Chinese restaurants are the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to special occasions such as entrance ceremonies, graduation ceremonies, and moving days. It's full of jajangmyeon and seafood, which are loved by all, regardless of whether they like it or not! Champon with a cool soup. Thick meat is crispy deep-fried, and even sweet and sour pork that can be enjoyed with sweet and sour sauce. Mouth-watering Chinese food is always welcome!
Nevertheless, when they visited a Chinese restaurant, they rummaged around through thick menus and ended up eating sweet and sour pork every time, at best, kanpoonggi? If you don't know what kind of dish it is and are hesitating to make a choice about failure, let's go to the diverse world of Chinese cuisine with restaurants introduced by Shikishin! Ah, be aware that once you leave, you won't be able to get out.
1. Back to Shanghai in the 1920s, 'Yuyuan' in Jongno
The Chinese restaurant “Yu Yuan (Yu Yuan)†at the Four Seasons Hotel, named after “Yu Yuan (beautiful garden),†which is one of Shanghai's famous attractions, captures the turbulent Shanghai of the 1920s. The jade-colored interior is both gorgeous and old-fashioned, making it a popular meeting place. There are also 8 private dining rooms, including a VIP double room equipped with special facilities.
The signature menu is mainly Cantonese style cuisine, but “Peking duck†baked in a specialized oven is one of Yu Yuan's specialty dishes. Peking Duck, which can be seen at the same time as entering the entrance, reveals that Yu Yuan's signature menu is Peking Duck. Peking duck can be eaten by wrapping green onions and cucumber together in the thin rice crackers that come with it, and the crispy skin and moist lean meat are excellent. The lean meat, which is low in fat and is light and chewy, can be enjoyed even more deliciously by wrapping it in rice crackers and dipping it in a field. “Dim sum†is also one of Yu Yuan's popular menus, adding a special recipe from the chef to the authentic Cantonese style. The turnip cake, which is served stir-fried with vegetables without blood covering the cow, is a special dim sum that only takes two days to complete.
They also offer a variety of local specialties, such as “gobarou,†which is thickly deep-fried for a rich texture. If you order Peking duck, they will come to their place and cut it to make it easy to eat, and they will make a millet roll as a sample. The table setting, where chopsticks for sharing and personal use are prepared separately, is a point where customers can feel the meticulous attention to detail.
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â–²Location: 11F, 97, Saemunan-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul â–²Opening hours: 11:30-21:30 every day, break time 14:30-17:30, weekend 11:30-14:30 brunch â–²Price: Peking duck 80,000 won, turnip cake 4,500 won â–²Review (Shikigami II, Aegiya II): I went there because I wanted to get Lee Sedol's energy. I heard that they played against AlphaGo here! The atmosphere and taste were great. I want to be a wonderful person like my son Lee Se-dol.
2. “Jinjin†in Seogyo-dong, run by the godfather of the Chinese food industry
“Jinjinâ€, located in Yeonnam-dong, is a Chinese restaurant opened in January 2015 by Chef Wang Yoo-sung, the godfather of the Chinese restaurant with over 40 years of experience. Rumors have been raging since it opened as a place that offers reasonably priced dishes with high quality food and a lower price range. A membership system where you can enjoy food at a 20% discount for a lifetime when you pay a subscription fee of 30,000 won and register as a member is unique to Jin Jin. “Jinjin,†which was created letter by letter from my father's hometown and Mapo's old name, is a place full of love from many regular customers.
The most popular menu item is “menbosha,†which is Chinese shrimp toast. Menbosha, where the bread must be cooked properly without burning too much, is a difficult dish called the magic of fire control in Chinese cuisine. The point of Jinjin's menbosha is that it is deep-fried at a low temperature to keep the outside crispy and the inside moist. The crispy deep-fried bread contains plump, firm shrimp, which has a unique chewy texture, and is sweet along with the savory flavor, so you can enjoy a different flavor in your mouth. “Stir-fried eggplant,†which has a spicy flavor from a salty liver, and “five-spice cold dish,†which combines a fragrant sauce and a chewy texture, are also popular menus.
Reservations can be made from 11:00 a.m., but it's not easy to make a reservation even though it has been extended to the annex. Please note that reservations are accepted at 5 p.m., 7 p.m., and 9 p.m., and 5 and 9 p.m., which are relatively easy.
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â–²Location: 469-67, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu â–²Opening hours: 17:00-00:00 every day, order deadline 23:00 â–²Price: Menbosha (6 pieces) 15,000 won, fish flavor 17,000 won â–²Review (Food F5): A Chinese restaurant with good value for money and delicious food. Menbosa is very popular. Ching-ching rockfish is fine too. You can enjoy the original mapo tofu, and the five-spice cold dish and kanpunggi shabochae are also delicious. The advantage here is that the price range is reasonable. Also, it makes good use of the aroma, so the food tastes good. I finished it with fried rice, which is full of flavor.
