The main branch of Shinsegae Department Store in Seoul has quite a unique food court. Also known as Gramercy Hall, this place is more like a restaurant that just happens to have menus from a bunch of different countries. It's got Korean food, Western (which probably means Italian), Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Mexican, and more I think, I wasn't paying much attention to the menu. The reason I went and even knew of its existence, is because my best friend got a job at the kitchen there, in the Indian food section. I heard enough stories and gossip about her colleagues to be curious about her workplace, and plus, she invited me with promises of complimentary services (from her manager, if I informed of my visit in advance). And I wasn't to visit on a weekend because then she would be too busy to pay attention to me. So tonight, on a Thursday evening, I met up with my brother after work and visited Shinsegae Department Store - the oldest department store in the country, actually - for the first time ever.
The department store is conveniently connected to Hoehyeon station, line 4 exit 7. The entrance is pretty obvious, and all you need to do is follow a long, dimly lit passageway that leads to another food court that's less luxurious.
After a bit of walking around and wishing I could eat at Johnny Rocket (we passed by on the way), we found the elevator and rode up up up to the 11th floor.
The place is wide, clean, and spacious, with waiters on standby to take your orders. Nothing is self-service like most other food courts. You don't need to bring the tray back to your table or anything like that; it's seriously just a restaurant with several open kitchens. It's bizarre but quite convenient, and makes this place worth another visit just to try the other dishes. Tonight, we ordered only from the Indian food menu because I wanted to watch my friend at work. ^_^
That's her making the dosa, which is some sort of Indian crepe. We ordered cheese dosa, which I think was a mistake because it didn't seem to go well with the three sauces that were accompanying it. Next time I'll go for the regular one, and see if that's better with the sauce. They just didn't really mix well with each other. Like, cheese and coconut? Bleh..
The butter chicken curry & garlic naan was heavenly. It was the most popular dish (out of the Indian menus, of which there aren't many) on the blogs I skimmed through before visiting this place. It was seriously buttery, which I don't think I'd tasted in curry before, and the naan was chewy and crispy and savory. I wished there was more curry and a little less naan, since that would have really let me enjoy the flavor.
So we ordered two dishes, which cost 13,000-14,000 won each (not bad), but the manager let us order just one and gave us the other menu for free. AND he gave my brother a free glass of beer too! Perks of being best friends with the staff, hah. :D
I'm definitely going to come back, though I'll probably order Indian food again for my friend. It was a pretty good experience! And weird that I didn't do any shopping - who would just head straight for the food court in such a historically prominent department store, and go home after? This weirdo right here. >_<
The department store is conveniently connected to Hoehyeon station, line 4 exit 7. The entrance is pretty obvious, and all you need to do is follow a long, dimly lit passageway that leads to another food court that's less luxurious.
After a bit of walking around and wishing I could eat at Johnny Rocket (we passed by on the way), we found the elevator and rode up up up to the 11th floor.
The place is wide, clean, and spacious, with waiters on standby to take your orders. Nothing is self-service like most other food courts. You don't need to bring the tray back to your table or anything like that; it's seriously just a restaurant with several open kitchens. It's bizarre but quite convenient, and makes this place worth another visit just to try the other dishes. Tonight, we ordered only from the Indian food menu because I wanted to watch my friend at work. ^_^
That's her making the dosa, which is some sort of Indian crepe. We ordered cheese dosa, which I think was a mistake because it didn't seem to go well with the three sauces that were accompanying it. Next time I'll go for the regular one, and see if that's better with the sauce. They just didn't really mix well with each other. Like, cheese and coconut? Bleh..
The butter chicken curry & garlic naan was heavenly. It was the most popular dish (out of the Indian menus, of which there aren't many) on the blogs I skimmed through before visiting this place. It was seriously buttery, which I don't think I'd tasted in curry before, and the naan was chewy and crispy and savory. I wished there was more curry and a little less naan, since that would have really let me enjoy the flavor.
So we ordered two dishes, which cost 13,000-14,000 won each (not bad), but the manager let us order just one and gave us the other menu for free. AND he gave my brother a free glass of beer too! Perks of being best friends with the staff, hah. :D
I'm definitely going to come back, though I'll probably order Indian food again for my friend. It was a pretty good experience! And weird that I didn't do any shopping - who would just head straight for the food court in such a historically prominent department store, and go home after? This weirdo right here. >_<
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