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migooknom
Joined: 10 Dec 2004
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 Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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is casa loca any good?
also i heard they opened a new taco joint behind gangnam cgv. anyone been there yet? |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:14 am Post subject: |
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| chronicpride wrote: |
| Unposter wrote: |
It went out of business. Koreans did not like it -- ready for this -- they said it was too spicy. |
Ask 100 long-term expats over why Taco Bell left and you'll get 100 different answers. I've also heard that Koreans didn't take to the refried beans. Or they didn't like the idea of eating with their hands. I'm sure there's probably an expat walking around that says that Koreans didn't like the talking chihuahua mascot they had in the 90s, as well.
In 2003, myself and a Korean investor looked into opening a Taco Bell in Daegu. Taco Bell HQ has no problem with franchising, but require a minimum purchase of 3 franchises. From talking to Koreans who remembered the place, there was no issue over food. All were corporate owned, hence why when the decision to fold was made, all closed. That decision was made around IMF. Around the same time that other US staples like Denny's, Wendy's, Hardee's, and Ponderosa slipped away.
Why wasn't Wendy's viable? Turn-offs over square patties? Wendy's, moreso than Taco Bell, should at least be able to have stamina to get through IMF, right? Wendy's was totally mismanaged, underfunded, and rife with corporate squabbles. Like Wendy's, Taco Bell and the other restaurants were most likely casualties of mismanagement and financial instability during a financial volatile time. Any food concern was a distant second. McDonald's has Korean-ified their menu (anyone tried the ddeokbokki fries?), so its not like fast food menus are known to stay rigidly against conforming to the local market. |
I was in Busan in 1996-1997 before IMF happened. There was a Wendy's right at Busan Station. I went there nearly every single Sunday, and every single Sunday it was PACKED with Koreans. I don't think they had a problem with food at all.
Same with SBARROS that was located at Gwanghamun up until a few years ago. Another place that was nearly ALWAYS packed with people every single time I went there.
In other words, all of these places should be just fine. I don't know what shuts them down, but I'm gonna go with just about any of the other theories on this besides the 'they weren't popular' theories.
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Taco Bell would have been WELL BEFORE my time in 1996. Whenever or for whatever reason they might have closed, I'd imagine it would be totally different now. Mexican restaurants have been popping all over HongDae, Shinchon, Itaewon, Gangnam, and they all seem to be having financial success. |
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Masta_Don
Joined: 17 Aug 2006
Location: Hyehwa-dong, Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:22 am Post subject: |
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| migooknom wrote: |
is casa loca any good?
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Overpriced and bland, something similar to the Midwestern take on Mexican food. That was the one in Yeoido. If you must try it, print off a coupon from their site. Free appetizer or something like that. That'll save you 10,000 right there but a meal, with drinks, for two will still be around 50,000.
My favorite is still Dos Tacos. The easiest way to compare would be to Baja Fresh in the States minus the salsa bar. California neuvo cuisine that doesn't really reflect Mexican food, prohibitively expensive from going there more than once in a while, and fairly mediocre if we weren't in Korea. |
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Optimus Prime
Joined: 05 Jul 2007
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:23 am Post subject: |
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| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
| Optimus Prime wrote: |
| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
| A good friend of mine is one of the managers opening it. I'm looking forward to going there. |
Can you find out when it opens?
I just signed up as a member. |
I thought he said October 11. |
ah, so it should already be open. awesome. |
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gypsyfish
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:41 am Post subject: |
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| Thunndarr wrote: |
Why is it that any discussion of Mexican food invariably ends up being a pissing contest?
A: I really like ****.
B: You like that? I wouldn't let my dog eat there. If you want, you know, good Mexican food, go to ****.
Does any other cuisine generate this kind of argument? |
You've been a poster here long enough to know that everything devolves into a pissing contest here at Dave's.
Now I'll wait for someone to take issue with this.  |
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reactionary
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Location: korreia
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 1:25 am Post subject: |
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Why is it that any discussion of Mexican food invariably ends up being a pissing contest?
