korean twist on pizza is insanely popular in the country. However, quality varies widely. If you're looking for a decent slice of pizza in Pyeongtaek, here are three places to get pizzas that are at least a crust above the others. 

Pizza Mall - New Core's Pizza Mall is the oddball in Pyeongtaek. And by oddball I mean they are the one that experiments the most with the American way of doing things. They were one of the few places I've seen in the whole country to offer an 18 inch pizza. The crust was soft and chewy. The toppings were fresh, large, numerous, and normal by American standards. What's more, the pizza was only 11,900 won, which is insanely cheap for a pizza that large. Sadly, they don't sell that size of pizza in Pyeongtaek anymore. However, they are the only place around that sells a Chicago style deep dish. It's one of those super cheesy-saucy pies that can turn into a big mess if you're not careful. And while it doesn't beat anything in Chicago, it beats a lot of Pizza Mall's competition. Their normal pizzas are good too, but I go there exclusively for the deep dish. 

Pizza Alvolo's "Super Deluxe Combination Pizza."

To get to Pizza Mall, take the 15, 1-1, 2-2 or any bus that says "뉴고아" (New Core) on the bottom left of the bus windshield. New Core's stop is in front of a Samsung store and across from a Paris Baguette. Walk all the way down the alley across from Samsung. New Core will be on your right. Pizza Mall is in the food court.

Pizza Alvolo - Pizza Alvolo (피자알볼로) has surprisingly good pizza for a native Korean chain. You can find outlandishly Korean pizzas at Pizza Alvolo, the kind of bizarre, expensive topping monsters that are not out of place at Korean Pizza Hut or Dominos. But Alvolo's pizzas are actually really good. Their pizzas have lots of stretchy cheese, a crispy-chewie crust that isn't tough or tasteless, and a sauce that isn't sweet. Plus, they serve an excellent garlic sauce on the side to dip your crust in. The listed prices are the same as most Korean chains, but cheaper than the mega chains mentioned earlier. Plus, when the NetBot and I order they always knock a couple thousand won off the top. It's a relative newcomer to Pyeongtaek, but with good prices and great pizza, Pizza Alvolo quickly became our favorite place to get pizza in the city. 

In other cities Pizza Alvolo has a dining room. Pyeongtaek's Pizza Alvolo, however, only offers delivery and take-out. You can find their menu here, and order at this number: 031-655-8495. The NetBot, Eat Korea's robot taste tester, recommends the "Hot and Spicy Chicken Pizza." If you can't speak Korean, you can take the bus and wait in their lobby. From the New Core bus stop in front of Paris Baguette, take the 3-5, 7-1, or 7-2 bus and get off at the stop after Deokdung Elementary School. You will pass the school on your right.  Walk down the street after you get off the bus.  You'll end up at a large intersection with a Paris Baguette. Pizza Alvolo is in that intersection on your right beside the big seafood restaurant with the fish tanks in front. 

If you are coming from Pyeongtaek Station, take the same busses to Myeongbeop Temple (명법사). Hit the stop button after you pass the grassy park on your right and can see woods on both sides of the street. When you get off the bus, walk down the street to the intersection with Paris Baguette. Pizza Alvolo will be near the opposite corner.

Costco's 18 inch "Combo Pizza."
(Decent photo pending)

Costco - The first two restaurants on this list make great Korean Pizza. However, if you want a genuine taste of home you need to go to Costco. The closest one is not in Pyeongtaek. But, located in Cheonan, it is close enough to sneak onto this list. 

Korean Costco is so American friends of mine say it even smells like America. The pizza in their food court is no exception. Costco's pizza is 18 inches of cheesy, American glory. There is enough sauce so you don't notice the lack of it, but not so much you think, "man this is really saucy." The doughy but firm crust is familiarly American in its elasticity, something Korean style crusts lack. And anyone who grew up in the USA will recognize the uniquely American flavors of Costco's pepperoni, sausage bits, peppers, onions, and olives on their Combo Pizza. Their pizza can even be bought by the slice. 

If you don't have a car or a friend with a car, Cheonan Costco is really hard to get to. For those who like to make a day-long adventure out of riding public transportation, you have two options. Option 1: take the subway to Cheonan Station (천안역). Take exit 1, cross the street in front of the station and turn right. Keep walking up the street until you find the bus stop. It isn't a far walk, maybe a couple minutes. From there most busses will take you to your next destination: Cheonan Bus Terminal (종합터마널) (aka: Shinsegae Department Store). There is a big bus stop in front of the terminal. Take city bus 25 for 28 stops. Costco will be on your right. It's big and hard to miss. Option 2: take the subway to Cheonan-Asan Station. Take Exit 1, and from the large bus stop in front of the station get on city bus 19 for 18 stops. Costco will be on your right a little up the street. 

If you do not enjoy long adventures on public transportation, do not go to Cheonan Costco. But if you really want to go, go to Seodaejeon Costco. A 4,800won train ticket will get you to Seodaejeon Station (서대전역) in about an hour. Costco is right next to the station on the left as you exit. It's so close you can see Costco's parking garage when you get off the train.

