My Korean Life #49: BAS Burger!

Bas Burger!

I have loved burgers ever since I can remember. In one bite you can experience a variety of textures and flavors. So, ever since moving to Korea, I have been constantly on the search for great tasting burgers. There are plenty of burger joints here in Korea but not all are able to meet my high standards :) Today I want to introduce you to a place my friend and I discovered in downtown Seoul called BAS Burger (바스버거)!

It is a little challenging to find, but the nearest subway stop is Jonggak (종각역) Exit 1. Come out of the exit, continue straight until Jong-ro 5 gil (종로5길) and turn right. Walk about 150 meters and you should see it on the 2nd floor of the building on your left. The address in Korean is: 서울 종로구 종로3길 24-20 2층.

The restaurant is kept quite dark so we had to use our cell phone camera flashes to see better. Here is a picture of the menu:

Food 

Drinks

My friend and I decided on sharing the Bas Platter which comes with all you see below (drinks are separate). The two burgers we chose were the Hawaiian (grilled pineapple on the burger) and the Bas burger (Cheese burger). It also came with fries, onion rings, wings, and coleslaw! The three sauces offered are honey mustard, mayo, and ketchup.

Fries, onion rings, Hawaiian burger, Bas burger, Chicken wings, coleslaw

Overall, I really like their burgers and fries. All the veggies seem crisp and fresh and the burger itself is tasty and juicy. The buns are pretty good too. The onion rings were just ok and the chicken wings were as I expected. Check out the map and Facebook page below for more information.

Do you have any burger restaurant recommendations for me? Leave them in the comments!

Bas burger

My Korean Life #48: Costco is great but...

A while ago I lost my Costco membership card. I even know approximately when/where I lost it but was unable to retrieve it. FYI - you can use your card worldwide at any Costco. So, I (incorrectly) assumed I could simply go to the local Costco here in Korea and get my card reprinted. This was NOT the case.

I entered the local Costco with my USA driver's license in hand and approached the customer service counter. I stated that I had lost my card and wished to have a new one printed. I also stated I had joined overseas in the USA. The employee said that she could not reprint membership cards that were not issued in Korea. I told her that I live in Korea now and do not have any current plans to visit the USA. She basically said, tough luck and that if I want to shop at Costco in Korea I need to become a member in Korea since I lost my old card issued in the USA.

Frustrated, I later wrote an email to Costco customer service via their website thinking that Costco in the USA could simply print a new card and mail it to me in Korea...unfortunately I got the below response (Click the screenshot to expand):

Really? So any of your stores can accept any membership card but you can't reissue all cards nor can you ship worldwide? My guess is each card simply has some check bit built-in so as long as "MEMBERSHIP" = TRUE the person can shop but otherwise there is no sharing of information in the system. Maybe there are some laws regarding this but it is extremely inconvenient to people that lose their cards aboard away from their 'home' membership country. Think military, expatriate community, long term vacationers and travelers.

I ended up rejoining Costco here in Korea but using my Korean address and other information. Membership in Korea is actually cheaper but they don't have gas stations like American Costcos do. The membership is less than $30 annually as opposed to $55 annually in the USA. I guess that is the one redeeming factor...cheaper membership costs...anyway, needless to say it was frustrating.

What has been frustrating to you living abroad? Below is Costco's Facebook page, maybe you have had a similar issue?

Costco

My Korean Life #47: Dinner Party!

Last night I hosted a small dinner party for 3 people! My cooking post gathered a lot of attention and I offered to cook for a few people recently and they took me up on my offer. They even brought me a few gifts :) Check out the photos below!

Table setting - disposable everything since I don't actually own that many dishes :/

Take a seat! 

Vegetables all prepared

That close up shot

The finished product! Tuna and vegetable stir-fry with rice, topped with roasted sesame seeds

Thank you so much for the wine and fruit!

The dishes aftermath, all fit on the rack except for the cutting board

Thanks again to Cook Smarts for the tasty stir-fry ideas!

Cook Smarts

My Korean Life #46: Delicious Stir-Frying!

Delicious Stir-Frying

I've been using this guide by Cook Smarts to make tasty stir-fries lately. Here is a link to a full infographic on imgur. With only a few basic ingredients and your choice of protein and vegetables, you can create delicious meals quite quickly. I also now know the secret to making sauces shiny and sticky like you might see in American Chinese food restaurants - corn/potato starch! Here I have my basic sauce/seasoning ingredients, which you can modify to your liking but I've had good results with the items pictured here. Other things to add would be citrus like lemon/lime/orange juice as well as maybe green onion, shallots, chili flakes, whatever you like!

From Left to Right: salt, pepper, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, potato starch, garlic, ginger

One of my latest attempts was the orange ginger sauce recipe with vegetables and tuna. I snapped some pictures and have posted those down below.

Orange ginger sauce

Vegetables prepped - use what you like!

Vegetables cooking

Sauce and tuna added to the vegetable medley

Mixed and heated through

Ready to eat!

I often have leftovers if I only am cooking for myself so, many times I can get two meals out of cooking once. I haven't done the calculations but I'm sure I am saving some money even if it takes a little time to prepare and cook my meals. The next time I shop I will record the prices and update this post with approximate costs (but it will vary for you depending on ingredients and availability). For example, I have a vegetable stand near my house where I got like 7-8 onions for only 3000KRW and a bag of about the same number of carrots for 1000KRW.

