From May 8 to May 12 I visited Seoul for the first time, mostly to eat as much food as I could and learn about a cuisine I knew little about.
There are loads of non-fast food burger joints in Seoul, as documented by Dan of Seoul Eats, but for my single Korean burger experience (gotta save stomach room for other food, you know), I wanted go to the most basic, prevalent Korean burger joint. That desire brought me to Lotteria, the McDonald's of South Korea.
Aided by Dan and Terry on my first visit to Lotteria, we tried two burgers that I couldn't get back at home: the vegetable rice bulgogi burger for ₩3,800 ($3.05) and the squid burger for ₩1,900 ($1.53).
I've wanted to try rice buns for years ever since I first heard about them being used at Mos Burger in Japan. I love rice; I love burgers. What could go wrong? We found out as soon as we bit into it: rounds of semi-compressed rice are ill-suited to make a substantial burger buns that actually hold up to the fillings. Burger engineering fail. Although it's not apparent in the photo, the bun easily fell apart due to the hefty slathering of mayonnaise. You may as well eat it with a knife and fork.
The bits of corn and unidentifiable specks of vegetable matter in the rice buns may have also contributed to their instability. They don't add much to the rice bun's flavor; maybe it's just to make it seem "healthier."
Bulgogi is a Korean dish of barbecued beef marinated in soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and garlic. In burger form, you don't really taste meat, but just get the sensation that you're eating some kind of sweet and savory protein mass. Mayonnaise mellows it out, bacon adds some meatiness, and pale wilting lettuce bits add...not much, but if you look at it from the right angle, you get a bit of light green.
I wish I could appreciate the rice bun considering its made of my favorite grain, but as I don't like buns that fall apart mid-burger eating, I think my rice bun journey is over. (I'm perfectly okay with the idea of eating a burger patty with rice in non-sandwich form.)
The squid burger was mostly fish with a few squid bits, but for only ₩1,900, what do you expect? The spicy sauce made it more interesting than just a fried patty of fish and squid bits. (According to Joe of ZenKimchi, I should've gotten a shrimp burger as my seafood burger of choice. D'oh.)
Since I didn't think it was fair to get my impression of Lotteria from just those two burgers, I bought a regular bulgogi burger for ₩3,300 ($2.65) at the airport before leaving South Korea. The giant slice of tomato was too big (I prefer my burgers sans tomato); after taking it out, the meat-to-other-stuff ratio was better. Like the bulgogi rice burger, the patty was mildly sweet, made even sweeter by the glop of bulgogi sauce on top. Unlike the rice burger, the soft and squishy wheat-based sesame seed bun didn't fall apart. Thank god. I scarfed down a few bites of this in my gate's seating area before boarding the plane (I'm sure I looked just a bit funny taking photos of my burger as the line of passengers moved past me) so I don't recall much about it besides that it was alright. ...If I were really hungry.
For more bulgogi burger action, check out FatManSeoul's taste test of four fast food bulgogi burgers: one from McDonald's, one from Burger King, and two from Lotteria. The winner was the Hanwoo Bulgogi Burger (made with Korean beef) from Lotteria. If only I had read that beforehand.
I think that Mos burger's rice buns don't fall apart because of one very important step... they lightly toast them! Keeps the rice together - and no inclusions!
MOS rice burgers are still messy, but they are smart.. their burgers come in bags with extra edge open instead of just a wrapper, so the closed corner catches all the mess as you eat (including their regular burgers, which are saucy)
The only thing I remember from Lotteria in Japan is shrimp burger. If I remember correctly the patties were pretty shrimp-y unlike the squid burger described here.
Rice burgers are probably not healthier, because rice "buns" are definitely a lot denser than any bread buns ;-)
I love MOS tsukune (chicken patty) rice burger tho.
Some constructive criticism here, which I hope you will take in the spirit in which it is given.
Having read your posts on this site, I'll start by saying that your enthusiasm and thoughtfulness regarding food is wonderful, all of which informs your incredible photographs. When I read that you'd been in Seoul for a few days, and were being taken around for a whirlwind eat-tour by fellow gastronomic enthusiasts, I looked forward to your reports.
Kudos to you on the dukboki stand post. On my next trip to Seoul - my wife has family there - I'd like to to hit it. This is exactly the type of streetfood that puts the "soul" in Seoul. Perhaps more such dispatches are forthcoming from you - I look forward to reading them.