A: I really like ****.
B: You like that? I wouldn't let my dog eat there. If you want, you know, good Mexican food, go to ****.
Does any other cuisine generate this kind of argument? |
I dunno, maybe you should try telling a German something along the lines of Wienerschnitzel being a damn fine German restaurant.
Mexican food is an issue I'm a bit touchy about. |
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Thunndarr
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:14 am Post subject: |
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| gypsyfish wrote: |
| Thunndarr wrote: |
Why is it that any discussion of Mexican food invariably ends up being a pissing contest?
A: I really like ****.
B: You like that? I wouldn't let my dog eat there. If you want, you know, good Mexican food, go to ****.
Does any other cuisine generate this kind of argument? |
You've been a poster here long enough to know that everything devolves into a pissing contest here at Dave's.
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I know that's true and all, but talking about other types of foreign cuisine doesn't seem to stir up the same kind of "You don't know what the eff you're talking about if you think that shit is good" as the threads about Mexican food.
I wonder why that is. |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:30 am Post subject: |
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| Thunndarr wrote: |
I know that's true and all, but talking about other types of foreign cuisine doesn't seem to stir up the same kind of "You don't know what the eff you're talking about if you think that shit is good" as the threads about Mexican food.
I wonder why that is. |
Could part of the reason be that, living right next door, norteamericanos regard Mexican food as almost *their* food? And they're used to it, it's not exotic to them, or at least it shouldn't be. And so they are particularly sensitive to being told they don't know good Mexican food from bad. More sensitive than, say, a Russian or anyone else who doesn't happen to share a border with Mexico? See, I wear my ignorance of Mexican cuisine as a goddamn badge of honour, but I think for many on this thread, having their knowledge & taste on the matter challenged would be akin to calling them a backwoodsy, cousin-marrying rube. Maybe? |
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Capo
Joined: 09 Sep 2007
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:48 am Post subject: |
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| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
| Optimus Prime wrote: |
| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
| A good friend of mine is one of the managers opening it. I'm looking forward to going there. |
Can you find out when it opens?
I just signed up as a member. |
I thought he said October 11. |
it opens Oct 18th. also for those who asked its right next to sinchon station on the road with CGV.
Talking about mexican restaurants I found punchos in Itaewon to be decent. looking forward to trying out this new place this weekend. |
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Woland
Joined: 10 May 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:57 am Post subject: |
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The last Taco Bell closed in September 1996, just after I arrived.
I take full responsibility. |
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peppermint
Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:58 am Post subject: |
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| JongnoGuru wrote: |
| Thunndarr wrote: |
I know that's true and all, but talking about other types of foreign cuisine doesn't seem to stir up the same kind of "You don't know what the eff you're talking about if you think that shit is good" as the threads about Mexican food.
I wonder why that is. |
Could part of the reason be that, living right next door, norteamericanos regard Mexican food as almost *their* food? And they're used to it, it's not exotic to them, or at least it shouldn't be. And so they are particularly sensitive to being told they don't know good Mexican food from bad. More sensitive than, say, a Russian or anyone else who doesn't happen to share a border with Mexico? See, I wear my ignorance of Mexican cuisine as a goddamn badge of honour, but I think for many on this thread, having their knowledge & taste on the matter challenged would be akin to calling them a backwoodsy, cousin-marrying rube. Maybe? |
Not all of North America shares a border with Mexico, Mr. Guru. People from the American Southwest should know their burritos from their fajitas, but its not exactly traditional fare in say Connecticut, let alone Canada.
Saying someone from Moose Jaw, Alberta considers Mexican food to be *their* food, is much like your Russian feeling possesive about pomodoro sauce. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:08 am Post subject: |
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| JongnoGuru wrote: |
| Thunndarr wrote: |
I know that's true and all, but talking about other types of foreign cuisine doesn't seem to stir up the same kind of "You don't know what the eff you're talking about if you think that shit is good" as the threads about Mexican food.
