Twiga is the latest restaurant to open up in Itaewon-dong. Serving up real South African cuisine, it’s going to be the Seoul Saffers’ home away from home. Mum might be far away from home but Vanita Swart is ready to step in and serve up her family favourites that are even better than your Mum’s cooking. Up on the 5th floor, a lift will take you to this South African Safari. In this light and airy space, cute giraffes and zebras will greet you everywhere you look.

After a look at the menu I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist those lamb chops. I think we all know how hard it is to come by rack of lamb, but fresh lamb chops are even rarer and even more expensive. So the fact they are serving them here for 25,000 is incredibly cheap.  These were cooked to absolute perfection. Every meaty morsel was juicy and tender in the middle with the crisp barbecued exterior. Served with the delicious homemade chutney I could have eaten these 10 times over, but that’s always the way with lamb chops. Luckily the accompanying chips were amazing and I soon forgot about the lamb. These are the best chips I have ever had in Korea, bar the triple cooked ones I make sometimes. They were so good, they could start a chip shop. Tasty , crispy, hand cut, and fried, none of those frozen Costco ones that’s for sure. There was also a lovely side salad on the plate to complete the meal. I was very happy indeed.

My dining companion ordered the Bobotie (20,000). A traditional South African dish consisting of a fruity curry mince, topped with a savory baked custard. As my companion was a South African himself I was very eager to find out how he rated this dish and he declared it delicious. I really enjoyed this dish too even though I hadn’t really had anything like it before. I guess it’s similar to a lasagne but more flavoruful and without the pasta. It too was served with those fabulous chips and salad.

Being a fabulous food blogger I occasionally get a few perks of the job and get to try a few extras. The traditional South African sausage boerwors, were excellent and full of flavour. With two kinds of chutney I couldn’t decide which I like more, the traditional or the peach. We also tried the pumpkin fritters. Golden crisp outside with the taste of sugar and cinnamon.

And of course there was no way I could leave without trying Vanita’s famous Amarula cheesecake (6,500 a slice). Vanita also sells a whole one for (35,000). Man I wish I had known about this before my last birthday. Get one for a mates birthday instead of one of those god awful Paris Baguette creations and you will have a friend for life. The texture was perfection, kind of like clotted cream. Then there was a lovely creamy sweet flavour throughout. If it was legal I would probably marry this cheesecake, then eat all the delicious babies.

Twiga is located on the 5th floor, 26-38 Noksapyeondae-ro, Itaewon, Seoul. To get there take a train to Noksapyeong station and come out of exit 3. Walk across the cross walk so you are outside Suji’s deli and go right and walk  along the main road. Keep going straight until you see the over pass bridge and take the road turning left. Twiga is about halfway up the road on the right hand side, just opposite the Saudi Arabian Embassy. For more information or to make a reservation call 010-3784-9555. 

I spotted this little place a few weeks ago when walking around Itaewon, I made a note of it and vowed to give it a try next time I wasn’t so full. Then a few days ago we passed it again and I figured it was about time. I love kebabs and love grilled food so I figured there really wasn’t anything not to like. They are very similar to kebabs except the meat is cooked on skewers and not sliced from a giant piece like the Turkish ones. They are also wrapped in thick pita breads rather than the thinner tortilla breads the kebab shops have.

I ordered the chicken souvlaki pita (5,000). Chunks of char-grilled chicken, fresh salad and topped with  a tzatziki sauce. All wrapped up in a chewy pita bread it was rather good indeed.

And of course The fat boyfriend wanted to try the lamb souvlaki pita (5,500). He really does love his lamb!

As well as the souvlaki pitas, they have just plain meat on a stick and a few different Greek salads. There is room for seating or you can get it to go. A cool little place to grab food on the go and a nice change from kebabs and sandwiches.

Greek on the Grill is located at 64-67 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. To get there take a train to Itaewon Station, come out exit 4 and walk straight until you get to Dillinger’s. Take the stairs down to the left of Dillinger’s and then turn right and it’s on your left after about 50 metres. You can call  them 02-797-7043 for more details.

