When opening Fault Burger in Seoul’s Sinsa-dong this May, Yoon Seong-ho, CEO of the burger joint’s parent company, asked, “Does a burger have to only be like this?” Looking to think outside the traditional burger box, Yoon turned to the tennis court for inspiration and appropriated the term “fault,” which refers to a situation where a served ball misses the designated area of the court, for his latest enterprise. “We wanted to break away from any se

Food June 26, 2020

Tackling the art of enjoying dry-aged steak at home was worth every sumptuous, succulent bite. The instructions given by the staff at The Porterhouse Butcher and More were straightforward. Remove the steak, a glorious almost 700 gram porterhouse that had been dry-aged for 10 weeks, from the refrigerator two hours in advance, then dress that naked hunk of meat with olive oil and salt.   Heat skillet on high heat and coat with plenty of olive oil, slide steak in and flip every minute unt

Food June 12, 2020

After a judicious shake, twist of the cap and pour, Hangang Brewery’s 6 percent ABV Naroo Makgeolli gently releases a tart, fermented scent akin to yogurt, followed by a delicate sweetness, nuances of Asian pear and green apple, a silky mouthfeel and a clean finish. 　 There is little carbonation in Hangang Brewery’s take on the traditional unrefined Korean rice wine, resulting in a smooth and creamy sip. “Hangang Brewery wanted to achieve a balanced marriage of sweetness an

Food May 23, 2020

While the city transitions to a state of relaxed social distancing, T.o.ch Coffee CEO Lee Min-kyu shares his hand-drip know-how for caffeine aficionados looking to use time at home to perfecting their pour-over brew game. Lee, a one-time consultant-turned-green bean seller, launched his business in Samseong-dong, Seoul a year ago. He started out by selling beans from farms he visited and then roasting those beans in a way that reminded him of how it tasted when he first tried the coffee at

Food May 9, 2020

Bimbom co-owner and chef Sim Ka-young has been attracting brunchers with her toothsome eats for over nine years, ever since she started out in Hannam-dong, Seoul.　 Now at two locations -- one in Gyeongnidan-gil and another near Seoul Forest -- Sim shares years of exprience in “Brunch Time,” a compilation of Bimbom’s recipes and know-how, released this March. “‘Brunch Time’ features well-loved dishes from Bimbom, and sadly enough, dishes that are no longer a

Food April 19, 2020

Supermarche chef-owner Lee Hyung-jun has come a long way from his French fine dining roots. It was 2007, Lee recalled, when he helmed a French fine dining spot in Seoul’s Hannam-dong before moving on to another upscale French restaurant in 2011. Lee then stepped away from fine dining to launch a deli-style eatery called Epicerie Collage in 2014 before taking this concept a step further with Supermarche in 2019. “Supermarche is like its name, which means ‘supermarket’

Food March 27, 2020

The paella at Sigolo, a newly minted restaurant in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, sums up the best qualities of this new fine casual addition to the city’s dining scene. Served in what appears to be a 17-inch pan, this dish meant to serve two is large enough for several diners to dig into. Hearty and fragrant with garlic and onion, each grain of rice has soaked up the nutty and fresh flavors of the clam, mussel and crustacean broths used to craft this Spanish classic. Sigolo’s paella

Food Jan. 31, 2020

There is a reason why Under Pressure cafe team manager Park Yong-jin points to its Latte 60 as a star player in this roaster-cafe’s lineup of brews. One sip of this latte, featuring Under Pressure’s Brooklyn Comfort blend, unleashes a striking balance of acidity, sweetness and depth, mellowed and softened by dairy. The tart sweetness of dried berries peeks through all that velvety microfoam, followed by aromas of dried plums and dark chocolate for an elegant and complex brew. Wh

Food Jan. 10, 2020

Rubbing shoulders with some of the most established, elite sushiya in Seoul, newcomer Sushi Sakau bucks tradition on many levels. In a neighborhood where an omakase lunch generally clocks in at over 70,000 won and dinner usually starts at 100,000 won, Sakau has whittled their prices down to 50,000 won for lunch and 88,000 won for dinner.  “It is just me, my wife and my friend,” owner-chef You Jong-tea, 32, said in explaining how keeping staff to a bare minimum and trekking out t

Food Dec. 27, 2019

In hopes of attracting more like-minded coffee geeks, brothers Ko Tae-young and Ko Young-soo have expanded to Seoul’s Sinsa-dong with Vinter Coffee Bar, which soft-opened in late November and features five single-origin coffees roasted by the brothers themselves.“We wanted to focus on coffee,” said Tae-young, 32, of their newest perch. The brothers started roasting coffee as a hobby and gifting it to peers. Their hobby blossomed into a business with the opening of Vinter C

Food Dec. 6, 2019

Sequestered on the basement floor of a building near Posco Center in Seoul’s Daechi-dong, Oga Teahouse is a personal haven for manager Oh Ki-hwan. Oh, who runs this Korean teahouse with his mother, turned to herbal remedies when he found himself burned out from work. Herbal medicine was not unfamiliar to Oh, whose grandfather was a doctor of traditional Asian medicine. “We always had licorice root around,” he said.Oh, 44, recalls sucking on the bark-like root and how sweet it t

Food Nov. 15, 2019

Crisp, cool weather invites warmer fare like hot soups exhaling curls of steam, cups of heartwarming coffee laced with creamy milk, and crunchy-edged sandwiches, fresh off the panini grill. That is precisely what one will find at Sunset Swimming Sandwich, a sandwich bar that opened last month in Seoul’s Sinsa-dong. “I felt most confident about sandwiches and coffee,” Sunset Swimming Sandwich founder Lee You-jin explained. Before Lee launched her sandwich bar in September, she f

Food Oct. 25, 2019

When Sanok chef Kim Jeong-ho decided to strike out on his own, he zoomed in on the ingredients, turning to the bare bones of cuisine for inspiration. Kim explained how he, as a father cooking for his child, found himself increasingly interested in the provenance and cultivation of ingredients that made their way to his table. This newfound focus influenced his role as chef of the newly-minted bistro, Sanok, which, Kim explained, means “four types of greens” in Korean. “It signi

Food Oct. 11, 2019

Korean fried chicken can be easily found most anywhere in Seoul. So when Kim San -- who was racking up experience at a Michelin-starred restaurant at the time -- was offered a chance to take a stab at an already saturated, highly competitive market, one might wonder why he didn’t hesitate. Perhaps it was because he had been waiting for a moment like this, building up experience at prominent restaurants known for their cerebral eats, all the while dreaming of taking his skills and parlaying

Food Sept. 20, 2019

“Salt, water, yeast,” Darobe founder and primo pizzaiolo Kang Woo-seok, 39, rattled off -- referring to the ingredients needed to craft his pizza dough. “And flour.” At Darobe, those ingredients, transformed into a multi-textured, flavorful crust, formed the foundation for the artisanal pies Kang started serving when he first opened his pizzeria in Seoul’s Seongsu-dong two years ago. Fast forward to August, Kang is at the second location of Darobe in Seoul’s N

Food Aug. 30, 2019