Brooklyn Burger Joint: Still Korea’s Best Burger

Last week, Kris and I returned to a restaurant that we hadn’t eaten at since our first year in Korea: Brooklyn Burger Joint. Located in the French district of Seoul, Seorae, it was too far removed from any other attractions for us to visit in our time in Wonju. However, now that we call Seoul our home, it is far less of an expedition. We found ourselves in the area to collect a television, so we decided to see if Brooklyn’s burgers were still the finest in the country.

Unbeknownst to us, Brookly Burger Joint had actually changed locations in the time since our last visit. Even though the new location is situated a couple of hundred metres from the old one, we initially thought that the location online was incorrect. Then we saw the glowing neon sign heralding that we had in fact reached our destination.

Upon entering, we were struck by how much bigger the new location is compared to the old one. The counter area was massive, and there were over a dozen tables leisurely spaced out over the interior, American pop-culture references carefully spaced out on the walls. The old location had the air of a frenzied haven for burger fanatics, with the few tables there were squeezed in as tight as possible, with the energy and heat from the kitchen flowing through to the diners and references covering every possible surface. The new location has a feel much closer to that of an average, generic downtown burger joint. Edgy alternative music gently played in the background of the cozy atmosphere, occasionally punctuated by a chime from the pinball machine sitting in the corner. The old location felt like a hardcore burger lover’s oasis in the sea of average fare, and the new location feels more like the neighbourhood restaurant you are happy going to three times a week to get your burger fix. It’s more comfortable, but has lost a lot of that zest and identity that the old location had.

After settling into our snug, cushioned chairs, we placed our shake and burger orders and eagerly awaited their arrival. We did not have to wait too long before the shakes arrived. Kris ordered an Oreo mint flavoured one, whilst I was intrigued by the cherry chocolate. They arrived, tall glasses filled with delectable, sweet goodness. The milkshakes exceeded our expectations. However, we knew that the true test would be the burgers themselves. Kris awaited her Brooklyn Works, and I was eager to test the Napkin, Please (a burger topped with American chili and mince).

A satisfied Kris politely sipping her Oreo mint milkshake

The burgers were placed on our table as we were finishing our milkshakes, and they looked delectable. Looks were not deceiving. My burger was incredibly well-made. The bun was clearly fresh, and the burger melted in the mouth. Whilst the Napkin Please may not have been the best choice, it was still a wonderful taste experience. Kris devoured her burger feverishly, always a good sign. Afterwards, she confirmed that it was just as good as last time, a sentiment I shared.

Kris’ Brooklyn Works (top) and my Napkin Please (bottom)

Overall, we were glad to find that Brooklyn Burger still serves the best burger we have eaten in Korea. The prices are too high to make it a regular outing for us, but it was a welcome treat. We were disappointed that the atmosphere and decor had become more bland and indistinct, but the food and milkshakes have lost none of their lustre. We will certainly be returning for another glimpse into how good a burger can truly be.

Andong: Mask Dance and Jjimdak

For months, our friends who live in the pokey town of Andong have been begging Kris and I to visit. We always thought that they were so intent on having us there because there was literally nothing to do in Andong, so they needed people to spice up the atmosphere there. So, during the annual Mask Dance festival in Andong, we decided to visit. We saw some performances, we shopped, and, most importantly for us, we tried our favourite Korean dish, jjimdak, in the town where it was born.

The Mask Dance festival is an annual celebration of Korean culture held in Andong. I thought it would be a small gathering with a few stalls and a handful of performers. What met us when we arrived was a sprawling city of tents, filled with food, curios, carnival games, and multiple stages of constant musical and dance shows. These ranged from foreign cover bands, taekwondo displays, and traditional Korean dance and music. My friends even showed off their Korean drumming skills, and gave an energetic and noisy performance that was enjoyed by all. If you’re in Korea and haven’t gone to the Andong Mask Dance festival, you really should go. It is a wonderful weekend. There is even an extravagant fireworks display (which we sadly missed).

For me and Kris, the attraction in Andong that drew us there the most (apart from our friends, of course) was jjimdak. I have raved about jjimdak in a previous post. Whenever someone asks me what my favourite Korean dish is, my answer is always jjimdak. Jjimdak is hard to describe – it is a hot, massive pot of steamed chicken and noodles in a sauce unlike any other. Kris and I both love it. Before eating it in Andong, we had only enjoyed it at one particular chain of restaurants. We were interested to see how the traditional style of jjimdak would differ from our favourite variant. We were nervous, but excited.

In the end, traditional jjimdak is drastically different from what we had experienced before. The option we tried had bones in the chicken, didn’t have cheese, and had more spring onions than our favourite variant. While it was still delicious, we still would rather have the jjimdak from the chain we’d loved before. Sorry, Andong. I’m definitely willing to try all of the other shops on jjimdak street though!

