Saveurs de Corée: Hutong Survivor

The great brickening marches on. Whilst it isn’t getting as much publicity now, it is still very much in effect and has spread city-wide beyond the hutongs. I was sad to hear recently that the beautiful courtyard 1949 – The Hidden City in Sanlitun has been the latest Beijing closure taking with it Jing-A and Duck de Chine. *tear*

On the plus side, some of the displaced restaurants are displaying their resilience and reemerging in new surroundings. One of these survivors is a long-time favorite of mine for healthy, high-quality Korean cuisine – Saveurs de Corée韩香馆!

Now located in the Rum Coabana Hotel on Dongzhimen Beixiaojie, Saveurs was one of my go-to Korean spots and home of Beijing’s best bibimbap before it met its fate last summer. March through the bizarre hotel lobby, past the flower shop and lego collection (featuring famous world-wide architecture plus, for some reason, a couple of SWAT vehicles. I’m not joking.) Up the stairs on the second floor is Saveurs’ lovely new home.

Continue Reading » Saveurs de Corée: Hutong Survivor

IKI’s a Keeper: IKI Korean Barbeque Restaurant

Those living in the Shuangjing area all pretty much keeping this place under wraps.  Whenever I’ve spoken of IKI Barbeque to others, generally most haven’t heard of it…unless they live in the Shuangjing area. In spite of its remote location on the little street north of the Bank of China and 7-11 intersection, this little Korean BBQ joint was mega-packed out when I tried to get in.  They don’t take reservations unfortunately so we had to wait about 40 minutes for a table to open up (since we chose not to dine sitting on stools around their bar).

A well-kept secret among the neighborhood residents, I can see why they’d want to keep it for themselves! The prices are completely reasonable, they are not at all overpriced in spite of the beautiful contemporary design of the space that gives it that “expensive restaurant” expectation.  From the entrance, the restaurant follows a narrow layout with a long drink bar on the left and dining tables on the right that expands up into an open second floor. We didn’t order any drinks, but I hear their cocktails are legit and definitely worth trying.

Continue Reading » IKI’s a Keeper: IKI Korean Barbeque Restaurant

Killer Korean BBQ: Ai Jiang Shan

One of the best Korean restaurants in town, I’ve got to give some love to Ai Jiang Shan. Located in Lido, this Korean restaurant is known for its quality meat, delicious side dishes and impressive decor.

Highly recommended by my friend who is an exceptionally tough food critic, especially when it comes to Korean cuisine, she was eager to introduce me to her top pick Korean restaurant in town.  And I must admit, they’ve got it down from the beautiful interior space, the string quartet as background music, to the table service and super massive menu selection.

Some say Ai Jiang Shan is on the expensive side, but I’d say that outside of WuDaoKou and WangJing aka Korea-Town, this restaurant is one of the best and is guaranteed to impress.

Continue Reading » Killer Korean BBQ: Ai Jiang Shan

Seoul Food

As a hardcore carnivore with OCD, Korean BBQ is a perfect solution.  I love the whole “do-it-yourself” BBQ grill full of meats and spices and little side dishes of kimchi and other goodies.

I used to always chow down at Han Na Shan because it’s a cheap and consistent restaurant chain but after venturing outside of the CBD to Wang Jing (Beijing’s real K-town), I have discovered a whole new level of Korean BBQ.

My Korean friend David Kim took charge of ordering.  After glancing at the menu for a minute at most, he just asks for two orders of the marinated short ribs. I was about to question his ordering judgment but decided against it knowing how much he alone can eat.

And I’m glad I kept my mouth shut. Apparently all you need to order is a meat dish because with that, they serve something like ten additional side dishes, Korean soup, vegetables, kimchi and special sauces to dip the meat.  We did end up getting a stone pot of Korean fried rice, but that was only because our other friend had never had it before, it was not ordered out of necessity.

This restaurant is so legit, it does not even have an English name. Just a Chinese 向阳庄 & Korean name.

Continue Reading » Seoul Food