That said, so far, the three other posts I've read have been about pizza, donuts and burgers. I realize that these are all about Korean takes on American fast food, but I would never recommend that, given less than a week in Seoul, people should seek out Mr. Donuts or Lotte Burger. The street food choices alone in this city are dizzying, not to mention bbq, out-of-the-way noodle and seafood joints as well as fried chicken stands, all far more unique to Korea than ubiquitous fast food chains. You can get surreal treats like corn dogs covered with french fries on a stick, absolutely delicious pancake-like pastries called hot-tuk, heartwarming roasted yams hot and wrapped in foil. If you're adventurous, you can step it up with a cup of marinated silkworms. Again, if you sampled more stuff along these lines, I look forward to reading your reports.
It's my opinion that posting about fast food chains is, in general, not about "serious" eating. It is not completely without it's cultural significance, no, and you might even have a tasty bite or two, but, compared to what else is out there, there's nothing particularly adventurous or unique about it. If you were in stripmall, USA, that would be one thing. But this is Seoul we're talking about.
Again, just my opinion. Don't take it the wrong way; your reports in general have made the blogosphere a happier place.
P.
@Polecat: "Again, if you sampled more stuff along these lines, I look forward to reading your reports."
I'm glad you're enjoying the posts, and don't worry, I did eat other stuff. :) If I spent my whole week in Seoul eating at fast food places, that would be strange. I had bbq twice, hotteok twice, soondubu, patbingsu, french fry covered hot dog on a stick (that post might go up today), bo ssam, cold noodles, a meal of rice cakes, fried chicken, kalguksu, temple food...it's gonna take a while to get through all this stuff though. :\ If I could devote all my time to writing I could probably bang these out faster but I picked what was easier or more timely, hence why the rice cake stuff went up first and then this stuff...was pretty easy to write about. I sought out pizza and burgers because we have pizza and burger sites and I wanted content for them. Hope that makes sense :) But also, besides eating real Korean food, I was also interested to see what Koreans eat...that isn't traditional. No doubt that stuff like Mister Donut, Mr Pizza, and Lotteria are hugely popular. They may not be "adventurous," but it's still an everyday thing.
In a way, I do find it as interesting as the "serious" stuff, just in a different way. How did Koreans take Western food and make it something uniquely Korean and why? (I didn't really delve into this question; that would require more time than I have. But it would've made an interesting thing to write about if I were still in school. Doh.) I didn't want to get a burger or slice just like what I could get at home; I wanted something with a Korean twist. Admittedly, these pizza/donut/burger posts aren't really to give potential tourists food advice, but for the people who may never go to Seoul it might be interesting. (The donut post introduced the Pon de Ring to at least one person in Korea though, which makes me happy. I LOVE THOSE DONUTS.)
I skipped the silkworms though. They smelled like a smell I have never encountered before. Something putrid. Bugs are still on my "do not want" list. :)
"I had bbq twice, hotteok twice, soondubu, patbingsu, french fry covered hot dog on a stick (that post might go up today), bo ssam, cold noodles, a meal of rice cakes, fried chicken, kalguksu, temple food..."
@Polecat. I think Robyn is doing a great job showing the gamut of Korean foods. Most people would not understand what Calguksu and patbingsu were and would just find it bizarre. I feel that by writing about fast food, it helps readers identify with the culture by giving them a point of reference.
Thanks for commenting! Your comment has been accepted and will appear in a moment.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it pleasant. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
Print
8 Comments:
Mmm. Bulgogi burger. If you're ever in Austin, the bulgogi burger at Burger Tex is worth your attention. I miss those!
Mary_Eats at 4:09PM on 05/21/09
I think that Mos burger's rice buns don't fall apart because of one very important step... they lightly toast them! Keeps the rice together - and no inclusions!
bluemonq at 4:49PM on 05/21/09
@Mary_Eats: I've never been to Texas. ;_; But will hopefully visit someday...particularly, Austin.
@bluemonq: Oh sweet jesus, I LOVE TOASTED RICE. That would work better, yeah.
Robyn Lee at 4:57PM on 05/21/09
MOS rice burgers are still messy, but they are smart.. their burgers come in bags with extra edge open instead of just a wrapper, so the closed corner catches all the mess as you eat (including their regular burgers, which are saucy)
The only thing I remember from Lotteria in Japan is shrimp burger. If I remember correctly the patties were pretty shrimp-y unlike the squid burger described here.