I wonder why that is. |
Could part of the reason be that, living right next door, norteamericanos regard Mexican food as almost *their* food? And they're used to it, it's not exotic to them, or at least it shouldn't be. And so they are particularly sensitive to being told they don't know good Mexican food from bad. More sensitive than, say, a Russian or anyone else who doesn't happen to share a border with Mexico? See, I wear my ignorance of Mexican cuisine as a goddamn badge of honour, but I think for many on this thread, having their knowledge & taste on the matter challenged would be akin to calling them a backwoodsy, cousin-marrying rube. Maybe? |
That's about right.
Plus being from the 'Estados Unidos de America'...many large cities particularly in the southwest have a heavy presense of Mexican people...and will therefore have a heavy presense of very authentic Mexicano restaurants. You're bound to know those as well if you live there...and the significantly less authentic stuff just tastes like garbage comparitively.
The only way I can really compare is the way that Koreans think that corn and spicy tomato sauce is acceptable for pizza, or spicy tomato sauce is acceptable for pasta, or jha-jha-myeong represents Chinese Food.
I gotta say that some of these Mexican restaurants in Seoul...some of them just taste like some weird mediocre fusion type quasi-ingredient place just totally missing completely on the taste.
"Tacos Tacos" in Naksopyeong is about as close as I've found that are the most authentic BURRITOS in my opinion (can't say the same for everything else on the menu however). Surprisingly the TACOS in Casa Maya are about the closest to authentic tacos that I've seen (not much else on the Casa Maya menu is however). But what do I know...I'm not really Mexican either...but a lot of NorteAmericanos HAVE had a lot of real authentic and damn tastey Mexican food back in the Estados Unidos de America if they are from the right 'ciudades' (cities).
If someone doesn't really have the reference points, then it doesn't really matter what they order at what Mexican restaurant. Kinda like Taco Bell being the absolute worst of all the Mexican fastfood restaurants and McDonalds being one of the least tastiest hamburgers when it comes to authenticity. But if you've never had real tacos or real hamburgers, then I suppose they would be 'just fine and dandy and nothing wrong whatsoever with that taste' to the consumer. |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:25 am Post subject: |
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Yeah, the 18th, and they're having some troubles it sounds like.
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It will be opening on the 18th.
Side notes: All of the sauces are being made from scratch because customs is being a bitch and not letting most of our pre-made recipes through.
We tried very hard to get limes working here. It's our trademark. However, since limes have a current market price of 1900won per lime, we won't be offering limes with our items. I must apologize. It's very lame. But we would go under in a week if we tried using them. We bought three cases of limes. The company paid about two grand for them, for use in the opening. Do the math -- it's not going to happen.
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Optimus Prime
Joined: 05 Jul 2007
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:25 am Post subject: |
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| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
Yeah, the 18th, and they're having some troubles it sounds like.
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It will be opening on the 18th.
Side notes: All of the sauces are being made from scratch because customs is being a *beep* and not letting most of our pre-made recipes through.
We tried very hard to get limes working here. It's our trademark. However, since limes have a current market price of 1900won per lime, we won't be offering limes with our items. I must apologize. It's very lame. But we would go under in a week if we tried using them. We bought three cases of limes. The company paid about two grand for them, for use in the opening. Do the math -- it's not going to happen.
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Sounds like they aren't paying the right people off with white envelopes. All the other chains seem to be able to import sauces...
But the limes...man, yeah, it's on their logo and whatnot. Didn't they know the price of limes at the time they decided to start up? Eitherway, they should offer limes...just charge 300 won more per drink to cover the cost... |
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Qinella
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:51 am Post subject: |
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| If you want some American Mexican food, just head over to Hannam market, pick up some refried beans, taco shells, seasoning, etc. and make it at home. Costs about the same, and the shells aren't gonna be stale and tasteless. Only thing is I haven't found yellow rice anywhere. That can be a bummer. |
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