Just across from the cobblestone shopping area of Granville Mall, a sandwich board with the daily specials at Seoul Restaurant is plopped in front of its simple storefront. The restaurant itself is equally simple, down a few stairs in a basement space.
Though it lacks windows, it’s still bright, and the servers are exceptionally friendly. The room is filled with tables, though sparsely decorated with very little personality in the decor. A wall at the entrance is covered in writing, an expressive anomaly in what feels like a bit of a blank space. A little box of markers sits waiting for anybody to write their greetings or thoughts.
The menu has write-ups that explain some of the preparation and ingredients, with photos of all the dishes; a full page is devoted to each entree. It’s handy for those who are unfamiliar with the cuisine. The prices run a little more expensive than I like for lunch, but we are hungry.
We’re drawn to almost every photo in the menu, but eventually settle on jaeyuk bokum ($14.50) and naeng myeon ($12.99). At the last minute we also decide to split the kimchijeon ($5.99) as an appetizer.
The first thing to emerge from the kitchen is a simple salad of lettuce with a soy sauce and sesame dressing, a side dish of the jaeyuk bokum. While it was nice to get a bit of greens before a meal that was essentially all meat and starches, we tire of it after a few bites.
The kimchijeon arrives soon after, looking terrific. At first glance it is a crispy, fluffy pancake, speckled with deep brown blisters. When we taste it, however, it’s almost soggy, as if it had been made in advance and microwaved before serving. It is tangy and orange with kimchi, and tastes good with the sesame and soy sauce dipping sauce, but we are disappointed. We are more impressed with the accompanying small bowl of pungent, fresh-tasting cabbage kimchi, which is crunchy and refreshing.
Halfway into the pancake, our entrees arrive. The jaeyuk bokum is impressive in its simplicity. The huge pile of tender, marinated pork loin is only complemented with a bit of shredded cabbage, julienned carrot and finely sliced green onion. The meat is deliciously tender and the veggies still crisp. The sauce at once has spice and tang, but remains surprisingly mild and is wonderfully complex, with the bang of garlic and ginger and hints of sweetness surviving what could have been a napalm spread of red chili paste. Served with a big bowl of white rice, it’s easily enough for the two of us. But there is still the soup.
Mild and refreshing, the naeng myeon is everything I had hoped for. Subtly sweet, with just the slightest bit of tang, the broth is bright and cool, an oasis in the middle of the hot summer day. The soup is served in a huge metal bowl, chilly to the touch, with slices of fresh daikon and cucumber perched atop a huge, twisted pile of chewy buckwheat noodles. Half of a hardboiled egg and thinly sliced beef, under a sprinkling of sesame seeds finish the dish.
The noodles are a bit of a sticky jumble; the server offers to loosen them up with a few snips of some scissors, making them easier to pluck from the bowl. The beef is a little fatty and tough, the only blight on the dish. I just cast it aside, content with the rest of ample bowl of food.
We sit lazily, still pecking away at the food for around an hour, but simply can’t finish. We pack up about half to go. The prices don’t seem so bad as we walk out the door with the leftovers, tempted to scrawl “We’ll be back!” on the wall as we leave.
This article appears in Jul 15-21, 2010.
Seoul Restaurant is great i find. The naeng myeon; the noodles are suppose to be sticky and the beef in there is suppose to be fatty and tough. That’s the whole point. The kimchi jeon was great everytime i went. It will sure improve everytime you go! I recommend Seoul to everyone who wants to try new food or who likes korean food.
“the noodles are suppose to be sticky and the beef in there is suppose to be fatty and tough”… That doesn’t sound too appetizing!!
Having just read Your restaurant review at breakfast, I now get to review the reviewer: I love the 21st century.
Right Melissa, there is little doubt that you know your food, but here’s the thing: your writing is as dull as dishwater. Yes you inform, but your reviews read more like a tedious list of ingredients, something that only you and the 22 other Haligonian food fanatic would find at all interesting. It’s all too bloody mechanical, too detailed.
Imagine describing to someone a painting by only talking about the length of the brush strokes,the Pantone numbers of the colours, as well as the dimensions of the canvas. That is what your reviews are like; the reader does not get an overall sense of the place. We also don’t get a sense of who you are and how we can, through you, connect to your culinary experience. In other words, we don’t really know why we should trust your judgment , or , even more important, why we should care about anything you write.
As a food reviewer, informing your readers is important, but forming a bond with them, by educating and entertaining them, must be a part of the process.
Stopped in for lunch on July 2nd. Great experience in every way. I didn’t have change for the parking meter & a kind young man whom I asked if he could change a five, after checking his pockets thoroughly said ‘no’, but here this will help you til you get change. I refused to take his money, so he very kindly went to the meter and plunked in 4 quarters with a laugh.
Needless to say when I got to the restaurant I asked for change from a man behind the bar which was provided very promptly. I Ordered the special which was Teriyaki Beef when I returned. It was a great choice! The beef was very tender & had a lovely flavor of delicious spices. The kimchi was great & the young lady who served me was most polite and upon checking that everything was okay & if I needed anything further, noticed the kimchi was the first thing I had eaten. She immediately brought me more.
There is a unique autograph wall just inside the door – very cool! The atmosphere was very warm & welcoming. There could not have been better service provided anywhere else. Her timing was perfect along with her attentive and pleasant demeanor and so I felt compelled to leave a 50% tip instead of 20%. I have only tried one other Korean restaurant in Halifax, but this was by far the best yet and I will definitely return at the first opportunity & have also recommended it to others.
The only improvement they could possibly make would be to update the bathroom and play Korean music to give the full authentic feeling, instead of all English music. A little DBSK wouldn’t go astray!
@Randomness: Well trust me it’s fine. That’s how it was made in the first place. The noodles comes dried like spaghetti noodles, then when it’s in boiling water its become sticky noodles. Doesn’t stick to your teeth or anything just a little challange to bite. I believe they cut the noodles up a little shorter to make it more comfortable to eat. Try it your self and would love to see your opinion.
the best korean food in the city.. warm and welcoming atmosphere with excellent service. very polite and generous waitress/waiters and checking up every couple of minutes 🙂 i recommend this place to anyone in the city/province !! they also open on sundays as well