Post by ssmynkint on Apr 8, 2012 13:22:32 GMT -5
Seoul
6321 Perimeter Dr
Chattanooga
Seoul is an example of amateur cooks producing home-style ethnic food to an American audience. There is nothing professional about the preparation, execution or presentation of the food. The same is true of service which suffers from language problems.
The menu lists two pancakes-seafood and kimchi, dumplings and egg and spring rolls ($14.99-3.25).
Entrees are a variety of grilled, braised, stewed and stir-fried dishes (18.999-8.50) including fish, fish eggs, ox intestine and octopus and some large casseroles for two or more (32.99-19.99). Although monkfish is a listed ingredient, I am skeptical it is actually served.
The truncated “Vietnamese” menu consists exclusively of noodle dishes and pho (10.95-8.50).
Banchan, small plates, are served first. These traditionally consist of pickled, marinated and raw vegetables, bits of omelets, seafoods, and meats, in fact, anything that suits the cook’s fancy and offers a variety of tastes, textures and forms to tease the palate. In professional restaurants, these are presented as compositions reminiscent of Japanese dishes, and in fact represents one of the few positive contributions accruing from the brutal Japanese occupation. The banchan at Seoul are crude and repetitious. On two visits they consisted of crudely cut radish, cabbage, and potatoes and bean sprouts, all flavored with vinegar and/or chili peppers. The flavors were monotonous and texture unappealing, but they were the brightest flavored dishes served.
The pancakes were adequately prepared, although the poor quality of the frozen seafood, mainly squid, detracted in terms of taste and texture. The dumplings were Japanese style, but fatty and bland.
The grilled marinated beef was probably the most successful dish; well sauced, it had beefy flavor and tasted of the soy bean paste used. Less successful was the spicy pan fried pork and vegetables which was not spicy or tasty and was further diluted by the use of cheap, watery vegetables such as squash. The pan fried pork belly was inedible. Completely flavorless, the previously frozen chunks lacked any succulence and were nearly impossible to chew. The spicy octopus was only marginally better, having the texture one imagines of erasers and no flavor but the pepper sauce. Bi bim bap, rice with ground beef, veggies and fried egg, was poorly received and required doctoring with soy and hot sauces to be eaten. Stews are soupy affairs aswim with atypical veggies (squash, etc.) with few pieces of the listed meats.
While Seoul no doubt services “authentic” home style cooking (assuming the home cook is not particularly talented), it bears no relation to good, restaurant quality Korean cuisine; for that , go to Atlanta.
Ambiance: Fair
Service: Fair
Food: Poor
Value: Poor
ssmynkint
Dec. 2011
6321 Perimeter Dr
Chattanooga
Seoul is an example of amateur cooks producing home-style ethnic food to an American audience. There is nothing professional about the preparation, execution or presentation of the food. The same is true of service which suffers from language problems.
The menu lists two pancakes-seafood and kimchi, dumplings and egg and spring rolls ($14.99-3.25).
Entrees are a variety of grilled, braised, stewed and stir-fried dishes (18.999-8.50) including fish, fish eggs, ox intestine and octopus and some large casseroles for two or more (32.99-19.99). Although monkfish is a listed ingredient, I am skeptical it is actually served.
The truncated “Vietnamese” menu consists exclusively of noodle dishes and pho (10.95-8.50).
Banchan, small plates, are served first. These traditionally consist of pickled, marinated and raw vegetables, bits of omelets, seafoods, and meats, in fact, anything that suits the cook’s fancy and offers a variety of tastes, textures and forms to tease the palate. In professional restaurants, these are presented as compositions reminiscent of Japanese dishes, and in fact represents one of the few positive contributions accruing from the brutal Japanese occupation. The banchan at Seoul are crude and repetitious. On two visits they consisted of crudely cut radish, cabbage, and potatoes and bean sprouts, all flavored with vinegar and/or chili peppers. The flavors were monotonous and texture unappealing, but they were the brightest flavored dishes served.
The pancakes were adequately prepared, although the poor quality of the frozen seafood, mainly squid, detracted in terms of taste and texture. The dumplings were Japanese style, but fatty and bland.
The grilled marinated beef was probably the most successful dish; well sauced, it had beefy flavor and tasted of the soy bean paste used. Less successful was the spicy pan fried pork and vegetables which was not spicy or tasty and was further diluted by the use of cheap, watery vegetables such as squash. The pan fried pork belly was inedible. Completely flavorless, the previously frozen chunks lacked any succulence and were nearly impossible to chew. The spicy octopus was only marginally better, having the texture one imagines of erasers and no flavor but the pepper sauce. Bi bim bap, rice with ground beef, veggies and fried egg, was poorly received and required doctoring with soy and hot sauces to be eaten. Stews are soupy affairs aswim with atypical veggies (squash, etc.) with few pieces of the listed meats.
While Seoul no doubt services “authentic” home style cooking (assuming the home cook is not particularly talented), it bears no relation to good, restaurant quality Korean cuisine; for that , go to Atlanta.
Ambiance: Fair
Service: Fair
Food: Poor
Value: Poor
ssmynkint
Dec. 2011
