londonelicious: a london restaurant blog

Korean: New Seoul

164 Clerkenwell Road
EC1R 5DU
Tel: 020 7278 8674

A Note about This Photo: This is purely a photo of association. In August of 2004, I visited Korea with my friends Shin and Ryan. (Shin emigrated to the US when she was 16. She was dating Ryan--a gringo--back in 2004. I was the decoy. Now that was funny.) Anyhow, this photo is from a cool little place on Jeju Island. (At least, that's where I think I was when I took this. I unfortunately did not keep notes. And although I did have the blog at the time, I didn't blog the trip! Idiot!)

Date of Last Visit: Wednesday, August 1, 2007

The Damage: £12

The Victim: Me

The Background: So I went to bed at midnight last night. But guess what time I woke up? 11:30 a.m.  I would feel pretty good about this (jetlag) except that my friend Kellie says that anyone who sleeps more than eight hours a night is depressed. This makes me slightly obsessive...am I depressed? Am I? (No, but I am just the tiniest bit obsessive compulsive. But not about washing my hands or anything. Just about leaving irons and ovens on. I finally have an iron that turns itself off, which is very helpful. Thank you for your concern.)

Then again, the entire time I was in Cabo, I seemed to be sleeping EXACTLY 7.5 hours a night. It was almost spooky.

By the time I got out of the house on Wednesday, it was around 1:30. Man, the best laid plans! I am very angry with myself as I write this. I had all these ideas...I was going to check out the Antony Gormley exhibit, I was going to look at Danish furniture in Camden. I was going to go to the gym.

Instead I had a Korean pancake and some spicy tofu soup. And I got asked out by my waiter. And I eavesdropped on some people who just happened to work for one of my company's competitors! Too funny.

The Food: I get the spring onion pancake and it is perfect. It is presented on a bamboo mat on a pretty piece of Korean pottery. And it is delicious and satisfying. The people from the competitor at the table next to me were very jealous.

I also order some spicy tofu soup. (Note that if your Korean soup comes with a bowl of white rice, you should put the white rice in the soup.) It's really nice and light and it's just the right amount of spiciness. The pancake and the soup go perfectly together...although there is no meat to be had, the pancake has a thickness and doughy-ness to it that meshes well with the spicy soup and the light tofu. All that being said, I don't think I would have been happy with the tofu soup on it's own. I would have needed something else.

New Seoul is not the world's most atmospheric place, but that's okay. You don't need atmosphere when you're a walking jetlag zombie.

The Service: Very sweet. He was impressed with my very basic Korean ("hello how are you" and "can i have a beer please" and "hurry, hurry") and that I like the Yankees better than the Mets. Plus, he asked if he could see me again, which made me feel very alluring--for a walking jetlag zombie.

The Verdict: I'd go again. And I'd have multiple pancakes.

Thai: Pride of Siam

50 Exmouth Market
London, EC1R 4QE
Tel: 020 7833 3383

Date of Last Visit: Tuesday, July 31

The Victim: Me

The Damage: £10

The Background: I've just spent about 20 hours traveling. Let me go through the timings just to make sure I'm not lying. I hate it when people do that. A 7 (maybe 8) hour flight from Chicago to London? That's nothing. I think you can leave your pajamas at home, sweetheart.

Monday, 10 a.m. Cabo Time/5 p.m. London Time: Leave hotel to return rental car, go to airport
Monday, 2 p.m Cabo/9 p.m. London Time.: Leave Cabo for LAX
Monday, 6 p.m. LA time/Tuesday, 2 a.m. London Time: Leave LAX for London
Tuesday, after 2 p.m. London time, but before 3 p.m.: Arrive back at flat in London.

OK, so 21 hours traveling. Yeah, I'm beat. But I'm also not going to bed until midnight. I want to sleep the night through.

So I have this idea--I'll go up to Nid Ting by Archway, the Thai place that the staff at Kobkun Thai recommends. Now there's a field trip! That will soak up some time. (Kobkun Thai, btw, is the massage place on the Essex Road, north of Islington Green. It's great, but I'm constantly worried it will go out of business. Please go there.)

But you know...I can't make it to Nid Ting. I am SOOO tired. I leave my apartment and find that I can barely walk straight. But I still want some Thai food. So I slowly and carefully shuffle over to Pride of Siam in Exmouth Market. I've had stuff delivered from there, but have never actually been.

After dropping an unexpected amount at Bagman & Robin (for the cutest purse ever), I hop on over to Pride of Siam. (Shopping...I am suddently so energized!) The restaurant has just opened. I ask for a table for one, and the woman motions to me to take a seat. It's a "come on in, take any seat" type of motion. So I take one with a view of the street. (Sort of--there'a  big truck blocking most of the view.) The only problem? It's a table for four.

