Taverna de Portugal

The only Portuguese restaurant I've been to in Seoul, Taverna de Portugal (터버나드포르투갈), has became one of my favorite places to go to, especially when I'm craving Nando's Chicken (which I haven't eaten in ages btw). Granted, the taste is not is exactly the same (according to a friend of mine who knows for sure what it tastes like), but their Grilled Piri Piri Chicken (피리피리치킨) is super delicious and full of flavors and it's good enough to fulfill my cravings :p

Located in a small alley in Sangsu (상수), the restaurant is owned by a friendly husband and wife duo. The place is not too big and it gets pretty busy during dinner time, especially on weekends. I usually ordered the Piri Piri Chicken Combo Menu 1 (피리피리 치킨 콤보메뉴 1), which consists of one whole grilled chicken, rice, sausage, bacon, salad, potatoes and home-made chips. It's good for 2 people and if you think that you need more food, they also have other selections on the menu.

They are currently having a summer special menu: Piri Piri Grill Fish Combo—oven grilled whole fish with piri piri sauce (minimum 1 day pre-order is required). Check out their facebook page for more info. 

Tips: Come during lunch time if you want to avoid the crowd. 

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Masizzim

A quick short post on Masizzim (마시찜), a Korean restaurant famous for their Galbi Jjim (갈비찜). They have multiple locations, but the one I went to is the one at Garosu-gil (가로수길). The food was delicious and the meat was tender. There are different levels of spiciness for your galbi jjim that you can choose from, but I have to warn all of you who don't eat spicy food, just get the non spicy ones. My friends ordered the mild ones and they were super spicy according to them (and they eat spicy food pretty well).

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Hana Okonomiyaki

I'm starting this post with a little confession that I didn't know the name of this place until I was about to write this post. The main reason is this place is right around my neighborhood, passed this place like thousands of times, but never bothered to read the name of the place. I only knew this spot as 'that-okonomiyaki-place-that-always-have-people-lining-up-for-seats'. First I thought maybe because the place is pretty small, but after I finally had the chance to try this place, I can see why.

Hana Okonomiyaki (하나 오코노미야키 야키소바 a.k.a 신촌 하나) is located in Sinchon neighborhood, in between Sinchon Station and Ehwa Station. The place is famous for their okonomiyaki and yakisoba, and I asked my Japanese friends and they said the taste is pretty good and authentic. The price is also relatively not expensive, ranging from 7,000—9,000KRW. I let my friends ordered last time so I'm not exactly sure what we ordered, but everything was delicious. We even ordered seconds too. Tips: If you come here during dinner time, come early or you'll most likely will have to wait for seats. Go during lunch time since there's usually fewer people waiting in line.

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The Dining Lab

The Dining Lab (더다이닝랩) is probably one of my favorite restaurants in Seoul. Located in the Donggyodong (동교동) neighborhood, I'm surprised to find this restaurant away from the more crowded area of Hongdae. The restaurant is small. They have only a couple tables and a bar area that is facing the open kitchen. If you want to see the action in the kitchen, sitting at the bar will definitely get you that. Their food is really good. I've been here a couple of times and tried different things and I love them all. I'm more of a meat person overall so I'm really picky when eating my veggies, but the way the cook their veggies here is good. Everything is cooked in the right way and seasoned really well. Although, the portion is a little small compared to the price, but I can live with that since I don't come here everyday :P. If you're looking to try something new around Hongdae area, I would definitely recommend this place.

Pictured: Salmon Gravlax & Beurre Blanc Sauce, Salmon Steak with Roast Bacon, Burger with French Fries, & Sous-vide Ribeye Steak with Roasted Vegetables.

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Mum Aroy • 뭄말로이

Found another hidden gem in Sangsu area, a little Thai restaurant called Mum Aroy (뭄말로이). Having been in Korea for almost a year now, I've been eating a lot of Korean food—and it's great and all—but after a while I kinda miss other Asian food as well. And since I don't live near Itaewon, I was trying to find a good place around my area and stumbled upon this place online.

First off, I really love the vibe of the place. The decor, the music, the color of the walls, and even the utensils reminded me of my trip to Thailand and even a little bit of home. Went there with my classmates the first time so we ordered a bunch of different things to try and none of them disappointed. Everything tasted so good and they tasted pretty authentic (and by authentic I mean similar to my favorite Thai restaurants that I've visited in the past, outside Korea). And I think the fact that I've been craving it for a while kinda made the food tasted even better ;P

Here's the list of what we ordered: Tom Yum Goong (뚬얌꿍), Pad Thai (팟타이), Pad See Ew (팟시유), Green Curry (그린 커리), and Pad Kra Pao (팟카파오 무쌈) (which was SUPER HOT). And since then, I've gone back a couple of times and tried their Fried Rice (카오팟 뿌 <게살>), which was delicious as well. 

If you're craving for some Thai food, I definitely recommend this place. The owners and the servers are very friendly too. And this place is actually on the same street as Grunge Cafe (see my post here), so you could get dessert there if you still have some room for dessert after your meal. 

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