So would you believe I actually managed to find lamb shoulder! Nothing excites one more than a Sunday roast dinner. Although finding big joints of meat like we get back home is ever so tricky. Even the chickens here are anorexic, not like the big juicy ones mummy always makes at home. I found this meaty delightfulness at The National Market just opposite the main FFM in Itaewon. They have a much bigger range of meats, including leg of lamb and chunks of stewing lamb for only 13,000 a kg. My shoulder cost 17,000, as it was just over a kg. Plenty of meat for four people. We are only a twosome though,  so we used the left overs to make a stew. I decided to serve up this dinner with two different kinds of potatoes as The Fat Boyfriend is Irish and that’s just what they do.

Ingredients

1.1kg of lamb shoulder

2 onions

5 potatoes

4 cloves of garlic

A little olive oil

1 tablespoon of rosemary (fresh if possible)

A pinch of salt and pepper

500ml of chicken stock.

Potato Cake 

6 potatoes

2 eggs

100g of cheese

50g of butter

100ml of milk

A pinch of salt and pepper

Oil for brushing

Directions

1. Fully defrost the lamb. I did mine in the sink overnight.

2. Preheat your oven to 140 degrees Celsius. Stab holes in your lamb and push pieces of garlic into them. If you have fresh rosemary put some in too. If not use a little dried. Rub the top with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

3. Finely slice your potatoes and arrange on the tray. Then slice an onion and place in the middle. Pop the lamb on top and pour 500ml of chicken stock into the bottom of the pan and then tightly cover with foil and put in the oven for 4 hours.

3. After about four hours the lamb should be tender and come apart easily. If it doesn’t you can still cook it for another hour or so. Sadly I forgot to take a picture of the lamb after it came out of the oven. Clearly I was far too keen to eat it.

4. Pour of all that leftover stock and lovely lamb juices into a jug, as you will use this to make your gravy. Pop the lamb on a plate and cover loosely with the foil and leave to rest. Turn up the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and put the potatoes and onions back in to get crispy for about 10-20 minutes.

5.  To make the mash potato cake. Boil your potatoes in salted water until they are just about to fall apart. Meanwhile line a pan or dish with baking paper. Then strain. Mash them with the butter and milk then add the cheese and seasoning. Allow to cook slightly before mixing in the beaten eggs. You don’t want them to cook. Pop them into your pan and brush the top with a little olive oil and bake in the oven at 190 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes.

6. To make the gravy melt a knob of butter in a pan, then add 2 tablespoons of flour and mix to form a roux. Pour in your lamb juices and stock and keep whisking as you bring to the boil .It should thicken up as it heats up. Boil for a minute or two then serve.

6. Serve your lamb with your two kinds of potatoes, extra vegetables and your lovely gravy.

Stew is the only thing I seem to be making these days, but it’s just so easy and quick that it’s hard to resist. I decided to switch things up a bit last week and use a tomato base with my lamb instead of gravy. I had half a bag of chops from the foreign mart that needed using. I made my life even simpler by cooking in the rice cooker. I quickly prepared all my ingredients put it on to cook, got ready for work and then switched it to warm. When I cam home there was the most amazing smell and lamb was soft and tender and falling off the bone. If you do not have a slow cooker then using your rice cooker to make yourself some soups and stews is one of the easiest things you can do. I flash fried all my meat and vegetables before putting them in, but you could just put them in raw to make things even quicker. The couscous I served is incredibly easy and looks gorgeous. Pomegranates are in season and ridiculously cheap, so be sure to pick up a few.

Ingredients 

500g of Lamb

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 a courgette

2 aubergines

2 red peppers

1/2 a can of chickpeas

4 tablespoons of barley (optional)

1 litre of tomato juice

500ml of orange juice

500ml of water or stock (optional)

3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

1-2 tablespoons of red Thai curry paste

2 tablespoons of cumin

1 tablespoon of coriander

1 tablespoon of cajun seasoning

1 teaspoon of paprika (or cayenne pepper if you like it hot)

Salt and pepper to taste

Couscous

1 cup of couscous

1 cup of water

1 chicken stock cube

1 pomegranate

25g of cashews or pistachios

25g of raisins

1 roasted red pepper

A small bunch  of coriander

Directions

1. Chop the onions and garlic into medium sized pieces and fry off in a small amount of oil for a minute or too and then put them in you rice cooker pot. In the same pan, brown your lamb by cooking on each side for a minute or two and adding to the same pot at the onions and garlic. Finally chop your peppers, aubergine and courgette into bite sized chunks and cook in the frying pan  for a minute then add to the lamb.