There are so many pizza restaurants in Pyeongtaek (and nearish by). If you have a favorite place to order pizza in Pyeongtaek, please let us know where by mentioning it in the comments.

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Mini Review: Seorae Reborn

Seorae Galmaegi (서래 갈매기) was one of the most popular Korean barbecue restaurants downtown. The meat was delicious and of good quality. The sides were tangy and spicy and fresh. The atmosphere was rustic and constantly buzzing with activity. 

Last year they were gutted and their facade torn down. For all intents and purposes, they appeared to have gone out of business. 

They did not. They were closed for renovations. 

The new, shiny, stainless steel and glass Seorae is just as delicious as the old, but I have to say, the atmosphere of the old wooden restaurant was much more comfortable. 

Seorae serves dinner from 5:30pm to 11:00pm weekdays and closes at 1am on the weekend. The servings are smaller than they used to be, but the service is still good. The prices are moderate (15,000 won and up for two people). And the place feels so clean these days you practically need to squint to see through the glare. 

Getting there from Pyeongtaek Station is easy if you imagine the streets as resembling the fingers in your hand. While standing in front of the station, hold your right hand palm up. Cross the street and walk down the index finger road. Turn left after three blocks. You should be able to see Seorae Galmaegi nearly in front of you down the street. It is on the right side of the street as the road bends to the left.

(Some reporting by Park Junsik.)

2015.3.4 | 지도 크게 보기 ©  NAVER Corp.

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Looks Like Mud. Tastes Like Heaven.

"I was just trying to catch a few eels to make an eel stew. Though, I suppose I won't get any, and you wouldn't like it if I do," said the charmingly despondent Tom Baker as Puddleglum the Marshwiggle in the BBC production of C.S. Lewis' The Silver Chair. He continued, "it's against reason that you should like our vittles... Food for Wiggles is poison for Humans."

Seongka'ne, one of Pyeongtaek's most
 popular restaurants

As a young boy I used to be thrilled by the glorious taboo of Puddleglum's muddy, eel stew. Fast forward a couple decades and down the street from my first apartment in Korea stood Seongka'ne Keunjip Chu'eo'tang (성가네 큰집 추어탕), a stew restaurant. And not just any stew restaurant. On its yellow sign were what appeared to be two, big, happy eels. I had found Puddleglum's stew. The restaurant is one of Pyeongtaek's busiest. And despite Puddleglum's negativity, there is every reason
why you should like their vittles.

Seongka'ne actually doesn't serve eel stew. They serve chu'eo tang (추어탕). The translation is, "mud loach stew." Yes, that actually sounds worse than eel stew, but it is far from poisonous. In fact, is is one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted in Korea.

Mud loaches (also called mi'ggu'raji 미꾸라지 in Korean) are small, eel-like, freshwater bottom feeders. Because they can breath air as well as water, they are sometimes found in mud. However, while the stew may look like mud, it tastes like anything but.

Chu'eo tang's flavor is a little hard to pin down. If you tried a bowl of it without knowing what it was, you would never suspect that it was made out of pulverized fish. It is definitely savory and rich in the manner of dark poultry. And it lacks the greasiness of red meat. If someone had told me it was the stew of a small mammal or of some wild bird like a pheasant or quail, I wouldn't have questioned them.

Dolsotbap transforms into sung'nyung

The texture is where the dish suffers a bit. Overall it is just what you might expect from a thick stew made from ground fish. It's a little creamy. However, it's a bit grainy too. And sometimes there is a mildly sandy crunch to get through. It is very light, so I am not sure if this is actual sand from the creature's gut; grains of tiny, ground bones; or one of the seasonings in the stew. Luckily, the effect is so mild and the flavor is so good, it is easy to ignore.

Like many Korean stews, chu'eo tang is great with a bowl of rice. The restaurant gives you two options: stew with gongi bap, that is with a plain bowl of rice; or stew with dolsotbap (돌솥밥): a large, hot bowl of rice. The first is 6,000 won. The latter is 7,000 won. The advantage of dolsot bap is that after you scoop out your rice you can pour water in the bowl and make a toasty rice soup called, sung'nyung (숭늉).

Rice is so essential to the meal that a sign in the back of the restaurant even gives directions on how best to enjoy it with your stew. According to the sign, for the very best experience, you should put half your rice in your stew and mix the other half with the chopped green chillies and some preserved, spicy oyster called eoli'guljeot (어리굴젓). The rice definitely fortifies the stew, stretching it out and making it more filling. And mixed with the preserved oysters, the rice assumes a taste distinctly reminiscent of the ocean. Having grown up by the sea, I found the oceanic flavor enjoyable. However, the NetBot, EatKorea's robot taste tester from suburban California, was not so keen on it.

A variety of side dishes including
eoli'guljeot (center bottom)

The sign in the back of the shop talks about more than the rice. Chu'eo tang apparently is a nutritious health food. The fish, the sign claims, are like nutritional supplements. The whole fish is ground up bones, guts and all. And because of this it is said the stew contains lots of calcium and protein among other less believable nutrients. The claims don't stop there. Like most Korean health foods, it is believed that the fish improves a person's sexual stamina. Who can really say? But at very least, this satisfying meal does provide enough strength to tide one over until dinner.