And I am SO not allowed to sit there. The woman comes over and tells me to move.

Again, I do my internal math. It's 6 p.m. on the dot. They've just opened. No one else is coming out to eat until 7 at least--and it's a Wednesday, so it will be a sparse crowd at best. And it's a Thai restaurant and not a particularly popular one and that. And I, as a single diner, will be done in 45 minutes.

But apparently, I can't sit here because customers are going to be beating down their doors any second now and they will demand this very table.

Right.

So I am peeved. But I say nothing and retreat to a less scenic two-top in the corner.

Would they do this to Giles? Is it me?

The Food: I order some dumplings and the Pad Se Eu with Chicken. The dumplings are not very flavorful. In fact, they are quite bland. The pad se eu is acceptable, but I've had better. And Pride of Siam has made me so very cranky that the only way they can make me happy is to give me free food. 

The Service: The older woman who wouldn't let me sit down spends a lot of time leaving and re-entering the restaurant, like she's on a mission. An overly self-important mission. My young server is very sweet.

The Verdict: Eh.

Back in London, But Still Thinking of Mexico...

So I keep forgetting to mention Luardo's. I feel bad about that because when I dropped by a few weeks ago, I chatted wtih Simon, the proprieter, for a bit and he seemed really nice. (And he sorta knew who I was because he had read my Mexican round-up on Londonist, as well as my interview with Daddy Donkey.) Two other London blogs have beat me to the punch in covering London's newest Mexican offering--I really don't know how Dos Hermanos do it! And of course, there's the ever-dependable Londonist.

But now that I'm back from Mexico (and jetlagged off my butt, thank you), it just seemed like the perfect time to mention Simon and his cool Luardo's van. And his very nice quesadillas.

Now when I chatted with Simon, he said he didn't have a Web site yet, but would soon. I've done a bunch of searches and can't find anything except a MySpace profile that seems more personal than fajita-oriented, so I can't really tell you where or when to find him.

But look for him on Whitecross Street every so often. (I've seen him there a couple of times now.) Order a quesadilla. And say Hola for me.

Cervesa mas Pequena: Coronita

How cute is this? It's a baby beer...the Corona Coronita. That's 190 ml of cervesa...takes that edge right off after a long day of ummm...sun, pool, lounging, more sun, ummm...nothingness?

Please Help Me Import Tostitos Salsa Verde

Please...I will pay you...Tostitos Salsa Verde chips are some of the most delicious chips (crisps?) I've ever tasted.

Cabo San Lucas: C

Palmilla
Los Cabos Corridor
Cabo San Lucas
Baja California Sur
Mexico
+52-624-146-7000, and ask for C

Date of Last Visit: Thursday, July 26, 2007

The Victim: Mom

The Damage: $140 or thereabouts.

The Background: Have you read my About page? On it, I note that I will shove aside my Ethics policy (not accepting freebies) if Charlie Trotter invites me to dinner. (Mr. Trotter, if you didn't know, is the proprieter of the eponymous restaurant in Chicago, one of the best restaurants in the U.S.)

Well, after dinner at C at The One & Only Palmilla, I'll be removing that mention of Mr. Trotter. Charlie, you are dead to me.

The Drinks: We have a drink in the Palmilla bar before dinner. A Margarita for me, and a glass of Chardonnay for mom. The tab? $46. Now wonderful GBP/USD exchange rate aside, this is a rip off. Maybe they're trying to price undesireables out of the resort, but give me a freakin' break. $46 for two drinks and some (granted complimentary) STALE pretzels is highway robbery. But the view is nice. Although I get a little seasick, watching the waves crash on the rocks.

The Restaurant: There are large mixing bowls hanging from the ceiling. Well, actually, they look like UFOs. It's really weird. I like the music though.

The Starter: We go with the Bento box. I ask our servers if that will be enough for two and they seem to suggest that it will not be enough. I am still sort of full from my FANTASTIC meal at Las Ventanas, so I ignore the server's advice and we just order one bento box to split.

And you know what? It is the perfect amount of food for two people. There is a slice of beef that I cook up on a hot rock. There are two slices of tuna roll. There's some seafood salad, and there's some shrimp tempura. (The tempura is undercooked...it's a wet mess. Delicious, but wet.)

The Mains: I ask the server for his recommendation and he points me to the grouper. It is served as little rolls, wrapped in an onion-y substance and on a bed of mashed potatoes. To be honest, I don't think they should serve mashed potatoes in Cabo. It's such comfort food, and it's 99 degrees Farenheit outside. Give me something light and refreshing! Please! But no, it it mashed potatoes and then some mushroom reduction. It's very wintery fare. I feel cheated. And very full. And the Grouper is dry.