2. Add the tomato juice, orange juice,  and water, to the pot along with the Worcestershire sauce, spices and barley  and switch to cook mode. I only have two setting on my cooker, cook and warm. Leave it on the cook mode for about an hour, it will boil away furiously. After an hour, check on the liquid and give it a stir, you may want to add another 500ml of  tomato juice at this point. Also check your spices and seasoning, you may want to add more. Then flip the switch to warm for at least 3 hours. When you come home your meat should be lovely and tender and your sauce thick and tasty. If it’s still not quite to your liking you can still re-season and cook it a little longer if you wish.

3. The couscous is really each to make, you just need water and couscous in equal amounts, so just use the same container for both. Put the couscous in a bowl and the water in a saucepan along with the stock cube. Bring to the boil and then pour the water over the couscous, cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes run a fork over the couscous to make it fluffy. Chop the roasted pepper and mix in along with raisins, nuts and pomegranate. Finely chop the cilantro and add that in too. Then serve this delicious Moroccan delight, for a cold Winter’s night.

I had never even heard the name OKitchen mentioned until I went to the medicinal competition in Sancheong. The chefs representing the restaurant won one of the top prizes. After that I noticed that everyone was talking about it and telling me how great the food was, so I thought it was about time I tried it. After a little research online, I found that it was fine dining. Little did I know that I had walked past the restaurant dozens of time. We had even looked at the menu before, thought it looked good, but not ventured inside. It just goes to show that appearances can by deceptive and you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The little wooden plank clad restaurant looks more like a ski chalet in the mountains than a fine dining establishment. But once inside, the restaurant is warm, cosy, and perfect for a nice intimate dinner.

Soon after sitting we were brought  the bread basket. Four different varieties, focaccia, butter scone bread, a black sesame crisp and a walnut bread. The bread came with oil and vinegar and was refilled once we finished it. The walnut could have done with a little more salt but all in all it was a nice selection.

Niall ordered the tasting plate, which consisted of six different courses for 80,000. I’ll run through that and then discuss the a la carte dishes I ordered. The first  dish of the tasting platter was the seafood plate. A large variety of fish and seafood were on the dish, far too many to recount. A nice start to the meal if you like raw fish. I sadly did not so couldn’t comment but Niall enjoyed it and felt it was nicely balanced and the accompaniments worked well.

Next up was the polenta cake with mushrooms and a poached fertile egg. I was looking forward to my taste of this one, eggs and mushrooms are always a winning combination for me. The egg looked as though it was sous-vide rather than poached, which was not to my preference as the egg white is not as solid as if it had been poached. The egg yolk was lovely and runny though.

The starters kept on coming and next was a roasted fig with gorgonzola and poached pear. Not usually a gorgonzola fan, the cheese complimented the fig well. It was small though and quickly devoured.

Next came the pasta course. The pasta of the day was spaghetti with mackerel. The mackerel was not too strong in flavour and I was actually able to eat a little of this one.

After the pasta course was the main of  han-woo steak. This steak was half the size of the regular option but after all those courses it would have been far too much. He ordered his steak blue which I thought was a little rare for the cut of the meat, but he enjoyed it all the same. It came with little pearls of mustard seeds, greens and roasted potatoes.

Finally on to the dessert course of warm chocolate cake with espresso ice-cream. The cake was warm with a little sauce still melting in the middle. The ice-cream was nice and creamy and the raspberry jus smeared on the plate nice and tart. A lovely nice dessert and the perfect end to the meal. Thankfully it was small or we might not have finished it!

