Cycle 3 – Item 311
11 (Sat) November 2012
South African Meat Platter
3.5
at Braai Republic
-Itaewon, Yongsan, Seoul, Republic of Korea-
with W and DJ, BIL’s family
Project 30/30/30: 11 of 45 (see also 45/45/45)
Throughout this November, I am challenging myself to eat 30 dishes from 30 countries over the course of 30 consecutive days.
South Africa is the 11th country.
Braai Republic is a South African restaurant. Most certainly the only one of its kind anywhere in the country. Specializes in grilled meat – “braai” is Afrikaans for “barbecue” – plus things that go with meat. As of this writing, it’s ranked #1 on tripadvisor.com’s list of restaurants in Seoul (see Seoul Restaurants).
Try as I might, I can’t recall how I came to know about it, just a couple days prior to this evening. But once I heard about it and did some research, I couldn’t believe that I’d never heard of it before. For one thing,, which isn’t necessarily a big deal, just that everyone in the world has been in the know, except me.
Conceptually, I wish that the offerings included more indigenous dishes, as well as more cuisines from the various immigrant groups that have made South Africa the cultural melting pot that it is today. As far as I could tell, based on my admittedly limited knowledge, everything on the menu seemed to fall within the Afrikaner and/or British culinary lineages. That said, I do recognize that the restaurant is intended to be a barbecue restaurant and not necessarily a comprehensive survey of the entire South African food scene.
The service was outstanding. We arrived a bit early to find that the relatively small establishment was already half full. Though surely knowing that the place would soon be packed, as it reputedly always is, even on Sunday, the owner went out of his way to make us comfortable, 4 adults and 2 kids, pushing a pair of large tables together just to be sure, even when we tried to talk him out of it – “our plates are really big, so you’ll need the room,” he said. After awhile, when the customers started piling up at the door, we asked the staff to clear the “big” plates and consolidate us into a single table and let someone else have the other one, at which point they readily accepted, indicating that the initial gesture hadn’t been made lightly. In addition to seating, the servers were polite and helpful and prompt throughout the meal, making for a fine experience overall.
The food was good. We started with the Meat Platter: 2 grilled lamb chops + 1 lamb boerewors (a traditional South African herb-heavy sausage) + 1 pork banger (a more standard sausage) (for Koreans who don’t like a lot of herbs, the owner told me) + semi-mashed garlic potatoes + creamy spinach + carrot-cabbage slaw. The lamb was clearly the restaurant’s star attraction, delicately and perfectly and seemingly seasoned with nothing but salt & pepper, exquisite simplicity. By comparison, the sausages were just okay, nothing to rave about. The sides were okay, especially the slaw. At 30,000 won, it was a bit pricey, but perhaps not when considering the high cost of lamb in Korea. Then again, 3,500 won per scoop of additional slaw was absurd, particularly in Korea, where side dishes are free and limitless as a cultural imperative – come on! In any case, we ordered 4 more chops at 7,000 won apiece, which was definitely worth it. Next time, I plan on getting nothing but the chops.
Getting back to the tripadvisor list, I’ve used the site to research restaurants in other cities but never once had thought to look at the Seoul rankings until just a few days ago in relation to Braai Republic. Obviously, it’s all about what tourists/foreigners think about the restaurants here. I can say with absolute certainty that Braai Republic is not actually the best restaurant in Seoul; I’m sure that the owner would agree. It turns out that Battered Sole, which was featured just yesterday as England, is ranked #2. Zelen, which is planned for Bulgaria, is #3; Taj, which was India, is #7; and Vatos Urban Tacos, which is planned for Mexico, is #15. The coincidences go to show the limited choice of ethnic restaurants in Seoul.
(See also BOOZE)
(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)
(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)
