Korean Restaurants

From our archives, Compass Magazine, JUN. 2002

By Tammy Huang
Translated by Matt Godsey and Annie Chen

Recently, Taiwan has been wrapped up in a Korean craze. However, even before this occurred, Taichung was fortunate to have a number of outstanding Korean restaurants. Below is a sampling of places to savor Korean cuisine in Taichung.

1. Lee Family Long Life Korean Cuisine

This restaurant’s interior, created by a Korean designer, draws from that country’s rich tradition of creating a setting that is truly pleasing to the eye. Ginseng tea and pine nut tea, the most popular teas in Korea, are served as soon as customers are seated. The Stone Pot Mixed Vegetables (NT$200) is a popular dish. The stone pot keeps this dish warm for a long time. The Ginseng Chicken (NT$800), which uses fresh, free-range chicken, is another must-try. The Kimchee Hot Pot (NT$700) serves four people. For those who can never get enough of this spiced-up vegetable, the restaurant features homemade kimchee(large order: NT$200, small order: NT$100), perfect for take-out.

60, DaDun 17th St

2. Chi Chou Wang Korean Restaurant

From the moment Korean kimchi and tofu hot pot arrived in Taiwan, they have had an enthusiastic local following. Chi Chou Wang was the first restaurant to specialize in Korean-style hot pot. It retains the original flavor of Korean kimchee, but slightly modifies it to suit Taiwanese palates, creating a distinctive new flavor that has been very well received by young and old alike. Every type of hot pot is NT$120. The Kimchi Hot Pot has a strong flavor while the Tofu Hot Pot comes in four levels of spiciness.

87, JingMing (ChingMing) 1st Street

3. Korean Treasure Box

This restaurant, which originally opened in Korea, has been in business for more than 45 years. It offers 25 different side dishes (pickled) and four types of kimchee, giving it a much wider selection than most Korean restaurants. According to the chef, meat takes on a different flavor depending on the type of pan it has been cooked in. Therefore, the restaurant has a large variety of stone cookware. The Spicy Crab Soup (NT$700) comes highly recommended and includes seafood and vegetables, including pumpkin, and is cooked with a special chili sauce. There are also hand-made noodles (NT$130), and Korean-style hand-made noodles–Hanzhen Noodles (NT$100)–that can’t be found at other area restaurants.

167, TaijungGang (TaichungKang) Rd., section 1

4. Chi Chou Tofu Hot Pot Restaurant

Based on the goal of creating the most popular chain-restaurant of its kind in Taiwan, the owner of Chi Chou traveled to Korea to study the craft of preparing Korean food. Now, area residents can share in the fruits of his hard work, as his restaurant is serving up some of the newest, most original dishes in town, all made from ingredients imported directly from the Korea. The Kimchee Hot Pot (NT$120), with its uniquely flavored broth, is fast becoming the restaurant’s trademark dish. In fact, it’s become so popular among college students that some of them even buy it to bring home over holidays, so that their families can also try it. Another popular dish is the Korean Hot Pot (NT$120). The plum juice has a sweet-and-sour flavor that provides the perfect complement to hot pot.

130, YiZhong St.

5. All Korean (Chuan Han) Barbeque

This restaurant has been open for more than 10 years. Here you can taste seafood and thin strips of beef that have been dipped in a mild soy sauce and barbecued, then wrapped around raw vegetables. The chefs forsake modern technology when it comes to the All Korean Steak (NT$200+), preferring the traditional method of hand-slicing the sirloin into strips. These are then cooked on an iron plate that is served directly to the table, still sizzling. The Teppanyaki Beef (NT$200) is made using tender strips of beef topped with chopped scallions. The Korean Barbecue (NT$250), known as “pulgogi”, uses a special convex, copper dish that allows the juices from the sizzling meat to drip down into the broth, adding flavor to the soup.