Oh, and I forgot t o mention that they have Bluefin tuna on the menu. Isn't this a no-no? Isn't Bluefin overfished? Hasn't even Japan agreed to cut back? I ask our server where the Bluefin comes from and he says it's local, which I don't think is true, but probably does clarify that they are serving Pacific Bluefin and not Atlantic Bluefin. But regardless, I am a bit disappointed that Charlie Trotter has elected to serve the Bluefin at his Cabo restaurant.

And lastly, my mother's salmon is partially raw. Words cannot express! And I am too much on vacation to make an issue of it.

But honestly, for these prices? I don't think so.

The Wine: I order a class of Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc, which retails for less than $10 a bottle in the US. It's on the menu for 230 pesos PER GLASS. That's approximately $20 a glass. Now I know that shipping wine to Mexico is not the same as shipping it to Chicago so I do expect a little premium. But this seems ridiculous.

But the good news? They forget to put the wine on the check. Being the honest person I am, I point this out to them, and they give me the glass for free. Serves them right.

The Truffles: They bring us two little trays of truffles which are very nice.

The Bill: Now this is the funny part. In the confusion over the wine and the bill and the time it takes to flag someone down to point out the missing wine and whether or not they even take Amex, we get a little confused. My mother has had her AMEX on the table for a while. They come and look at the bill and they give me the wine for free. My mother signs the check and we leave. While I'm in the bathroom on our way out, it occurs to me that there was something wrong with the transaction. We signed a piece of paper. We showed them our AMEX and asked if they accept it. They brought us truffles. They even held out our chairs as we left the table.

But I swear to God that they never swiped the card.

And I am right. I go back out to our server and ask him to check the bill. He assures me everything is fine. But then goes in the back and is gone for what seems like ages. He returns and says he needs our room number. But we are not staying in the hotel! I give them our AMEX again and they disappear with it and finally the transaction is complete.

The Verdict: Not so impressed with C. I have been waiting to eat under the leadership of Charlie Trotter forever. But between the wet tempura, the raw salmon and the dry grouper and general wintery fare, I say eh.

Cabo San Lucas: The Restaurant at Las Ventanas

At Las Ventanas al Paraiso
Km 19.5 on Highway 1, The Corridor
Halfway in Between San Jose del Cabo & Cabo San Lucas 
Tel: (624) 144-0300

Date of Last Visit: 27 July 2007

The Victim: Mom

The Damage: Roughly $140 for two for lunch.

The Background: Nick San was fantastic, but I am STILL so mad about Mi Casa that I am looking for ways to eradicate the entire waste of a dining experience from my memory. I decide that we should have a Day of Me (or Mi, as the case might be) and I take us to Las Ventanas for an outrageously expensive lunch.

Las Ventanas is the type of hotel that doesn't have a sign out front. So we go around and around in a big circle a few times before finally figuring out that that big weird white gate is IT. We are met at the gate by security and I have to give our last name and reason for visiting.

The Entrance: We are met at the front of the hotel and greeted by name. They take away the rental car (a gray minivan...very stylish, just like me) and a member of staff walks us all the way to the restaurant, which is open-air, facing the Pacific. It is beautiful. And I feel very expensive.

The Starters: They bring us some homemade tortilla chips, along with some guacamole, Mexican salsa (the chopped up tomato kind), and regular salsa (the more saucy American kind). They also bring me a huge margarita, and it is so ginormous and so delicious that I ponder it sadly, knowing that I will have to leave the majority behind because I am driving the sexy gray minivan (or people carrier, as the case may be).

Now all this might sound just a little bit not-exciting. Chips and salsa and a margarita? You can get that at TGI Fridays. But it was all in the lovely little details. The explanation of the salsas served, the information about the tequila in my margarita, the way they called my mother "Senorita." It was all just so very nice. Plus, I really want that tablecloth.

More Starters: We get the trio of seafood salad--ceviche, three ways, more or less. And it is unbelievably good. There are four mussels and it's like they were just plucked from the sea. Never have I had mussels so fat and lovely and delicious. (And you should know that I've eaten a lot of mussels in my day. This one time, when I was about 12, my father took us to Maine for two weeks and we visited every all-you-eat-seafood-bar up and down the coast, where they frequently served mussels by the BUCKET. Buckets muy grande.) There is thinly sliced fish served with avocado. And a light seafood salad that we scoop up with the homemade tortilla chips.

The Mains: I order seafood salad and it comes with a whole avocado, sliced up perfectly. The seafood salad itself is amazing. There's octopus in there and I fall in love with Las Ventanas forever. Honestly, the seafood salad is just so fresh and it's dusted in just the right amount of citrus juice. I am in heaven.

The View: Amazing.

The Verdict: When can I move in?

