Korean Chinese - Seoul, Korea

Eventhough there is no Korean Chinese out of the Chen Kenichi (of Iron Chef fame) mould as yet, Chinese Korean food is everywhere brought in by migrants looking for the good life. Having enjoyed quite a lot of the Korean cuisine during my autumn trip, my host suggested a trip to the Chinese restaurant. Out of courtesy and also wanting to see how Chinese cuisine was morphed to suit the local palate, it was fair game to the foodie.

Ko Lou Yoke - Sweet Sour Pork - (Korean - Tangsuyuk). The batter was thicker than usual but the sauce less in abundance. It also lacked the colour that comes from adding a variety of vegetables to it. Nowadays cooks are particular about presentation and the variety of vegetables used and its myriad of colours can make alot of difference to the dish. Verdict on the taste: Suitable for local palate!!

The above condiments needs no introduction. It is almost sinful not to have them in any eatery in Korea. I enjoy the pickled radish. It has the 'out of this world' feel esp. with the crunchy texture, the tart, the sweet and the bite.

Next on the list will be its Jajangmyeon Noodles (Chinese almost the same name). It is sticky and syrupy. I thought they used the thick soy sauce favoured by the Hokkiens as its base. This bowl of thick syrupy sauce with plenty of onions is then dumped into a plate of noodles and thoroughly mixed and then consumed. I found its sauce too thick (thicker than the CCF sauce here) and too sweet. Again this is a Chinese Korean food so take my comments with a pinch of salt!!

This bowl of noodles was sweet and very similar to our local soup noodles. I appreciated the warm it gave to me esp when the temperature was dipping southwards to a single digit. The secret in a good bowl of soup noodles would be its broth.

And finally, Mand (Korean), Jiaozi (Chinese), Gyoza (Japanese) and Momo (Tibetan). I found the wrapping style unique. It definitely looked more secured and also allowed for more stuffings. The wrappings were a bit too thick and over-fried for me.