Rather than the tasting menu I went a la carte and had the potato gnocchi with pumpkin sauce and truffle oil (23,000) This was as yummy as it sounds. The gnocchi was soft and lightly fried so the edge was crisp. The pumpkin sauce was sweet and complimentary and the delicious smell of truffles wafted through the dish.  Topped with grated parmesan and mushrooms, I will be coming back for this dish again.

On to my main of Australian lamb done two ways (45,000). Composed of a rack of lamb, perfectly cooked to medium rare.  The pan seared edge tasted of lemon and herbs and was extremely good. The second piece was slow cooked in delicious gravy like sauce, the waitress didn’t explain this dish at all but I would guess it was shoulder, served on a bed of mashed something. I have no idea what it was could have been celeriac, cauliflour, or polenta. I just don’t know. It was tasty though. The slow cooked lamb was divine it was so soft and tender it just fell apart in my mouth and melted into my tongue. It’s hard to beat a nice rack but this did it in spades. Possibly the best lamb I’ve ever eaten in Korea. I’ll be coming back for this one, too. I couldn’t be happier about my choice of dishes.

The only part about the dining experience that I think needs improving is the service. We waited longer than we should have to be given menus, and every time a dish was brought over they just left without explaining the dish. When prompted they were able to explain but it is my personal belief that during a fine dining experience it is paramount that servers explain the elements that compose the meal. The menu gives very little detail other than the two or three main ingredients. The chefs go to a lot of trouble to put together each plate and for the customer not to know what’s on seems a little redundant. The owner was kind and warm but I think he could do with training his waitresses a little better. I was also a little miffed to see no cocktails on the menu, but those who enjoy wine and beer will be happy enough.

Over all we had a great meal for a reasonable price at Okitchen and I will definitely be returning. The service could be improved but it wouldn’t stop me from visiting again or recommending it as a good place for a special dinner. I would recommend that at least one person in your party get the tasting plate if you like to try a little of everything. But also try a few other dishes on the menu too.

Okitchen is located at Itaewon-dong 168-14 Itaewon-Dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. To get there take a train to Itaewon station and come out exit 1. Walk straight for maybe 100m and you should see Okitchen in one of the little alleyways. If you get as far as ABC mart you’ve gone too far. You can call them on 02-797-6420 or check out their facebook page.

I do love a good stew, especially now the nights have grown cold. Having something warm and comforting to come home to is just the ticket after a hard nights work. I made this last Monday when you need something extra special to get you through that first day of work. I served it in a giant Yorkshire pudding as it was international Yorkshire pudding day. I used lamb chops that I bought at the foreign food market for this. I’m not sure they were really the right cut, as they were a bit thin so I will try something else next time. But by the time they had cooked they were soft and tender and the stew was full of flavour. Lovely lamb stew served in a giant Yorkshire pudding with an episode of Downton Abbey to watch and Monday isn’t looking so bad.

Ingredients

Stew

500g of lamb chops

1 carrot

1 onion

1 stick of celery

3 potatoes

1 bay leave

1 small bunch of fresh herbs (if not used dried)

1/2 a large courgette

3 cloves of garlic

3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

440ml of Guinness (or dark ale)

2 liters of stock (I used vegetable)

Yorkshire pudding

140g plain flour

4 eggs

200ml milk

Directions

The start of a good stew is always a good stock. I never throw away any meat bones without making them into stock.  Add an onion, some celery, a carrot, and a few cloves of garlic to some water boiling water and it’s done. You can also save all your vegetable peelings and scraps in a little pot in the fridge and add those in too. I store all my stock in the freezer, so I always have some on hand. If you don’t have stock you can just use the cubes instead.

Cut your lamb into bite sized chunks, then toss in seasoned flour. Fry them on a medium heat in a little oil until the sides have browned then remove from the pan. Do this in small batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan.

