Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

This Nepali food is worth every won
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/01/21/200901210045.asp

It turns out this is not just any Nepali restaurant.
Tucked away on a side street in a busy area of Seoul, I didn`t know what to expect from a Nepalese restaurant by the name of Everest. Traveling four hours north from Busan just to try a restaurant heralded as amazing, my chef friend and I decided to put Everest to the test.

Once we found the restaurant, it was obvious why it is popular among expats and Koreans. The atmosphere has a Bohemian, almost Bollywood feel.

It smelled of chi mixed with curry, but the best part was it did not smell of smoke - a welcome change from many Seoul restaurants.

The place was packed, mostly with foreigners, yet the servers treated us as if we were the only people there. All were helpful in our selections and spoke English. I asked for the best item on the menu, which was spicy, while my cooking-expert friend chose a favorite dish.

One thing that struck us was the price. Appetizers were only 2,000-3,000 won. Main dishes with rice ran up to 7,000 won and curry dishes were under 9,000 won.

We tried lots of food because we were hungry and wanted to explore the dishes. We ordered nan bread as an appetizer, which was baked to perfection. It was also a huge serving for its price. The samosas, something not easily available in Korea, were delicious. Very hot with an unusually fresh taste, they were, according to my chef friend, real samosas and not pre-frozen after earlier preparation.

The potatoes were not mushy, a sure sign they had just been prepared. The vegetables were also evenly cooked and warmed.

Then our main dishes - jila rice, chicken chilly and chicken tika masala - all came out of the kitchen hot and fresh.

My chicken tika masala, a curried chicken dish, arrived in a small oval bowl and I was originally disappointed with the portion size.

I quickly changed my mind. Not only was the food fantastic, the bowl was quite deep, and mixed with nan bread and the jila rice, it filled up this 188 cm, 90 kg reporter just fine.

A final note on the main courses, if your stomach is adverse to spicy food, you might have some problems.

To finish the meal, we tried rasgula. A doughy like bun with a syrupy cool taste, it countered the spicy main course nicely.

We left Everest not disappointed that we had traveled four hours to try it. And it was worth every won.

See www.everestfood.com for directions. Besides the Dongdaemoon Station location, there is another Everest located across the street from Youngdompo Subway Station.

([email protected])



2009.01.21