서울 | A Fat Girl's Food Guide to Eating in Korea

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Last week we were having a browse around Itaewon and passed by Tartine. Tartine is an Artisan style bakery specializing in pies. However they also have various cakes and breads for sale too, as well as a restaurant opposite serving food.

It had been a while since I was last there so I thought I would treat myself to a few of their cakes. It was very busy inside so we just got them to take away. I have had their chocolate cream pie once before, but although I enjoyed the filling, I didn’t think much of the pastry. Especially since it cost about 7,000 for one.

This time I opted for the lemon bar 4,800. I have been rather obsessed with lemon flavoured delights lately and was looking forward to this. It tasted like sherbet lemon candy, which is good but left a very artificial after-taste in my mouth. The pastry wasn’t all that great either. It was okay but a little disappointing.

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I also bought a pecan brownie 3,800. It was fine but nothing special, a little dry actually. I think mine is much better. I would rather buy one of the dollar ones from Paris Baguette than shell out for one of these again.

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The last dessert I purchased was the Cheesecake 7,000. It looked the part and the texture was great but sadly it was really lacking in flavour. The topping was very bland. Indigo’s is much better and almost half the price.

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Overall I don’t think I will be a regular at Tartine. It’s way too pricey for desserts that are not really all that great. However if you are in the mood for pie they have a large variety (including rhubarb!). They also have a loyalty stamp card where you get something for free after every 5 pies that you buy.

Tartine is located in Itaewon at 119-15 Itaewon, Yongsan -Gu, Seoul. Take a train to Itaewon station (line 6) then come out of exit 1 and walk straight. It is in one of the alleys up to your right (the second or third one I think). You can call them on 02-3785-3400 or check out their website for more details.

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Another day, another gastro-pub. Just around the corner from my job is the aptly named Gastro Pub. We spotted it quite a while ago now but didn’t really think it would be up to much, so we never investigated further. However last night we were released from work rather early. There was time before the bus came so we thought we would take a look at the menu. The place was so much bigger than I had expected and not what I had imagined at all. We’re hardly in a desolate wasteland of restaurants but I certainly wasn’t expecting anything like this.

A big industrial warehouse type space. This restaurant is very deceiving from the outside. A huge long bar greets you as you enter then a large sized restaurant is beyond, with a large terrace at the back which would be perfect for some summertime drinking. An open spaced kitchen fills one long wall. I’ve always admired these, as I like to see what I’m getting. This gastro-pub has more New York feel than English Style homeliness of Reilly’s, but is cool and sleek none the less.

A gastro-pub inspired menu awaits, printed on newspaper style menus that seem to be all the rage these days. A mix of salads, pastas, burgers and grilled meats. They also have various imported beers and a large variety of bottles.Sadly no cocktails were on the menu, but they did have a nice variety of soft drinks and smoothies. Next time I’ll be sure to bring along my trusty hip flask and make some myself. They had a taster of beers. You could choose 5 out 7. This worked really well for us, my boyfriend got to have his real beer and I got my ladies lager. It was only 14,000 for 5 but we went during happy hour and got an extra 20% off which we thought was very reasonable.

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On to the food. We chose the fish and chips. I was still in the middle of taking a few pictures when this rocked up at lightning speed. There were 3 pieces on the plate and a mountain of shoe string fries (they were so thin, I probably could have tied my shoes with them). The fish was coated in a light and crispy batter. Coming from the land of fish and chips I like mine nice and thick. I’m not a huge fan of fish so for me the batter is the star attraction. However the fish here was good. The winner on this plate was the home-made tartare sauce, sharp and tasty, I could have eaten twice as much.

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I was keen to try the prime burger. I am a burger girl through and through and would probably choose this for my last meal on earth. This one looked pretty damn good when it rocked up, slathered with cheese and caramelized onions but sadly didn’t make me go “Mmm” when I bit into it. It was fine and I certainly could have eaten another one but it didn’t really live up to its 20,000 won price tag. I would rather pay the extra 5,000 and get the burger at Reilly’s, or go to Burger B and eat 2! Another point to mention is that this burger was very rare, the blood was actually seeping out on to the plate. Personally I like my meat still mooing but I know for a lot of people this can pose a problem, especially since the waiter didn’t ask us how we would like it cooked. The burger too came with a mountain of fries. I loved these chips but after a while I still couldn’t see the mountain going down. They gave a choice while ordering of salad or fries but I think a little of both would have been preferable.

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The majority of these dishes available are around the 15,000 – 20,000 mark but they also have a 1kg steak available for 150,000 or a 750g rack of lamb for a mere 120,000. The people at the next table had the steak and I have to say it was pretty large but I don’t know if I would pay that much for a steak and have to share it. I think this restaurant is more of a Korean style with the larger dishes that are good for sharing. They also had a few desserts on the menu but I couldn’t partake as I had eaten too many chips!

Gastro Pub is located at 810-2 Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. To get there take a train to Naebang station(line number 7) and come out exit 7. Walk straight until you pass the BMW dealership and make a right. Directly in front of you should be Gastro Pub. The nearest bus stop is 22-222. You can call them on 02-537-17222. Or check out their website.