Chop your onion and garlic and fry off in the meat pan for a couple of minutes, then chop and add the carrot. Fry for a further minute before adding the carrot, onion, garlic and meat chunks to a large saucepan. Add the  Worcestershire sauce, herbs,stock, and can of Guinness, and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat as low as possible. Let the stew simmer for an hour,stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick on the bottom. Then chop the potatoes and courgette add them in too. Simmer for another hour or two. I know this sounds vague but it depends upon the cut of the meat. It needs to be cooked until it is soft, tender, and falls apart from the bone. Add salt, pepper and more herbs to taste.

For the Yorkshire pudding I used Gordon Ramsay’s recipe and it never fails me. To make the batter, put the  flour into a bowl and beat in four eggs until smooth. Gradually add 200ml milk and carry on beating until the mix is completely lump-free. Season with salt and pepper, then pop it into the fridge for 30 minutes or more. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Then put some oil into the tins and put them in the oven to heat up. I used some of those little disposable round foil tins that you seem to find everywhere. They only have a 2cm inch edge but it didn’t seem to stop them rising.  Once the oil is hot, pour the batter into the tins. Place the tins back in the oven and leave undisturbed for 20-25 mins until the puddings have puffed up and browned. Fill with your stew and serve immediately. Voilà delicious lamb stew.

I had been meaning to try this place forever. I am mad for kebabs as you may have noticed from my kebab crawl post. And thought it was about high time that I got around to trying some other Turkish food. I did go to Turkey years ago, but can’t really remember what I ate. I knew there would be lots of lovely lamb on the menu to try, soi that was reason enough to go.

To start we tried the baba ghanoush (8,000) . This one was fresher than the ones you normally come across, probably due to the tomatoes, but it still retained the smokey aubergine goodness. It was nice and refreshing and I felt healthy eating it.

We also ordered the cheese pide (15,500) . We needed something to dip into our baba ghanoush so, the pide seemed perfect. A thick dough crust that was stuffed with Turkish kashar cheese. They have various other flavorings with different meats and vegetables.

Lastly we ordered the lamb shish kebab (23,000). It was too tempting to resist.  There were chunks of char grilled lamb, that were so morish. You could taste the grilled flavours mingled with the lovely spices. My only complaint is that there wasn’t enough! We shared this between two but it would have been better for only one. It came with rice and salad, but it would be nice if there was some bread with it too.

I really enjoyed the food at Kervan, everything we had was tasty, but for me it is a little bit on the expensive side for the portions. However  you get what you pay for, so I’d keep this restaurant for a treat. It’s also very large so it’s a great place to go for large parties, as they have a lot of room.

Kervan is located at 2F -127-3, Itaewon dong, Yongsan gu, Seoul. To get there take a train to Itaewon station (line 6) and come out of exit 3. Walk straight for about 100 meters, Kervan is on the right on the second floor above U Square, just before you get to Dunkin Donuts. For more information call them on 02-792-4767 or check out their website.

Braai Republic is a South African BBQ restaurant and bar hidden in the back streets of Itaewon. I have been meaning to review this place for over a year now, however we have just only got around to visiting. It’s very strange as both me and my boyfriend were well aware that they served lamb chops, but it still took us a while to get around to eating  here. We decided to visit on a Tuesday as they have all you can eat lamb chops for 15,000. Yes that’s right, all you can eat lamb chops for 15,000.

On a Tuesday for one hour between 5pm and 8pm you can get all you can eat lamb chops. The hour starts as soon as your first plate of lamb chops is put down. Once you have devoured them, you can order more and keep ordering until you’re so full with meat you cant bear to move, or your time runs out, whichever comes first. I had high hopes about my abilities but had to stop after 3 plates. We had plenty of time left but I just couldn’t fit any more in. The lamb here is spectacular, well seasoned, full of flavour and fresh from the BBQ. We asked for ours rare and it was cooked to perfection.

The lamb all you can eat doesn’t come with any sides, so if you want some, you can order them as extras. They have creamed spinach, mashed garlic potato, wedges, and coleslaw. If there are a few of you it’s easy to share and mix and match.

Elsewhere on the menu they have sausages, pies, lamb shank, wors(South African Sausage) and various side dishes. Our friend Jen wasn’t really in the mood for all you can eat so ordered the Meat platter (30,000) which consisted of 2 lamb chops, 2 sausages, creamed spinach, coleslaw and mashed potato. This is a big plate of food and could easily be shared between two people. The sausages are homemade but it’s really the lamb chops that steal the show.

