While the verdict isn't in completely on international cuisine here in Seoul, for the most part the jury is leaning towards guilty of crimes against the palate. Granted we have only been here for three months, and we have only sampled every Mexican restaurant in Itaewon and Noksapyong, half the Indian and Italian restaurants, but to-date, the experiences have been poor to disappointing with an occasional bout of mediocre.
Basically international restaurateurs are cooking for locals, and that means that every meal, without exception, will have some sort of pickled vegetable served along with the nosh, even if that is not the custom of the country in which the dish originated. Invariably the meal will be spicy, again, even if the dish is not typically prepared that way: spicy Sauce Alfredo? Or how about a yellow curry without any hint of coconut milk - apparently many Koreans don’t care for the taste, so just leave it out even if it’s your great-grandmother’s revered recipe.
Nothing is butchered worse than Mexican food. Apparently, flour tortillas cannot be eaten without toasting. So that means a burrito will have a “crunchy” wrapper. Tacos are equally disappointing because good sauce is apparently impossible to find. And forget about anything that needs to be made with Masa Hernia.
But here’s the good news: the local food is excellent and cheap. So if you are here in Seoul, and you find yourself hankering for some Pizza (Pizza without corn or sweet potatoes in the crust) or some Spaghetti Puttanesca save yourself the disappointment and cook it yourself.
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