Seongka'ne Keunjip Chu'eo'tang is extremely busy. Do not be surprised if you have to wait to be seated. They are open from 10am to 9pm. To get there take the 50 or 20 bus from Pyeongtaek Station to the City Hall stop in front of Lotte Mart. When you get off the bus, backtrack to the intersection that the bus passed through just before the stop. When you get to that intersection, turn left toward Lotte Mart. Walk straight and continue past the store until you see a CU convenience mart on your right. Seongka'ne will also be on your right across from CU.

(Thanks to Park Junsik for obtaining the open hours)

2015.3.3 | 지도 크게 보기 ©  NAVER Corp.

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The House of Mountain Vegetables

Koreans have a passionate love of the mountains. It is really hard to ignore. Just get on any public transportation and you're bound to see aged, backpack bearing Koreans armed with hiking poles and regaled head to toe in colorful synthetic blends. The call of the mountains goes well beyond open spaces and fresh air, though. Korea's mountains are closely associated with fresh, natural, and even curative veggies. It is this reputation for fresh, healthy vegetables that Sanchaewon (산채원), a "mountain-veggie" restaurant, takes full advantage of.

The interior is very clean and strangely airy and bright for being indoors. It is almost as if the restaurant was perched on a mountainside instead of its real location on an ugly, developing street near Lotte Mart. The sliding doors use a homemade pulley and weight system that uses gravity to close them. The heavy, ceramic bowls are crafted to appear to have been hewn out of stone. Herbal, solomon's seal tea (dung'gul'le cha 둥굴레차) is poured out of thin, aluminum pots like those found at old and traditional restaurants. A lot of effort went into making the restaurant look and feel like a fresh, wholesome, mountain abode, and their food certainly enforces the effect.

Their mostly vegetarian menu centers around three rustic foods: mountain veggies (산채), deo'deok (더덕), and hwangtae (황태).

The mountain veggies at Sanchaewon include a forest glade full of fresh and prepared veggies: bracken ferns (gosari 고사리), shitaki mushrooms (pyogobeoseot 표고버섯), radish tops (si'laegi 시래기), soybean sprouts (kongnamul 콩나물), spinach (sigeumchi 시금치), lettuce (sang'chu 생추), kimchi radish (mu saengchae'namul 무생채나물), and pimpinella (cham'namul 참나물). Normally these are banchan (반찬), side dishes. But in Sanchaewon's "sanchae jeongshik" (산채정식), it is the main course. Add a hot stone bowl of rice (dolsot bap 돌솥밥), and these veggies become a palette for designing your own bibimbap. Sanchae jeongshik can only be ordered for at least two people. And at 11,000 won per person, it is a lot more expensive than the alternative — ordering a bowl of bibimbap. Yet, whether you order their vegetable platter or a 7,000 won bowl of bibimbap, you can depend on the food being fresh and handmade. I've been eating there since they opened a few years ago, and their bibimbap has always been the best in Pyeongtaek. 

Deo'deok is the root of a plant that few in the West, except perhaps avid gardeners, herbalists and botanists would recognize. Have you heard of Codonopsis lanceolata, also known as bonnet bellflower? It sounds poisonous, but this plant is supposedly healthy for you, promoting immune and mental health. 

"It's like real nature," my friend Jerry Park said about grilled deo'deok in general. "You can smell the freshness of the forest."

Hwangtae is walleye pollack that is hung on wooden frames and left to the mercy of the winter elements. In time, the extreme weather naturally freeze-dries the fish. It looks similar to how some Native American tribes traditionally preserved their fish. 

Every time I have visited Sanchaewon I have been craving bibimbap, so I haven't tried their deo'deok or hwangtae. I have tried them at other restaurants, though, and in my experience they are more suited to broader palates. Deo'deok has a strong rooty flavor reminiscent of something a groundhog in a field of wildflowers might enjoy. And hwangtae, though not especially fishy, can be chewy in a way Westerners don't normally associate with fish. I like them, but then again, I like almost everything. 

Sides: (clockwise) jeon (전), jeotgal (젓갈), 
mul kimchi (물김치), eolgali kimchi (얼갈이김치),  
doenjang guk (된장국) , 
ganjang chojeol'im  (간장초절임)

Whether you order vegetables, weird roots or preserved fish, as at most Korean restaurants, you can expect to find a broad range of homemade side dishes. The sides dishes at Sanchaewon change a little from time to time. For example, back in December my bibimbap included white kimchi (baek kimchi 백김치) and seasoned, boiled daikon radish (Jolim'mu 조림무). However, when I visited last week the side dishes had changed. Instead of boiled radish and white kimchi, my meal had spicy pickled radish (간장초절임) and water kimchi (물감치). While the sides can change, you can always expect an unusually vegetal bowl of doenjang guk (된장국) and some kind of kimchi.   

