Cycle 3 – Item 198

21 (Sat) July 2012

Shrimp & Tofu Skins

3.0

at T-Won

-Sinchon, Seodaemun, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with the Family, W’s extended family

T-Won is a Korea-Chinese restaurant chain.  With several locations in and around Seoul – e.g., Yonsei University in Sinchon (where I participate in a lot of research projects) and Ajou University in Suwon (where I teach).  The menu offers dishes ranging from traditional to nontraditional, all consistently pretty good, though rarely exceptional.  Good service.  Prices are typically ludicrous, of course, but relatively decent value compared to neighborhood delivery joints or hotels.

For W’s cousin’s daughter’s first birthday, the family gathered to celebrate at the T-Won branch at Yonsei, which was offering a weekend buffet special.  The spread featured about 15 or so items, including the most popular dishes in the Korean-Chinese tradition, plus salad, kimchi, and (oddly) nigiri sushi.  What I enjoyed, and what everyone else also seemed to enjoy, was that the food was focused on a few good dishes that the kitchen could make with confidence.  I was glad for the opportunity to photograph them together in a single post.

The best item was an excellent stir-fry of thinly sliced tofu skins, baby shrimp, and bokchoy in a delicate, almost Cantonese-style white sauce, highly unusual in Korea.

(See also FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)