Cabo San Lucas: Nick San

Blvd. Marina lote 10 local 2
Plaza de Danza, Cabo San Lucas
Los Cabos, Mexico
Phone: (624) 143 2491

Date of Last Visit: 26 July 2007

The Victim: Mom

The Damage: About $100 USD

The Background: I am still so very upset about my dinner at Mi Casa. I hate wasting a meal. I hate spending good money on bad food. And I hate that every time I think about my dinner at Mi Casa, my gag reflex kicks in. It was just THAT bad.

So I am nervous about my meal tonight. I don't want to repeat the same mistake. But everyone on Chowhound says Nick San is good. (But then again, lots of people on Chowhound also recommended Mi Casa.) I am also a bit nervous because we are going to a JAPANESE restaurant in Mexico. Am I crazy? Have I lost my mind?

The Food: Is amazing. We start with soft shell crab and my mother can't stop talking about how good it is. And I am right there with her. It just melts in your mouth. And it's just the tiniest bit spicy. Really, it's amazing. I debate ordering a second platter, but my server assures me the rest of our selections will be just as good. My mouth is watering as I write this, by the way. My mother says she would have eaten all of the soft shell crab in the kitchen if she could have.

We order some gyoza--pot stickers. They are big and beautiful. And they taste even better. Really. Again, it's all I can do to stop ordering seconds. (Not ordering seconds was made easier by the somewhat ridiculous price tag...150 pesos for four gyoza. That's about $3.50 USD per dumpling.)

And then up comes the spicy tuna roll and it too is gorgeous and delicious. Mi Casa is now a distant memory. I am taking pictures of my food--something you will note I rarely do because it makes me feel awkward. But there is no stopping me at Nick San.

The only non-standout dish was the veggie tempura, but that's okay. It's good, it just pales in comparison to everything else. (My mother says that everything else made the tempura seem "boring.")

The Drinks: Washed down with a lovely Negro Modelo and a Sake-tini. (A martini made with Sake.) Perfect.

The Excitement: My mother gets a little tipsy and "loses" her credit card. The taxi driver races us back to the restaurant, the restaurant staff is just so helpful and concerned. And guess what?

It was in my mother's purse the entire time. 

Margarita? Or Beer with Ice?

The only good thing about my meal at Mi Casa was my Michelada...this one was  a Dos Equis with lemonade with salt on the rim. A cervesa mas fina, for sure. (Whoops, wrong brand.)

Cabo San Lucas: Mi Casa

Cabo San Lucas Street
Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur
México
Tel: (624) 143-1933

Date of Last Visit: Tuesday, July 25, 2007

The Victim: Mom

The Damage: About $100 USD.

I'm in Cabo for the wedding of Feathers and Matt. You may know them from previous posts. I decide to head out to Mexico a few days early because last time I flew to the west coast, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck for days on end. Jetlag--sometimes it gets you, sometimes it doesn't.

Being the good daughter that I am, I decide to bring my mom along with me. Also being the person I am, I've done a ton of research before heading over the pond, and I've booked a few restaurants in advance. The first restaurant is Mi Casa, which comes highly recommended by pretty much every food board and guidebook. And it's Mexican. And despite last week's visit to Mercado, I'm suffering withdrawal.

The Entrance: You have to walk through the gift shop before you can get to your table. ( That's it in the picture.)

The Decor: I can see why some people would like the inside of Mi Casa. I like the lighting...there are really pretty lanterns hanging everywhere. It's very colorful.

The Food: Is gross. Disgusting. I am so terribly disappointed. I start with the tortilla soup, which a lot of people have raved about. Well, it tastes like Campbell's tomato soup with Fritos in it, but not as good. There's some sour cream and a piece of avocado too. But for 55 pesos, or roughly $5 USD, I'm just disappointed.

And my main? UGGGH. It's a poblano pepper stuffed with seafood. Now doesn't that sound nice? Fresh and delicious? Well, I don't think the seafood was fresh at all--my gag reflex is kicking in as I write this, it was so yucky--and the dish was smothered in cheese. Cheese and seafood just don't seem to go together. Yuk. Yuk. YUCK!

My mother had some sea bass which was nice enough, but it was served with white rice and what looked like Birdseye vegetables. That's what I call a ripoff at $20 USD. (And a high margin dish.) Now they did deliver some corn tortillas and some salsa, which was a nice touch. I took half a tortilla and wrapped it around some sea bass and thought that was nice. But just nice.

The Bottled Water: A bottle of San Pelligrino set us back 95 pesos, or roughly $9 USD. Now that's a GRANDE ripoff. (Or is it Ripoff Grande?)

The Loos: Could use a stiff, stiff cleaning.

The Verdict: Yikes. I don't know why everyone loves this place. I thought it was pretty freaking average.  And $9 USD for a bottle of sparkling water? I think not.