3. A proposal for healthy Cantonese lunch, City Hall “Hong Yanâ€
“Hong Yeon,†which offers healthy dishes using the natural flavors of the ingredients, is run by a chef with 30 years of experience at the Michelin signature dim sum restaurant “Tim Ho Wan.†A place that has been praised for breaking the traditional framework of Chinese cuisine and creating a new trend. Also, Hong Yeon has the meaning of putting meaning into every relationship that takes place in Hong Yeon based on the myth that a red thread is connected to each other's fateful partner's little finger.
The signature menu is “dim sum,†where you can enjoy Hong Kong-style dim sum filled with the chef's 30 years of dim sum experience. All ingredients are refrigerated, and the dough for blood is made just before meal time, calculated for humidity and temperature, and kneaded painstakingly. The point is that the inside is so thin that you can see the inside, so you can enjoy it while feeling soft. “Sorongpo†is popular among dim sums, and the juice is not too greasy, so you can enjoy it both moist and light. Also, Hongyeon's “special jajangmyeon†can only be ordered for 2 or more people, because the order must be placed before the onion is cut and cooking begins. All of the prepared ingredients are quickly stir-fried within 2-3 minutes, and each ingredient is coated with oil, making it extremely juicy and tasty.
There are 10 private rooms, so small events are held on a small scale, and it is said that it is often used as a place for first birthday parties. For lunch and dinner on weekends, they offer a special course where you can choose 10 menus per table from dishes that can only be enjoyed on weekends. The menu is available on Hongyeon's official website, so check it out.
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â–²Location: Chosun Hotel, 87, Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul â–²Opening hours: Daily lunch 12:30-14:30, dinner 18:00-21:30 â–²Price: Lunch course starting at 110,000 won, dinner course starting at 140,000 won â–²Review (Shiken, Dawn Moon): It would be great if the location was in a different place, but hahahahaha, it's probably late to make a reservation because there are many incidents at the city hall.
4. Seoul's top three sweet and sour pork, Apgujeong's 'big bag'
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“Big Bag†in Apgujeong opened in 1996 and has been in business for 20 years. The owner and chef of 49 years have kept the traditional sweet and sour pork recipe from the past, so it is a place with lots of regulars. In particular, the owner and chef of Daigabang was also the first person to bring flower bread to Korea.
Daigabang's most popular menu is definitely “sweet and sour pork.†You can find both Beijing-style sweet and sour pork with transparent sauce and Cantonese sweet and sour pork with ketchup, and the crunchy, chewy texture makes customers come back for more. The secret to flavor is texture. Grape seed oil is added to the dough mixed with potato flour, corn flour, and flour to create bubbles in the dough, and it has a crispy texture over time.
Also, both the dough and meat are aged for a certain period of time, and the meat is tender and tender according to that period. The full meat in the tempura has no odor and is thick, so it has a good texture when chewed together with the crunchy tempura batter. “Daegatang noodles,†which have a refreshing and deep flavor of oyster champon, and the sweet and spicy “grilled prawn with garlic†are also popular menus.
Reservations can only be made for 4 people or more, and wine corkages are available, so it's best to let them know in advance when making a reservation. Lunch sets and course meals are also available, making it a great place to visit for various gatherings. Please note that there is a break time.
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â–²Location: 1st floor of Luxway Building, 99-7, Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul â–²Opening hours: 11:30-21:00 every day, BREAK TIME 15:00-17:00, closed on Sundays, and holidays â–²Price range: Sweet and sour pork 20,000 won, Cantonese sweet and sour pork 22,000 won, prawns with garlic sauce 12,000 won â–²Review (Shikishin Beer and Peanuts 09): A sweet and sour pork restaurant known since filming at Master in the past lol lol Then hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
5. An authentic Chinese restaurant with a view of the Han River, 'Thyme' in Yeouido
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“Thyme Hyang†is a Chinese restaurant located in 63 buildings overlooking Yeouido. It is a place where you can enjoy Chinese Cantonese cuisine and Szechuan cuisine. Thyme Hyang's chef was also the first Korean to win the grand prize at the Hong Kong International Culinary Competition.
The popular menu is “dongpa-yuk,†a meat dish garnished with coriander. Thanks to using meat that has been aged one day and cooked over a long period of time, its soft texture is impressive despite its thick thickness. The point is that the umami of soy sauce blends with the raw juiciness of the meat. “Gisu noodles†are prepared as a meal menu, and the soft noodles that go well with the thinly torn chicken breast and the rich broth are excellent. “Baek Champon,†which has a light and refreshing soup, is another popular menu item.
There is a separate face-to-face menu, so it's a good idea for couples preparing for a face-to-face meeting to check it out. In particular, Thyme has a variety of course meals and seasonal menus, so you can get information if you inquire in advance. Note that 63 buildings offer free parking for 4 hours.
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â–²Location: 57F, 63 Building, 60 Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul â–²Opening hours: 11:30-15:00, 17:30-22:00 â–²Price: Lunch menu starting at 110,000 won ~ Dinner menu starting at 85,000 won ~ â–²Review (Captain America Shikigin): It was nice that the room was so big. When I eat course meals, I like to take a long time and eat quietly, so I always book a room when I visit this place. There's also a reason the room has a better view. Dishes containing seafood are more delicious, but I think that's because they focus on expensive ingredients. I've had a good satisfying meal. If you go with adults, I think it would be better if it was quiet.
