16.075 Salchisal (Chuck Tail Flap) Steak

Cycle 16 – Item 75

Post 5,554

21 (Fri) March 2025

Salchisal (Chuck Tail Flap) Steak

3.0

at Awesome

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

solo

Try Every Italianish Eatery in Wirye (TEIEW)

Awesome is an Italianish restaurant.  Specializes in steak, along with pasta and pizza.

Located on the southern edge of Wirye Plaza, across from Scandi Mall.

On the awning above the front door, another example of mismatching (a) type of food/beverage + (b) type of eatery: Bistro & Wine (see also 16.059 Great King Chicken Legs).

Although the menu notes a corkage fee of 15,000 won per bottle, the manager informed me that corkage is now free for the first 2 bottles.

When the restaurant opened for business a few years ago, I didn’t pay much attention because I was more strict about limiting red meat intake.  And the menu looked rather amateur, so I figured that I could probably make better steak at home.

But now that I’m eating more red meat – frankly, maintaining a meatless diet in Korea is too difficult – including a steak just last night (see 16.074 Garlic Ribeye with (Creamy) Smoked Cauliflower), and I’m looking to avoid franchises in favor of independent businesses, and I’m sick of eating Korean food and options in Wirye are limited, I decided to give it a shot.

Pickles + Bread: I could smell the sweetness of the pickles and the bread as soon as it was placed on the table.
House Red: a fairly generous pour.
Shrimp Rucola Pasta (3.0): would’ve been better with baby rucola, but otherwise pretty good, and very generous in portion.
Center parts of the steak were cooked to medium rare, but the tapered edges were overcooked.

The steak was good.   Initially, I was a bit disappointed to find that the meat – salchisal = chuck tail flap, naturally shaped to be carved into even rectangular steaks (see 15.118 Roast Chuck Tail Flap) – had been sliced into a pair of thin strips rather than a single thick piece.  However, more surface area meant more crust, grilled over high direct heat to achieve intense charred flavor.  The American beef was rich and deep in flavor, far superior to the Australian beef that I had roasted at home (see above).   A bit tough in places, but forgivable.  Better overall than yesterday’s ribeye at Outback, at around the same price.

Clearly, I did enjoy the meal.

Incidentally, I had a big fight with W last week – on March 11, to be exact: in “desperate need of a draft beer” (see 16.065 “Don-Gga-Seu”) – which explains why I’ve been eating out and on my own over the past 10 days.

(See all GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See all RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

Leave a Reply