All in all, our time in Andong was full of exceeded expectations. Whilst it is nowhere near as large as major metropolitan cities, it is definitely worth a visit, especially for the Mask Dance festival. Even if I’d never been to Andong, I would still be thankful for the city’s existence, purely for the existence of jjimdak. I will keep you updated for further explorations into the world of Korean cooking!

Visiting Relatives: Good for the Soul, not the Waistline

For the past few days, Kris and I have had the wonderful experience of having my aunt visit us in South Korea. This is her first time in the country, and we have made every effort to try and help her to experience as much of the culture of Korea as we can in her short stay. Surprisingly to me, a large portion of this Korean exploration has involved gorging ourselves on as much of the local cuisine as possible. Between eating every cultural meal that we feel is worthwhile and there being a break in our regular Ultimate season, I am currently feeling fatter than I have in a long while.

Since my aunt landed, our travels have revolved around eating food that we find to be either distinctly Korean or unavailable in our home country of South Africa. We have slurped our way through jjimdak (steamed chicken, which is Kris’ and my favourite Korean dish). We have shared several kimbap (rice rolls filled with meat and vegetables). We have even shared American staples like Baskin-Robbins and Krispy Kreme, which are outside the South African realm of food (I know Krispy Kreme just opened in South Africa, but who waits 4 hours for a doughnut?).

In between our gastronomic explorations, we have managed to get a good deal of actual cultural exploration in as well. We have been to Seoul twice, seen the demilitarized zone, walked around our little town of Wonju, and generally relished in each other’s company. This weekend, we go on a bungee jumping and strawberry picking excursion on Saturday. Then (if our bodies are not completely seized up through overeating and laziness) we will be completing a 10-kilometer run on Sunday. Whilst the run may be the beginnings of the road back to peak condition, there will certainly still be much further to go before I am rid of the spare tyre I see at the bottom of my shirt every morning.

My aunt may be leaving for South Africa again all too soon, but we have made memories that will last a long time. A lot of these involve various foodstuffs. Some of them involve seeing the wonders of Korea. Some of them are just the small moments that we spend in each other’s presence doing otherwise ordinary things. All of them involve making the most of the short time we have before she returns to South Africa. It has been a superb few days, and the days ahead look like they might be even better.

The Magic of Mac and Cheese

This week was a tough week. Even though some of our students were still away on holiday (or politely looking for other hagwons for next semester), the five working days seemed to drag by like time in a dentist’s waiting room. That was until a seemingly mundane discussion on Wednesday afternoon gave us something to look forward to for the weekend. What was this fabled holy grail at the end of the week? As you may have guessed from the title, it was the humble macaroni and cheese. The thought of the goopy, delicious combination of pasta, cheese, and whatever mysterious fillings they may have drove us forward, helping the hours pass by much more briskly.

But why? Food is a common topic in our break room at our first school in Korea. As a foreigner, exploring different foods is one of the more common pastimes, alongside alcoholism and finding things wrong with your job. This exploration could be finding new, exciting Korean food or the most interesting recreations of Western-style dishes – both are interesting to the foreign population. Everyone has their favourite burger joint, pizza house, and Korean barbeque restaurant, and the merits of each are discussed at length. Is the Western dish authentic to what is experienced ‘back home’? Is it a unique Korean take on something? Most importantly, is it delicious? These questions follow each other in rapid succession, establishing a baseline for comparison of any particular dish or restaurant before the minor details are digested and savoured.

On this particular Wednesday, the subject of macaroni and cheese came up through a conversation such as this. The slightly left-of-centre nature of the dish meant that some amongst the teachers did not have a favourite place to acquire and devour good ol’ mac and cheese. The rest tended to agree that Sam Ryan’s, a foreigner pub located in nearby Suwon, boasted the best mac and cheese in Korea. Kristen painted such a vivid picture of its deliciousness that we, as a teaching unit, resolved to go to Sam Ryan’s on Friday evening for mekju (the Korean word for beer) and mac and cheese.

Once this was asserted, the week noticeably accelerated, and took on a surreal, macaroni-worshipping nature. The dish was rarely far from conversation. A co-worker even changed Kristen’s wallpaper on her work computer to honour the soul food delicacy.

When closing time on Friday finally came, the majority of the teachers hopped into two taxis bound for Sam Ryan’s. Two of our co-workers had decided to not attend. And they missed out tremendously. The mac and cheese was gorgeous. Gooey. Cheesy. Filled with love and care. And it went down well with a couple of beers (or more than a couple, in the case of some of our compatriots). What left us feeling most warm and content, however, was the good times had at Sam Ryan’s. We kicked back, discussed everything from little gripes at work to philosophy to the minutia of American football timetabling. It was a great evening, enjoyed by all.

We ate delicious food. We drank a little (or a lot). We talked about everything and nothing. It felt like our first few meals together, where we were all still excited for the year ahead. We may have become slightly deflated in the meantime, but the medium of mac and cheese allowed us to forget everything else for a little while and simply enjoy being with friends from two other countries on the other side of the world – something we forget to do all too often.