Seoul Restaurant mixes flavors of the East
by Xiao Zhang, Outpost staff
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On a recent Sunday evening, we walked in and found that scenery paintings and oriental decorations, such as strings of artificial peppers and rings of artificial flowers, hung next to each other on the wall. The simple decoration mixes well with the tungsten light and gives the diners a warm and friendly atmosphere. The pillars in the restaurant are covered from top to bottom with artificial vines of rich green.
It didn't take long before I noticed that the basic colors of the restaurant are red and green. The ceilings are composed of red and green blocks, and the front door of the restaurant has red frames. The counter of the Sushi bar is also bright red, which adds joyful atmosphere to the restaurant.
We were immediately seated at the back of the restaurant. It was about 7 p.m. and about a fourth of the tables were being used. Each table can hold two to four diners. A bigger group of seven or eight customers was eating in a separate room with larger round tables. The waitress promptly brought us the drinks we ordered.
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Soon after our orders were taken, the waitress brought us two vegetable soups. With pieces of radish and bean sprouts floating in clear water, the soups did not have much flavor.
We were impressed by the side dishes. Coming in seven 3-inch diameter dishes, the food was varied and delicious. The graded radish and carrots not only had a nice sweet and sour taste but looked good with the mix of white and red. The seasoned bean sprouts were fried, which was different from most of the bean sprouts I had had. But they were fresh and juicy. Our favorite was the sweet potato noodles, which were sweetened and fried with carrot slices. Later the waitress told us that they had used a special kind of Korean sweet sauce to cook the noodles and had put garlic in the dish.
As we were exclaiming about the side dishes, my bull Go-Ghi came. The dish came in a large portion that equaled one and a half portion a common dish would have. The food came sizzling in a bull-shaped iron plate. Out of that small mountain of beef, I could sense the heat and smell of barbecue.
The beef had both a barbecue flavor and nice touch of a light sweet flavor. It was tender and juicy. When I took a bite, I felt like biting into a piece of melon. The juice and the sour-sweet flavor filled my mouth.
Despite of the general conception that Korean food is spicy, the bull Go-Ghi was not spicy at all. Slices of onion and green onion were stirred with the beef, but they looked almost burnt and did not taste hot at all. In contrast, they tasted a little dull. But mixing them with the beef prevented the latter from being greasy.
Soon my friend's vegetable tempura came. The dish of coated vegetables were of light yellow color after being fried. Two slices of uncooked apple stood on the side of the plate to add a nice touch of red to the light yellow.
Although the name of the dish was "vegetable tempura," it was actually a mix of vegetable and fruit. Broccoli, egg plant, red pepper, zucchini and apple were cut into pieces before dipping into the batter.
My friend was not impressed by the taste of the dish.
"It was fine, but a little bland," she said. "Next time I would try the shrimp tempura."
She had had the shrimp tempura in the same restaurant before and liked it better than she did the vegetable one.
"But the side dishes are really good," she said.
The waitress checked occasionally with us to see if we needed anything. She promptly refilled our drinks and water when we finished them. With a smile on her face, she was always available when we needed help.
When we finished our dishes, the waitress brought us dessert -- orange cones. Two half-oranges were peeled and neatly cut into pieces. They were placed on top of the round orange peels with toothpicks on top.
We had been eating and talking, and toward the end of the meal, I found that Seoul did not have good music on. To be exact, I could not really tell what was being played because the volume of the music was so low. Instead, the main part of Seoul and its kitchen are connected with an opening rather than a door in between. I could hear the sound of stir-frying food whenever I stopped talking with my friend.
We finished our dinner and decided that Seoul Restaurant is a clean, comfy place that we'd like to come back to. The food is good and and so are the prices. For $23, two people can have a nice dinner.
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1999 S. Virginia St. (775) 829-2115 |
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HOURS: 11
a.m. to 10 p.m. daily |
Posted Sept. 29,
1999
Copyright 1999, Nevada Outpost