Sanchaewon is open 10am to 10pm. They are pretty easy to find. Take the 50 or 20 bus from Pyeongtaek Station to the City Hall stop (shi'cheong 시청) in front of Lotte Mart. When you get off at the stop, backtrack to the intersection and turn left toward Lotte Mart. Walk past the store and keep on going straight until you see a CU mini-mart on your right. Go down the street beside CU. Sanchaewon will be on your right, across from the dirt lot behind the mart.  

(Some reporting by Park Junsik)

2015.3.2 | 지도 크게 보기 ©  NAVER Corp.

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Bulgobimbap Envy

Yuk'ssam Naengmyeon (육쌈냉면) is a chain restaurant with at least 35 locations throughout Korea, including one in downtown Pyeongtaek. Naengmyeon, a kind of cold noodle soup, is part of their name, but that is not what I go there to eat. I go there for their bibimbap — a bibimbap served with a side of the most delicious, smoky, tender bulgogi. 

Even the NetBot, Eat Korea's robot taste tester, is enamored with their "Bibimbap Sut-bulgogi" (비빔밥 숯불고기). A former pescetarian, bibimbap pushes all the right buttons for her. Plus, being pickier about meat than most robots, she admitted she would rather eat a plate of Yuk'ssam Naengmyeon's sut-bulgogi than a full steak. As the only natural meat eater at Eat Korea, I am only a little inclined to disagree. Yuk'ssam has some really fantastic bulgogi. It isn't a substitute for a bloody steak, but I'm not a robot taste tester. 

Frankly, the bulgogi is what makes Yuk'ssam Naengmyeon stand out. Their main menu features naengmyeong, bibim-naengmyeon (cold noodles with veggies and no broth) and bibimbap. And each comes with a wooden dish of their signature meat. It has been some years since I ate their naengmyeon, but their bibimbap, a very affordable 6,000 won, tastes especially fresh. 

It is hard to ruin bibimbap, but it isn't easy to take a normal dish like bibimbap and make it extraordinary. The bulgogi does this. It takes this simple and delicious dish and makes every beef-bimbap'd bite a treat. The bibimbap is so improved by the meat that NetBot and I become quite protective of our meat portions. The meat is served on a single slab of wood, so portioning is subjective. There is enough to accommodate two people, but it is so good we are eventually seduced by the promise of a slice of bulgogi on every spoonful of bibimbap. The dangers of bulgo-greed are real. You never know when you'll have to correct the balance and steal some meat from the other side of the table. 

Yuk'ssam Naengmyeon serves lunch and dinner, opening at 10 am and closing at 10 pm. The service is decent. The place is clean, and it has lots of large windows offering a nice view of the street to diners. 

To get to the restaurant from Pyeongtaek Station, first hold out your right hand palm up and imagine the five streets in front of the station as the five fingers on your hand. Cross the street and walk down the index finger. You should be on the right side of the road. After one block turn right. You should see Yuk'ssam Naengmyeon not too far ahead of you on the second floor of a corner building.  

2015.2.25 | 지도 크게 보기 ©  NAVER Corp.

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The Pyeongtaek Churro Review

Churros have been common festival food in Korea for as long as I have lived here and likely longer. More recently the popularity of these Spanish, ridged, deep-fried sticks of cinnamon-sugared goodness have exploded beyond their tent stands and into everyday cuisine. Seemingly overnight, specialty churro cafés started opening up all over Gyeonggi-do, selling fresh churros to hordes of sugar crazed Koreans lined up outside their windows. 

Pyeongtaek is no exception. There are at least three churro vendors downtown: Churros Time, Michin Hotdog, and Xurreria. So we at EatKorea decided to put them to the test.

In third place is Michin Hot Dog (미친핫도그). Meaning "Crazy Hotdog" in Korean,  Michin obviously didn’t start out selling churros. Only lately have they expanded their menu to catch the winds of the newest food fad. So we aren't surprised they haven’t perfected their churros yet. In comparison to their competition, though, they have a lot to improve upon. 

A Michin Hotdog churro

Michin's churros are the smallest of the group. They are all about the same length as the others, but due to deep, ragged ridges, Michin has the smallest diameter of the three. The ridges and the small diameter have the effect of making their churros super crunchy. But their churros have a really strong grease flavor and they leave your hands visibly oily. Moreover, there wasn’t much cinnamon or sugar coating on the one they gave us.

On the bright side, Michin offers four sauces to dip their churros in: chocolate, cream cheese, blueberry, and mango. As far as we noticed, the other stores didn't have as much variety. For me and Eat Korea’s robotic taste tester, the NetBot,  the cream-cheese sauce was too tempting to resist, but we really should have stuck to chocolate. What we received no sane American would describe as cream cheese sauce. But then, I shouldn't be surprised. The shop must be called "crazy" for a reason. A more apt name of their sauce is sour lactose putty. You really can't dip a crispy churro in putty. It breaks. I had to gob it out with my finger and stretch it around the churro. Luckily for us, we were given a very small cup of lactose putty. 

A Churros Time churro

Churros Time, our second place winner, is the best place to visit for a churro on the go. They are right in the middle of the main action in downtown, behind the bus stop and taxi stand down the street from Pak'ae Hospital (박애병원). This central location makes them an ideal place to grab a churro after shopping, or after a meal, or while waiting for the bus. 

