Tag Archives: tikka

Taj Palace

Posted in Restaurant Reviews by

So last weekend some lovely friends of mine from Busan came to visit. One of their requests was that we go to the Indian buffet. Never one to turn down an opportunity to eat all I can, I was right on board with the idea. Its been a while since we have been for an Indian, so I was really looking forward to it. There are various Indian buffets around Seoul, but Taj Palace is usually our favorite.

For 17,500 on weekends you get access to the all you can eat buffet. They have a variety of different curries, rice dishes, salad and all the garlic naan bread you can eat. They also have a soup and a dessert offerings too, but I never manage to get that far, after two plates of curry I’m usually stuffed to the gills.

In my eagerness to eat everything, my pictures are a bit on the iffy side. Here is a showcase of some of the dishes they have on offer.

Chicken Tikka,  Butter Chicken, Chicken Saag and Lamb Vindaloo

Bean Sagaloo, Mixed veg curry, saffron rice and noodles.

As I said I’m a big fan of an Indian buffet, you get to try a bit of everything and this one certainly delivers. There are plenty of curries to try and they have a decent range of heat between them. Their naan bread is also to die for. They have a separate menu if you wish to order any extras, like samosas or raita. It’s a great option for vegetarians and meat eaters alike, and you certainly get a good meal for 17,500.

Taj Palace is located in Itaewon at 2F 132-2, Itaewon1 -dong, Yongsan-gu , Seoul.  Come out of Itaewon Station (Line 6) exit 3 and walk straight until you reach Dunkin Donuts. Take a right at the corner and continue walking up the hill, its just opposite King Club and the Foreign food mart. If you would like more information about their menu, check out their website http://www.tajpalace.co.kr/  which includes descriptions of all their curries. Or you can call them on 02-790-5786.

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BBQ Chicken

Posted in Recipes by

In the summer months theres nothing more I love to eat than a good old BBQ.  The more food the better.  Sadly when in Korea sometimes people forget about all the lovely things we eat at home and just end up cooking meats Korean style.

In any supermarket in Korea you can find chickens that have already been cut up into small pieces for 5000 – 7000 won.  If you buy these already cooked from the fried chicken shops they will cost you 14,000 +. However it’s very easy to make simple and cheap marinades yourself that are far tastier than the Korean versions. You can cook these pieces in your toaster oven at home or on the BBQ (although a good tip is to cook the marinated chicken in the oven or microwave first to speed up BBQ cooking time and to make sure no one gets sick.)  My current favourite is a Chinese style BBQ sauce.

Ingredients

100g of brown sugar
1 table spoon of Worcestershire Sauce
2 table spoons of garlic powder
2 table spoons of Chinese 5 spice
6 table spoons of soy sauce
2 table spoons tomato ketchup .
3 table spoons of sesame seed oil or peanut butter.

Directions

Mix all of these ingredients together  in a bowl and blend until they form a paste. Then put in the chicken pieces and leave for 30 minutes to marinate. If you want your chicken particularly flavourful then marinate overnight. If I’m taking the chicken to a BBQ I prefer to put the chicken in a zip lock bag rather than worry about a container that I need to bring home after wards.

Another easy option for a marinade is to use the red or green Thai curry paste which you can buy at the foreign food mart. Just mix 2 or 4 table spoons of the paste with a couple of spoonful’s of soy sauce and sesame seed oil and coat the chicken.

For a Mexican flavour mix some fajita seasoning currently found in Homeplus or Burrito seasoning found in the foreign food mart or Lotte department store with some oil until it forms a paste.

I am currently obsessed with Chicken Tikka, so this is another one I have been banging out. If your spice rack is bare or you are just plain lazy you can buy various brands of premade Tikka spice blends that you can mix with oil or yoghurt to coat the chicken from the foreign food mart. If you are feeling a little more adventurous you can try this recipe which I thought tasted great.

Ingredients

6 teaspoons coriander
6 teaspoons cumin
6 teaspoons garlic powder
6 teaspoons paprika
4 teaspoons garam masala
3 teaspoons ginger ground (fresh is fine if you cant find ground)
3 teaspoons dried mint (optional)
2 teaspoons chili powder

Directions

Mix all the ingredients together and then you can keep the spice mixture for when you need it. This mix is enough for at least two times. You can also reduce or increase the amount of chilli if you wish. When using to coat you chicken mix with oil or yoghurt to form a paste.