All you can eat lamb is cash only, so be sure to bring some with you. However sides, drinks, and other menu items can all be paid for by card. Reservations are also recommended unless you can get there early as space is limited.

For those of you not living in Seoul but still hankering after a taste of the Braai, check out their website The Biltong guy who will deliver boerwors directly to your door.

Braai Republic is located in Itaewon at 63-4 itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. To get there take a train to Itaewon station and walk straight out of exit 4 for about 500 meters. Take a left just before you get to Mcdonalds. Keep walking straight down that street past the intersection. Braai Republic is on the left, on the second floor. You can check out their facebook page or call them on 02-795-1967. 

You may be well aware by now that we are big lamb lovers in our house. We just can’t get enough of that sheepy goodness. However, lamb options in Korea are sadly rather limited. So when I discovered a bag of New Zealand leg of lamb shavings in the Foreign food mart, I just had to have it. I would more or less describe them as lamb sam gyub sal. It cost about 10,000 for 1kg. I decided to make some home-made lamb gyros and they went down a storm. Quick and easy to make, a great dinner on a hot summers eve.

Ingredients

Gyros

500g of frozen lamb shavings

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of coriander

A pinch of chili powder (or as much as you like)

4 tortillas

1/2 a red onion

1 tomato

1 small handful of lettuce

1/2 a cucumber

Tzatziki

250g of plain yogurt

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

1/4 of a cucumber

1 clove of garlic

12 mint leaves

A small pinch of salt.

Directions

To make the tzatziki put the yogurt in a bowl, add the lemon juice and salt, and stir. Finely chop the mint leaves and cucumber and add to the yoghurt. Crush the garlic and  stir into the tzatziki. Leave for about 20 minutes to marinate.

Wash your salad leaves and slice the tomato, onion, and cucumber and set aside. In a dry frying pan, fry the lamb shavings for a minute or two before adding the cumin, coriander and chili powder. Fry until the lamb has cooked through. Warm the tortillas by cooking on each side for one minute in the frying pan.  When everything is ready, assemble and devour. Voilà homemade lamb gyros.

I have had a bag of lamb mince in my freezer for a few weeks now. After endless questions from my boyfriend asking when we would be eating it, I decided it was high time I put it to good use. I did have designs on making some kind of meat balls or koftes with it, but as I was preparing things I accidentally threw it all in the pan, forgetting that I  needed to form the koftes while the meat was still raw. Ever the resourceful girl, I decided to pull out some tortilla wrappers from the freezer and make quesadillas. They actually went down a treat, served with some guacamole they were perfect.

Ingredients

250g of lamb mince

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

1 red pepper

1/3 of a very large courgette

15 cherry tomatoes

200ml of tomato juice

100ml of orange juice

1-2 tablespoons of Mexican seasoning

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 large handful of cilantro (고수)

6  large tortillas (Costco)

200g of grated cheese (I use the Mexican medley from Costco)

Directions

To make the lamb filling finely chop the onion and garlic and fry in a glug of olive oil for a few minutes until it has softened. Add the lamb mince and cook until it has browned. While the lamb is cooking chop the tomatoes and red pepper and add them to the pan. Next grate in the courgette and cook for a few more minutes before adding the cumin and Mexican seasoning.  Then, add the bottle of tomato juice and orange juice along with half of the chopped coriander. Cook on medium to high for 5-10 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and the sauce has thickened. Finally, add the second half of the coriander and stir. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly.

To make the quesadillas put a tortilla into a clean dry flying pan, sprinkle on some cheese, top with the lamb and sprinkle on more cheese and top with another tortilla. Cook on low to medium until the cheese has started to melt and the bottom tortilla is lightly golden brown. Flip the whole thing over to brown the other side for a few more minutes. When it is done, slide on to a plate and cut into triangles. Serve with a delicious homemade guacamole. Voilà lamb quesadillas!