At 1,500 won, 500 won less than the competition, their churros are the cheapest. And for being cheap churros they are not too greasy. The vendors don’t skimp on the cinnamon and sugar. And their chocolate sauce (1,000 won extra) is hot and bitter-sweet. Plus, with a very light external crust, Churros Time churros are the softest of the three we reviewed. In fact, in the NetBot's opinion, too soft.

An Xurreria churro

So, for simply the best plain churro in downtown Pyeongtaek, you need to go on a bit of an expedition. Xurreria, located in the jungle of dead streets between McDonald's and Tongbok Market, is very difficult to find. But if you are fussy about your churros, theirs are worth the trip. The churro the Netbot and I tasted struck a harmonious balance between crispy and soft. It was fully dusted with cinnamon and sugar. It was the least greasy of the three. It was just perfect.

Unfortunately, perfection comes at a cost: 500 won more than Churros Time. On the other hand, if you shell out 1,000 won for chocolate sauce, they do give more sauce than anyone else. It's cold and gooey instead of melted, and it tastes more milk-chocolatey than Churros Time sauce. 

While Xurreria's churros are supreme, convenience prevails in the end. After reviewing our latest restaurant downtown, the NetBot wanted churros. It was cold. Her batteries were low. Where did we go? We went to Churros Time. Overall they offer the best experience: Cheap, convenient, good tasting churros. 


How to get there from Pyeongtaek Station:

Xurreria - Pyeongtaek downtown is like your hand, palm up with your fingers the roads and the station in your palm. Cross the street in front of the station and walk down the pinky finger for two blocks. I call this "Puppy Street" because of all the pet stores. Turn right when you get to Kosa Mart. You'll quickly come to an intersection of pedestrian friendly streets. Turn left at the intersection. Xurreria will be the second shop on your left.

Churros Time - Cross the street in front of the station and walk down the index finger for two blocks then turn left. Churros Time will be on your left behind the first bus stop you come to. 

Michin Hotdog - Cross the street in front of the station and walk down the index finger for one block. Turn left at the ArtBox/Pizza Hut building. Minchin Hotdog is in the middle of the square at the end of the road.

Ordering a churro at Michin Hotdog

read more "The Pyeongtaek Churro Review"

Authentic Sanuki Udon Handmade at Takumi

Freshly cut sanuki udon noodles at Takumi

Udon noodles are sensitive things. On no two days is a batch of homemade udon exactly the same. They are like a barometer, changing with the passing sun, the falling rain, and the blowing wind. To the novice hand these subtleties are hard to tell. But after a decade of crafting these eminently Japanese noodles, it is said that one can note their changing character.

This is one of the many things that Jo Hyeong-chan (조형찬), 47, learned while studying the art of making noodles on the Japanese island of Shikoku. He has been making udon for three years now at Takumi (타쿠미), his little noodle shop in Pyeongtaek. But already he can feel the differences that his old noodle sensei told him about, and it shows in his food.

A bowl of Takumi Udon

Hyeong-chan doesn't make just any udon, though. He makes sanuki udon. Sanuki udon is not the udon most Westerner's initially think of when they think of udon. This is not the side dish commonly found with your tempura or sushi at many Japanese restaurants. At Takumi sanuki udon is a whole meal, a meal that originated in Kagawa Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The name comes from the prefecture's old name of Sanuki. Of the main islands, Shikoku may be Japan's smallest, but its udon is one of the country's most popular.   
  
According to a hand-written note on the wall of the restaurant, Sanuki udon is different from other udon in its emphasis. Standard udon emphasizes the broth, called dashi in Japanese. However, sanuki udon emphasizes the noodles. The result is a long, thick, square noodle of remarkable flavor and texture. This is not to say the broth is flavorless, though. At Takumi, a lot of effort goes into the broth which is a complex mix of kelp, anchovies and other ingredients. But in their udon the broth doesn't overpower the noodles but supports them.

Jo Hyeong-Chan with his noodles

Hyeong-chan, a friendly man with mirthful eyes, is very particular about his udon. While we spoke he lamented the general state of Korean noodles which can contain lots of food additives. His noodles, though, are surprisingly simple for something so delicious. They are made of flour, water and salt — nothing more. He prepares the dough fresh every morning before opening. As needed, he rolls them out with long poles on a floured, wooden counter behind the cash register, taking his time like an expert potter as he feels for the proper thickness. In fact, this pottery degree holder, says making udon really does feel like making pottery. You can even see some of his inedible work, tiny cups and bowls, on display on the wall opposite the register.

Like restaurants on the other side of the East Sea, Takumi is long and narrow, squeezing at most 15 people and a clay bowl of koi into the cozy space. Every day from 11:30 am to 9:00 at night, except Mondays when the restaurant is closed, lunchtime brings crowds of hungry Koreans into the small space. Though cramped, few elbows are rubbed as patrons huddle over their bowls, completely immersed in their meals, breaking the quiet only while on their way out as they wish the cook, "Jal meok'eo ssumnida" (잘먹었습니다) — a complement expressing that they really enjoyed the meal.

The interior of Takumi was designed
 and built by Hyeong-chan.

