Tag Archives: bar

UN DEUX TROIS Brasserie (Itaewon)

Cherry blossoms, or fleurs de cerisiers as they would say in French, have been making their perfect pink appearance the past few days in South Korea. Since living here it has been one of the many beautiful things I eagerly look forward to each spring.

Speaking of all things French…I recently took one of those silly Facebook quizzes (you know the ones that secretly gather all of your personal information) and it indicated Paris was the perfect city for us! HA-HA… ttttthhhhanks Facebook, I could have told you that years and years ago. Ever since I was a little girl I have been enchanted by French culture and cuisine.

If you recall from my prior post, we ended our meatless month of March and wanted to celebrate with a feast, something extra special… French cuisine! I spent the entire month of March lusting after the thought of this dinner and it was finally here! So Saturday evening we joined our good friends at UN DEUX TROIS Brasserie for dinner. It was absolutely delightful! We said cheers to some recent job related news for the two of them, but little did we know that we’d be saying an even bigger cheers by the end of the meal. (More on that later)

The reservations were made for 6PM and due to the heavy Seoul weekend/ holiday traffic, we all were running a tad bit late. Luckily the staff were kind and very understanding and there was no issue made. On that note, we do highly recommend making a reservation because as the sun began to set the crowd grew. When we did eventually arrive, we were instantly greeted by the friendly staff and immediately taken to our table. As we walked through the restaurant, I felt like I was in a daydream being whisked through a genuine French brasserie with the decor of small hexagonal white floor tiles and the glow of the tiny white candles arranged on the sleek black furniture. EEK! I swoon for this black and white Parisian style!

We ordered the following and enjoyed tasting one another’s meals as if we were food critiques. I think we made the chef somewhat nervous as he peered out from the open kitchen, watching us savoring each bite, discussing the flavors, insisting that one another try another bite from this section, now this section of the plate. Our many compliments to the chef and kitchen staff as well.

(MAGRET DE CANARD- roasted organic local duck breast from Yeong-Am, orange brine, potato dauphinois 장시간 조리한 영암산 유기농 오리 가슴살 요리 (한국) )

(POTATO DAUPHINOIS)

( ESCARGOTS DE BOURGOGNE AU BEURRE D’AIL escargot in garlic butter – 갈릭버터가 곁들여진 부르고뉴 스타일 달팽이 요리 (프랑스)

(TRUFFÉ BURGER -foie gras, gruyere cheese, truffle mayonnaise and caramelized onions with french fries 거위간 푸아그라 (프랑스) 그뤼에르 치즈, 송로버섯 마요네즈, 카라멜라이즈드 양파가 어우러진 버거와 프렌치 프라이 (미국)

(LAMB ROASTED WITH VARIOUS HERBS)

(“L’OMELETTE NORVEGIENNE” FLAMBÉE AU GRAND MARNIER -baked alaska with vanilla and chocolate ice cream, genoise sponge cake, covered with meringue, finished with grand marnier liqueur flambé 그랑 마니에르로 플랑베한 “베이크 알라스카” )

(VERRINE DE MASCARPONE ET POMME CARAMEL, FEUILLETINE -apple and mascarpone cream trifle, butterscotch and feuilletine flakes 바삭한 크레페 조각과 버터스카치를 곁들인 사과와 마스카르포네)

(HOUSE SPECIAL ALMOND PIE A LA MODE )

Final verdict on the food is…Everything we ate for the most part was fresh, tasty, rich, sophisticated and complex. When are we going back again?! My vote is sometime in late spring, early summer (got that Mr. B?). I keep picturing us dining on the terrace in the evening, with our glass of wine in hand as we watch the world go by. My expectation for this place far exceeded what I even imagined. Overall a wonderful experience and well worth a dining splurged!

I left you guys sort of on a cliffhanger above, I apologize. I think this will make up for it…

YEP! He liked it so much he put a ring on it! (couldn’t help myself)

Seriously….Just by looking at these two, it’s easy to see they’re nuts over each other, since he can’t seem to a keep that gigantic smile off his face when his eyes are on her. Her eyes always have this twinkle when he pulls her in close; honestly, it’s that romantic movie look you that you rarely see in person. The two of them are perfect together and we are so pleased that they found one another. CHEERS (see I told you more to cheers)! I’m not going to spoil the thunder of the engagement details, you will need to ask the happy couple to be. Congratulations guys!

Backpackbees

Directions:

Address: 123 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/123Brasserie
Website: http://brasserie123.com

James’ Pizza

Speaking of another place that hasn’t changed, we visited James’ Pizza. You know the type of place where all of the locals know each other and when you walk in the whole place turns and looks at you, they know you are an outsider. It’s okay.. we figured they don’t get to see many Korean’s in this part of the world. Just kidding.

James’ is known for their hot cheese pizza. We know you are thinking, what makes this hole in the wall so special? Three words, hot, cheese, pizza! Not just any cheese, but spicy american cheese served on a rectangle shaped pizza.

Mr. B and his family have such fond memories of James’ and have been frequenting for years and years. I was lucky to get introduced to this dusty coal region gem when I first met Mr. B. In the summer we’d swim and run up to James’ pizza and order a half-baked hot cheese pizza, take home bake the rest of the way and devour it. Those were the days!

Yes, the menu is very small and hasn’t expanded very much over the 50 some years that the doors have been open, but that’s okay with its crowd. James’ knows what they do well, and boy do they really do it well!

This time our friend Scott tagged along with us, this was his first time. He’s now hooked and is already planning his next visit. Unfortunately Scott also learned the hard way about James hot cheese pizza fresh out of the oven. Molten lava temp’d cheese! Eek! Watch out for that! The melting of the roof of your mouth will be with you for days, but the experience is well worth it in the end. Just ask Scott!