Rice burgers are probably not healthier, because rice "buns" are definitely a lot denser than any bread buns ;-)
I love MOS tsukune (chicken patty) rice burger tho.
hmw0029 at 5:29PM on 05/21/09
Some constructive criticism here, which I hope you will take in the spirit in which it is given.
Having read your posts on this site, I'll start by saying that your enthusiasm and thoughtfulness regarding food is wonderful, all of which informs your incredible photographs. When I read that you'd been in Seoul for a few days, and were being taken around for a whirlwind eat-tour by fellow gastronomic enthusiasts, I looked forward to your reports.
Kudos to you on the dukboki stand post. On my next trip to Seoul - my wife has family there - I'd like to to hit it. This is exactly the type of streetfood that puts the "soul" in Seoul. Perhaps more such dispatches are forthcoming from you - I look forward to reading them.
That said, so far, the three other posts I've read have been about pizza, donuts and burgers. I realize that these are all about Korean takes on American fast food, but I would never recommend that, given less than a week in Seoul, people should seek out Mr. Donuts or Lotte Burger. The street food choices alone in this city are dizzying, not to mention bbq, out-of-the-way noodle and seafood joints as well as fried chicken stands, all far more unique to Korea than ubiquitous fast food chains. You can get surreal treats like corn dogs covered with french fries on a stick, absolutely delicious pancake-like pastries called hot-tuk, heartwarming roasted yams hot and wrapped in foil. If you're adventurous, you can step it up with a cup of marinated silkworms. Again, if you sampled more stuff along these lines, I look forward to reading your reports.
It's my opinion that posting about fast food chains is, in general, not about "serious" eating. It is not completely without it's cultural significance, no, and you might even have a tasty bite or two, but, compared to what else is out there, there's nothing particularly adventurous or unique about it. If you were in stripmall, USA, that would be one thing. But this is Seoul we're talking about.
Again, just my opinion. Don't take it the wrong way; your reports in general have made the blogosphere a happier place.
P.
Polecat at 8:49AM on 05/25/09
@Polecat: "Again, if you sampled more stuff along these lines, I look forward to reading your reports."
I'm glad you're enjoying the posts, and don't worry, I did eat other stuff. :) If I spent my whole week in Seoul eating at fast food places, that would be strange. I had bbq twice, hotteok twice, soondubu, patbingsu, french fry covered hot dog on a stick (that post might go up today), bo ssam, cold noodles, a meal of rice cakes, fried chicken, kalguksu, temple food...it's gonna take a while to get through all this stuff though. :\ If I could devote all my time to writing I could probably bang these out faster but I picked what was easier or more timely, hence why the rice cake stuff went up first and then this stuff...was pretty easy to write about. I sought out pizza and burgers because we have pizza and burger sites and I wanted content for them. Hope that makes sense :) But also, besides eating real Korean food, I was also interested to see what Koreans eat...that isn't traditional. No doubt that stuff like Mister Donut, Mr Pizza, and Lotteria are hugely popular. They may not be "adventurous," but it's still an everyday thing.
In a way, I do find it as interesting as the "serious" stuff, just in a different way. How did Koreans take Western food and make it something uniquely Korean and why? (I didn't really delve into this question; that would require more time than I have. But it would've made an interesting thing to write about if I were still in school. Doh.) I didn't want to get a burger or slice just like what I could get at home; I wanted something with a Korean twist. Admittedly, these pizza/donut/burger posts aren't really to give potential tourists food advice, but for the people who may never go to Seoul it might be interesting. (The donut post introduced the Pon de Ring to at least one person in Korea though, which makes me happy. I LOVE THOSE DONUTS.)
I skipped the silkworms though. They smelled like a smell I have never encountered before. Something putrid. Bugs are still on my "do not want" list. :)
Robyn Lee at 11:11AM on 05/25/09
"I had bbq twice, hotteok twice, soondubu, patbingsu, french fry covered hot dog on a stick (that post might go up today), bo ssam, cold noodles, a meal of rice cakes, fried chicken, kalguksu, temple food..."
That's the stuff. Post away.
P.
Polecat at 11:57AM on 05/25/09
@Polecat. I think Robyn is doing a great job showing the gamut of Korean foods. Most people would not understand what Calguksu and patbingsu were and would just find it bizarre. I feel that by writing about fast food, it helps readers identify with the culture by giving them a point of reference.
Dan
Daniel Gray at 7:19PM on 05/26/09