The restaurant is divided by a handmade bar crafted by Hyeong-chan himself, who left a successful career in construction to make udon. The bar separates the kitchen from the dining area, allowing noodle slurping patrons the opportunity to witness Hyeong-chan at his craft: steadily turning a pale block of dough into long strands of raw udon noodles that ultimately become a variety of delicious soups that range in price from 5,000 to 8,500 won.

In traditional Japanese style, the main menu hangs in wooden bars on the wall, offering many twists to popular Western expectations of what udon soup is. There is, of course, Kake Udon (가케우동), the standard udon arrangement. But there is also the house special, takumi udon (타쿠미우둥). It is served in a hot bowl with slices of beef, green onions, chives, chili peppers, and shiitake mushrooms. Feeling exceptionally hungry? Get some extra protein with donkas udon (돈까스우동): udon with fried pork cutlet. Other styles include twigim udon (튀김우동) and yubu udon (유부우동): udon with tempura and udon with fried tofu. Every bowl uses only fresh ingredients and, for the most part, only those sourced locally from Korea. An aspirant of complete self-sufficiency, Hyeong-chan said that ideally he would like to grow and mill his own wheat for his udon. However, that not being possible, he has to make due with Australian flour. 

A bowl of donkas udon.

Takumi has only been around for three years, but its story began five years ago with a movie. For years Hyeong-chan dreamed of owning his own restaurant, but it wasn't until he downloaded the Japanese film, Udon, a dramatic comedy centered around the sanuki variety of the dish, that he found his inspiration. Further motivated by the thrill of a new craft, he left his construction job and moved to his aunt's home in Osaka. For a whole year he commuted five hours a day, three days a week to the "Sanuki Udon" school in Kagawa Prefecture and learned the ways of the venerable noodle despite not speaking much Japanese. The language barrier wasn't a problem, he said, because the physical nature of making udon made it easy to learn by watching. After earning his Sanuki Udon certification, which is proudly hung by the door to his restaurant, he returned home to Korea.

Given the level of craftsmanship at Takumi and the unique nature of the food, its location is somewhat of an oddity. The restaurant would not be out of place in the hipper parts of Seoul or Busan, but Takumi isn't located in downtown Pyeongtaek. It isn't even located in the up and coming night-life scene of,  Jo'gae'teo (조개터), down from Sosabol Stadium. This authentic udon noodle shop sits across the street from a Highway Mart grocery store, buried in a sleepy commercial area that is hidden from the main street behind aging apartment complexes in Vision-Dong (비전동). 

When asked why of all places he chose that unassuming spot to set up shop, Hyeong-chan said it was for his son. Before moving to Pyeongtaek his family lived in Anseong. There his son, a middle schooler at the time, had trouble with this one bully. To protect his son and keep a close eye on him, he moved the family to Pyeongtaek, and put his son in a new school near the shop. 

Today his son is a high school graduate, eliminating the need for Takumi to be so off the beaten track. Hyeong-chan, however, assured that he has no plans to move his shop or give up the craft. In fact, he feels the opposite. Whatever skill he takes up, be it mechanics, carpentry, or pottery, he pursues it until he masters it. His noodles are exceptional, but he doesn't feel like he has perfected his craft yet. When he has completely mastered the art of sanuki udon, only then, he says, will he consider moving on to something new. 

To visit this hidden gem, take a bus to New Core Outlet from Pyeongtaek Station. The New Core busses will have a board on the bottom left corner of the windshield saying, "New Core" in Korean: "뉴코아." The New Core stop is in front of a Samsung electronics store. Walk down the street to the big intersection. There should be a BYC on your right and a Daiso on the opposite corner. You need to get to that Daiso. When you get there, walk down the tree covered sidewalk. You will pass NewCore Outlet on your left across the street. Take a right at the next intersection you come to, and walk for two blocks until you see a large protestant church. Turn left at the church, then walk straight for a couple more blocks. Takumi will be on your left. 


- Thanks to Park Junsik who contributed to this article as an interpreter. 

2015.2.19 | 지도 크게 보기 ©  NAVER Corp.

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Chicken Dude

Chicken Dude at work removing a spit of Chicken. His face remains hidden to protect the legend.

Among the survivors of a certain expensive English academy there are stories of a legendary street vendor known to them only as "Chicken Dude."

There are other vendors of Korean rotisserie chicken in Pyeongtaek, but this one is special. Unless you have access to a US Military base, it is not easy to procure a turkey for yourself in Korea. And even if you did, if you are an ESL teacher, you probably don't have an oven big enough to cook it. In five years we never did. So year after year Chicken Dude saved us poor expat castaways, men and women far from our native shores and foods, supplying our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with delectable poultry. 

But not just any delectable poultry. Other venders are good. It is true. It is hard for a rotisserie chicken not to be good. The skin is caramelized and crispy. The meat is tender and juicy. But Chicken Dude's chickens are also larger than most. And on top of that, they contain within their cavities a fine substitute for stuffing: Korean rice stuffing! Other rotisserie vendors in Pyeongtaek that I've tried don't do that.

