It’s not very difficult to find “American” restaurants and fast food places here. We have already found a Bennigans, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Baskin-Robbins, Popeyes, and have been informed that McDonalds delivers here (though we have not actually tried it yet). I am not a fan of “fast food” but I have been known to indulge in the Starbucks Grande Mocha every now and then.

We have tried a few of the local restaurants, (other than Korean restaurants).  There is a place just around the block I really like, (I think it is called the Fresh Chicken House). We have tried a dish that looks and tastes like orange chicken. There is a salad they serve that is delicious, it’s a shredded cabbage with and apple flavored dressing. The chicken platter is 16,000 won, but it is enough to feed two.

There is also a Kraze Burger right next door. We ate there one night, we both had the “spicy burger”, (8,600 won each). Also pretty reasonably priced and pretty good. (That means a lot coming from me, I do not have a strong affinity for burgers, and was actually craving one yesterday for some strange reason).

A few blocks away there is a place called What’s David’s that we have eaten at once. I ordered the fish and chips and Josh ordered a burger. Each plate was around 10,000 won. The food and service was also good. We made the mistake of tipping, we had not yet realized it was not proper to do so.

Adonis is another local restaurant we ate at that was nearby. We shared a meal of some sort of chicken, which was good but once again not sure what kind it was. (I am so grateful these restaurants have pictures of their food on the menus).

Before the meal our server brought out some type of popcorn, and these shells that looked like periwinkles. Josh put one in his mouth, (pretending that he knew what he was doing to trick me but I wasn’t fooled). He didn’t find any meat in it but the shell was warm and it tasted salty. The meal was reasonably priced (16,000 won). I made the mistake of ordering a Heineken beer,  not realizing it was 7,000 won. (It was the only picture I recognized).

Our first weekend in Seoul Mr. and Mrs. Lee took us to a Bennigans, Dunkin Donuts, and a Starbucks. I got the impression that they were going out of their way to make us feel at home, which was very nice of them. Mrs. Lee even bought us a dozen donuts to take home with us.

However, we do not have to go all the way to Seoul to find the comforts of home. There is a Baskin Robins within walking distance, and a Dunkin Donuts at practically every subway stop.

As far as cooking, I stick to “unpackaged items”, since I have difficulty reading Korean labels. I don’t need to understand labels for the basics like cereal, milk, eggs, chicken, beef, cheese, lettuce, and rice. I just need to be able to read the expiration dates. Tonight I made Chicken Parmesan. So what if I couldn’t find the “Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs“, I bought a box of crackers (similar to Ritz), crumbled them up and made my own bread crumbs. I was able to find some “Prego” sauce, and some “shredded” pizza cheese, and some pasta.

It might be more economical to eat out though, depending on the meal. The cost of the chicken, sauce, cheese, and pasta was 18,640 won (plus the cost of the crackers and 2 eggs). There is however a certain satisfaction in cooking your own meal and it was nice to have a little taste of home that didn’t come from a fast food restaurant.