Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ohahakehte]

after travelling to russia for the break, ive discovered that their food is awesome.

do any restaurants in seoul offer russian cuisine? where?



This thread has been added to the Restaurant Sticky ...Mod Team

[dogbert]

Tell us about your trip.

[Zed]

Pyongshin Sangja posted some directions to an area near Dongdaemun. You can probably find it in the FAQ. I went there but didn't find much that I considered authentically Russian. Borscht with no beets! Many of the restaurants there were simply Korean restaurants with ramyon, kimbap and dokboggi written in Cyrillic on the windows.

There is a better place called the Twilight Zone in Itaewon in the Russian Bar district. Not great though but the borscht was passable except that they pass off mayo as sour cream.

[Zenpickle]

There's a Russian hof in Handaeap (Ansan). We can't read Russian, so we romanize it by calling it "Gwak." They have some of the best borscht and crusty bread I've ever tasted.

I think it's the only international place in Handaeap... besides McDonald's.

[captain kirk]

Back in Western Canada there are quite a few Ukrainians. I love borscht, cabbage rolls, perogies. You can even buy it frozen at the grocery stores. So I went looking for such around Dongdaemun but found, instead, a Mongolian restaurant which had the first mashed potatoes I've had in Korea. It was the kind of 'meat and pototoes' meal that's Western style, and it was good.
Does anyone reading this know of Russian food in Busan?

[beast]

they look good in the infomercials too.

[ZiggyStardust]

[Mankind]

[funplanet]

my ex-wife was russian (not a hooker, thank you) and made killer borscht!

all the borscht in korea seems to have mayo and not sour cream...don't know of any koreans who even know what sour cream is...at least the ones I have asked have no clue...

[Zenpickle]

[dogbert]

I haven't been, but two Russian friends of mine who have tell me that there is a restaurant in Shinsa-dong in Seoul called "Pushkin" that has the best Russian food they've tried in Seoul, which, admittedly, is not saying much.

However, I'm told that they have Baltika there, which may make it worth the trip.

[morituri]

Russian cafes near Dongdaemoon Stadium:

All the Russian and Uzbek cafes bake their own bread, which they serve with each meal. They are all around exit of Dongdaemun Stadium tube station. Nelya Vasya, behind Woori bank as you come out of exit 5 has the best Russian food and sells huge loaves which they bake every other day, but you should ask for bread baked that day. tel 2266-7766. They also sell yogurt in bucket sizede mayonnaised jars and cottage cheese. Ask for Nelya, she is the owner, a Korean lady from Uzbekistan.

Krai Rodnoy has very good bread too, they were the first Russian cafe to open. Getting out of exit 5, turn right with Wooribank on your left until yoiu come to a street, cross it and turn left again and keep walking until you come to the first intersection with a street which can take cars (i.e. not alleys), about 30 metres, turn right and walk down another 40 metres and it is on your left, the open air cafe with Cyrillic sign and Korean sign saying ũ���� �ε����. 2264-9380, ask for Larisa the proprietress, also a Korean from Uzbekistan. She and her restaurant were the subject of a Korean newsapaper article once.

For very firm naan, like very large bagels, there is a cafe called Uzbekistan, run by Uzbeks. Directions as above but cross when you come to the street and turn left, walk about 20 metres turn right and enter the alley next to Boleumsum Noraebang (������ �뷡��). The cafe on your left is called Uzbekistan and their number is 2277-4163. It is run by Uzbeks, the same people who run Samarkand oppposite it.

All the Russian and Uzbek cafes bake their own bread, which they serve with each meal. They are all around exit of Dongdaemun Stadium tube station.

Nelya Vasya, behind Woori bank as you come out of exit 5 has very good Russian food and sells huge loaves which they bake every other day, but you should ask for bread baked that day. tel 2266-7766. They also sell yogurt in bucket sizede mayonnaised jars and cottage cheese. Ask for Nelya, she is the owner, a Korean lady from Uzbekistan. The restaurant is on the second floor, and the ground floor is the kitchen. You can't miss it, it is just next to a children's playground.

Krai Rodnoi has very good bread too, white loaves and huge bagel-like libyoshki. They were the first Russian cafe to open. Getting out of exit 5 as before, turn right with Wooribank on your left until yoiu come to a street, cross it and turn left again and keep walking until you come to the first intersection with a street which can take cars (i.e. not alleys), about 30 metres, turn right and walk down another 40 metres and it is on your left, the open air cafe with Cyrillic sign and Korean sign saying ũ���� �ε����. 2264-9380, ask for Larisa the proprietress, also a Korean from Uzbekistan. She and her restaurant were the subject of a Korean newsapaper article once.

For very firm naan, like very large bagels, there is a cafe called Uzbekistan, run by Uzbeks. Directions as above but cross when you come to the street and turn left, walk about 20 metres turn right and enter the alley next to Boleumsum Noraebang (������ �뷡��). The cafe on your left is called Uzbekistan and their number is 2277-4163. It is run by Uzbeks, the same people who run Samarkand oppposite it.

There is also a bakery called Alato. Instead of crossing the sthe streeet as above just turn left and walk about 20 meteres, a sign in Cyrillic saying Ala To will hang above you. tel 2277 9211. The proprietor is Korean married to a korean from Uzbekistan. They have black Russian bread, and rather foamy bagels which they call libyoshka. They also run a cafe called My Friend, which is diagonally opposite Krai Rodnoi.

Menu varies but is essentially:

shashlik - lamb (varanina) or pork (svinina) on a skewer: kebab.
manty - large boiled dumplings filled with beef or lamb
pelmeny - ravioli filled with pork or pork/beef
kuritsa - half a roast chicken, very tender (Nelya Vasya specialty)
galupsy - cabbage stuffed with minced fatty pork and steamed
cutlety - literally cutlet, but like a Scotch egg sans the egg
kuksoo - like the soupy naengmyon, but less bland
bortsch - beetroot soup, a bit like minestrone
lagman - flat noodles in beef or lamb broth, like kalguksu
myasna pa kareiski - stir-fried pork with bell peppers and onions
blini - pancakes filled with pork or sour cream
samsa - lit. samosa but baked with lamb and onions, like Cornish pasty
plov - pilaff: fried rice w mutton fat & raisins, nothing like Chinese version
(last one Uzbek restautants only)

The Uzbek restaurants also have things like Kazan kabob which I haven't tried, they seem to be lamb dishes. All the restaurants give you pickles and carrot salad which is very good, and the carot salad they will also sell as they do the kefir (like yogurt) and cottage cheese (smetana, as in the composer)

Some of the above sell Russian beer ��Baltika��, and Russian vodkas.

All the restaurants are very friendly, but do not ask for pork in the Uzbek restaurants.

[dogbert]

[morituri]

Yes, thanks for the map. Sorry about the double post. Prices around 5,000W for most dishes, 2,000-3,000W for a single skewer of shashlik, 1,000W for glass of kefir. They are all around exit 5 of Dongdaemun Stadium tube station.

[Nextyear]

Thanks a lot. I kept looking for this information.