There is no skimping on the stuffing either. The rice is so packed that removing the carcass produces a near perfect mold of the chicken's cavity. It doesn't taste like typical American stuffing, though. It is distinctly Korean in flavor. The rice is super sticky, and it tastes similar to samgyetang (삼계탕), a Korean chicken soup seasoned with traditional herbs like ginseng, garlic and dried jujubes. In fact, you can often find garlic cloves and jujubes, called daechu (대추) in Korean, inside the cavity along with the rice. 

Over the years we've turned to Chicken Dude for more than just holiday meals. He has supplied his fare share of meals prefaced by, "I'm hungry, but I'm too tired to go out and too lazy to cook." What could be more valuable to an ESL teacher than affirmations of post work laziness? 

Chicken Dude is waiting.

One chicken, han ma-li (1마리) in Korean, is enough to feed a really hungry teacher or two people with average hunger and extra side dishes like mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. Each chicken comes with a plastic box of pickled radish cubes, a packet of seasoned salt, and another packet of honey mustard sauce. The whole lot costs 7,000 won. Double the bird, du ma-li (2마리), and it costs 13,000 won. 

Chicken Dude can be found most evenings beside Dong-e Apartments (동이목련아파트). To get there from Pyeongtaek Station, take the 20 or 50 bus and hit the stop buzzer after you see the Paris Baguette Cafe on an intersection corner on your right. Cross the street and backtrack to the intersection. Chicken Dude's stand will be in font of Standard Chartered Bank and Tous Les Jours on the corner opposite Paris Baguette. 

(Language note: ma-li (마리) technically does not mean chicken. It is a counting word used to number animals, but in the context of a chicken vendor it is understood to refer to a chicken. It is akin to the word "sheet" in English as in, "a sheet of paper.") 

2015.2.10 | 지도 크게 보기 ©  NAVER Corp.

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Shabu-Shabu Meets Summer Rolls

Shabu-Shabu is originally from Osaka. He isn't very traditional, but like his nation, he is neat and tidy and creative. More than that, though, he is very health conscious. Because of his health concerns he eats lots of fresh veggies and boils his meat instead of roasting since it's better for his heart.

Gỏi Cuốn is from Vietnam. Her English name is Summer Rolls. Despite the weight disparaging nickname, she is extremely lean. She has a fresh and upbeat personality, and, like Shabu Shabu, she takes care of her health eating veggies, seafood, and bits of meat wrapped in rice paper. 

Somewhere the two met in Korea, and with so much in common, an instant love story was born. You can experience it for yourself at Ssamchon Shabu Shabu (쌈촌샤브샤브) in Pyeongtaek. 

Shabu-shabu is extremely popular in Korea, and Pyeongtaek is no exception. There are at least nine shabu-shabu restaurants in the city. And Ssamchon Shabu Shabu is unarguably one of the top three. Since it opened a couple years ago, it has been a popular lunch or dinner location not just for Koreans but for City Hall area expats. It has a perfect rating on Naver. And it is safe to say that, over the last two years, the NetBot and I have eaten there more than at any other restaurant in Pyeongtaek. If you include times with our friends, we must have eaten there at very least 36 times. 

The draw of the place is simply great shabu-shabu mixed with summer rolls and the fun of making your own food. 

As at any shabu-shabu restaurant, a great big pot of spicy or plain broth is set to boil, and a platter of fresh veggies and shaved beef is laid out along with a sauce dish. Ssamchon, though, upps the ante by providing a broad array of fresh veggies, lots of quality beef, three unique dipping sauces and rice paper with which to craft your own summer rolls. And that is just the base meal. Variants include samgyeop-sal, grilled duck, or fresh seafood. The table gets really crowded with dishes, but it's completely worth it especially when the basic layout is only 10,000 won for lunch and 3,000 more for dinner. 

After you run out of meat, you can pour a bowl of rice noodles in the broth for the second course of the meal. And when you run out of noodles your waiter will use the remaining broth to make a pot of savory, Korean rice porridge called juk (죽). Second and third courses are not unusual at shabu-shabu restaurants. However, the taste at Ssamchon is just so far above the other places. And where else can you make rice noodle and porridge summer rolls?

Even Eat Korea's robot taste tester, The NetBot, adores the place. Programed by a small robotics company in California, her designers were very dedicated to healthful living through smart diet choices. Naturally this mentality was deeply encoded in her operating system. Plus, while she was not programmed to cook, the process at Ssamchon is very easy. So easy even a NetBot can do it. 

Ssamchon Shabu Shabu has locations in Pyeongtaek and Anjung-eup. However, like so many restaurants we have reviewed lately, the one we visited is really close to Pyeongtaek Lotte Mart. To get there from Pyeongtaek Station, take the 50 or 20 bus to the Pyeongtaek City Hall (평택시청) stop. It's in front of Lotte Mart. Walk towards Lotte Mart. Go past the side entrance with the giant pomegranate statue and keep walking straight. Turn left at the first intersection. Ahead of you there should be a park on your left and a foot bridge stretching over the road. Opposite the park next to the footbridge is TeaOreum, a cafe with great bubble tea and a host of traditional and unique Korean herbal teas. Ssamchon Shabu Shabu is on the second floor of the same building.