Cook Smarts

My Korean Life #45: More Lunar New Year Fun

More Lunar New Year Fun

This past Wednesday I attended another Lunar New Year event, this time hosted by InKAS and the 서울무궁화로타리클럽 at the Korea House. A map and the Korea House's Facebook page are embedded below, the location is closest to Chungmuro (충무로역) station. I snapped some pictures of the food that was provided. The traditional rice cake soup (떡국) was the main course served in a bowl with charcoal in the middle to keep it warm. We were also given some small gifts and played games with the opportunity to win prizes.

Rice cake wrapper with vegetable and meat fillings

Gift bag

Pumpkin Porridge (호박죽)

Marinated beef (불고기)

Rice cake soup (떡국)

Fruit

The holiday is now finished and people are going back to work and school. The subway was very busy today as opposed to the past 5 days where there weren't as many people. A number of businesses still stayed open during the holiday. It is actually a popular time for tourists from other Asian countries to come visit Korea. Do you celebrate the lunar new year? How do you celebrate?

한국의집, KOREA HOUSE

My Korean Life #44: 새해 복 많이 받으세요

새해 복 많이 받으세요

Happy Lunar New Year! I spent the lunar new year at KoRoot, a guest house and non-profit organization that helps Korean adoptees. There were about 30 people that showed up for their new year's day meal. Below are a few pictures I took, information regarding their Facebook Page, and an embedded Daum Map. They also have a few groups on Facebook that are written in English. While I have never spent the night at the guesthouse, I have attended many of their events since moving to Korea.

Traditionally, rice cake soup (떡국) is eaten on new year's day. In addition to all the delicious food prepared, this traditional soup was also served. The broth had great flavor and the rice cake was nice and tender. 

I enjoy these adoptee events because it gives an easy opportunity for everyone to meet and perhaps catch up with friends you have not seen in a while. Also, a lot of times you can meet new adoptees or other members of the community.

Again, I hope everyone has a pleasant lunar new year holiday.

떡국 (Rice cake Soup)

뿌리의 집 - Koroot

My Korean Life #43: A Favorite Meal - 닭 한 마리

A Favorite Meal - 닭 한 마리

The map shown below is the restaurant's approximate location, it's actually closer to the CU convenience store than shown on the map.  The closest subway stop is Sinchon station (신촌역) Address in Korean: 서울 서대문구 연세로2길 77

One of my places to eat in Korea is not uniquely Korean food per se. The restaurant's name is simply "One Chicken" and its specialty is a chicken soup cooked with, you guessed it, one whole chicken. Actually the smallest portion you can get is a half-chicken.
The restaurant is quite easy to find. If you locate the large CGV movie theater in 신촌, keep walking and take the next street on your left, then turn right and you should see it. I've embedded the Google Map above but, as I stated, the location is approximate. I found this restaurant through my language school friends way back in the summer of 2014. Then, besides the outside temperature being super hot, the inside of the restaurant was also warm due to the gas burners on each table, regardless of how much A/C was pumping. But now since the weather is freezing cold outside, a warm restaurant with piping hot chicken soup is perfect.
The restaurant is quite popular with Chinese speaking tourists and some of the staff also speak Chinese. It also sits right in the middle of the Yonsei/Ewha/Sogang University area so many college kids also frequent the restaurant. The main dining area only has floor level tables and the area that has chairs and tables is not always open. Just be warned if sitting on the floor is not favorable to you.

닭 한 마리 specialty - the bowl gets screaming hot, be careful of burning yourself

Side dishes: cabbage/green onion, kimchi, peppers, and 된장

The basic chicken soup for 2 people starts at 19,000KRW and goes up in price for more servings. The dish comes out partially cooked and takes about another 10 minutes on the gas burner to finish cooking. The soup itself comes with the chicken, potato, green onions, rice cake, and mushrooms. What makes this place especially tasty to me is the sauce they provide to dip your chicken and vegetables (and whatever else you want) in. The sauce is a combination of garlic, red pepper paste, and vinegar/soy sauce mixture I think...you can adjust the sauce with the extra sauce ingredients provided.

Sauce after I mixed everything together. I dipped the cabbage side dish into the sauce - tasty!

Extra garlic and red pepper paste

You can also eat things like rice porridge and noodles for 2,000KRW each per serving. These two items are ordered after you finish your chicken soup. If needed, more broth is added and then the noodles or rice/egg/김 is added to the broth to be cooked. You can order however many servings you want, regardless of how many people are in your party. Rice is not included with the chicken soup but many people forego basic rice for the rice porridge after eating the chicken soup. On each table there is a small bin for trash or the chicken bones as you eat.

칼국수 (Noodles)

죽 (Rice porridge)

Overall, I would say it is reasonably priced for the food and the experience. This past visit I didn't drink anything other than water but I remember the beverages and alcohol being a fair price as well. If you need a hot meal to warm you up during these frigid winter months, I highly recommend 닭 한 마리. If there is anything you are curious about in regards to the restaurant, let me know and I can try and help! ~