2015.1.30 | 지도 크게 보기 ©  NAVER Corp.

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"A Lot of Buckwheat for Your Buck" at Uiryeong

Yangji sogukbap (양지소국밥) at Uiryeong Buckwheat Noodles

Buckwheat is not wheat. It's not a variety of wheat. It's not even a grain! ...well, if you're a botanist. 

But it is the feature ingredient at Uiryeong Buckwheat Noodles (의령소바) near Pyeongtaek Lotte Mart. 

Everything there contains buckwheat, also called soba (소바) or, more commonly, memil (메밀) in Korea. From noodles to mandu and even tea, everything has buckwheat at Uiryeong.

The place is primarily known for their unique, thick noodled naengmyeon (냉면) and bibim naengmyeon (비빔냉면). These dishes, cold noodle soup and cold noodles with veggies, typically have noodles so thin you can sew a traditional hanbok dress with them. But the buckwheat noodles at Uiryeong are almost as thick as udon, making these common dishes very different from the norm. 

Uiryeong's buckwheat jjin-mandu

This is January, though. The thermometer has been hovering just above freezing during the day and as low as 19 degrees fahrenheit at night. That's -7.2 degrees celsius for you metric people. Naegmyon is a summer dish. So lately my robot taste tester, The NetBot, and I have been taking advantage of Uiryeong's cozier fare. 

For almost a month now we have been taking delicious buckwheat mandu home for a light dinner, or to work for a quick energy boost. The dumplings have the right balance between squishy and firm. The fillings are savory. The buckwheat dough is tender. If I had to complain, I'd say they didn't pack enough danmuji (단무지) with the take-out box. Danmuji is yellow, pickled radish. Not everyone likes it. The NetBot doesn't. So I just eat hers. But if she did like it, there wouldn't be enough for both of us. 

Uiryeong serves two kinds of mandu: little jjin mandu (찐만두), and hefty wong mandu (왕만두). 3,500 won will buy eight of the little ones, and 5,000 won will buy five of the big guys. For a unique dessert, 3,500 won will also buy five whole-grain-tasting, red-bean-paste-filled buckwheat jjinbbang (찐빵). 

"That's a lot of buckwheat for your buck," said the NetBot.

Plain buckwheat noodles and rice

Most recently, though, we've taken to using Uiryeong's dishes as a palliative. The NetBot caught a mild virus, so we thought one of Uiryeong's hot soups would help reboot her system. The heartier soups there are a little more expensive. Naengmyeon (or Naengsoba as it is called on the menu) is only 6,500 won. But the strong soups, yangji sogukbap (양지소국밥) and golpeuchae galbi-tang (골프채갈비탕) are 8,000 won and 10,000 won respectively. We like saving money, so we got the first. It is pictured at the top of the page. Yangi sogukbap is a rich, spicy soup with lots of beef, leeks and radish. The flavor is really hard to distinguish from another rich, spicy, beefy Korean soup — yukgaejang (육개장). And like most Korean soups, it is served with a bowl of rice. However, since this is buckwheat land, they also serve a bowl of buckwheat noodles. Plain rice and noodles aren't meant to be eaten as they are, though. That would be too boring for your mouth. They are supposed to be mixed with the soup. 

What did the virus stricken NetBot think? "Oh that was delicious," she said upon finishing. "[but] I wish there was more meat, just 'cause the meat's so good."

Memil cha tastes like memil cha

If Uiryeong served just one thing, though, we'd be forced to choose their buckwheat tea, called memil cha (메밀차) in Korean. It is not uncommon for Korean restaurants to serve grain teas like corn or barley tea with their meals. But I had never experienced buckwheat tea before, so for weeks I raved that Uiryeong's tea was the best corn or barley tea I ever tasted. I couldn't decide which one it was. And then I saw the sign on the industrial coffee dispenser it came out of. 

Buckwheat tea is intensely yellow. It looks like pee after a day of not drinking anything, but it is truly the best "grain" tea I've ever had. It has a corn-like sweetness, but it doesn't taste like nonalcoholic beer, as some bottled corn and barley teas do. The true flavor is really beyond description. The best I can say is that it is delicious. The last time we ate at Uiryeong we drank two pitchers of it. 

"I'm very happy to drink tea now," said the NetBot done eating.

Getting to Uiryeong Buckwheat Noodles is simple. From Pyeongtaek Station take the 20 or 50 bus to Pyeongtaek City Hall (평택시청). Get off at the stop in front of Lotte Mart. Looking out from the bus, Lotte Mart is on your right. The stop in front of Lotte Mart is the City Hall stop. Keep walking down the street and take your first right. You'll come to an intersection and a park. Uiryeong Buckwheat Noodles is across the street on the corner of that intersection beside Chaeseondang Shabu-shabu (채선당).

(Please note: the address on the map below may or may not be accurate. Pyeongtaek Uiryeong is relatively new, so they don't exist yet on Naver or Google Maps. However, the location of the pin drop is accurate.)

(Editor's note: apologies for the puns. We can't help ourselves. Good thing we don't live in China.)

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