Photo swiped from the NYT article, by Seokyong Lee.
In case you missed the article in the NYT, brunch is hitting it big in Seoul- about 200 restaurants big.
The sudden embrace of the leisurely late-morning repast reflects greater exposure to Western customs and cuisines as more South Koreans travel, work and study abroad. But it also is related to a watershed development at home: the mandatory weekend.
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Now, on weekends female friends, male buddies, couples, parents with toddlers and three-generation families all line up outside crowded brunch restaurants like Suji’s, Butterfinger Pancakes, Tell Me About It, Flying Pan Blue, Stove and All Day Brunch. Some restaurants are so packed that reservations must be made days in advance. Once inside, if they can get inside, people spend two to three hours chatting away.
And how are Koreans taking to it? Quite well, apparently. I never knew brunch was so glamorous, so classy. I always thought it was the result of getting up too late to eat three meals in a day. Not so.
“I feel like a New Yorker or a Parisian, like the characters of ‘Sex and the City,’†said Ms. Han, a pottery designer.
Or a hungover student at the Med on Barrington Street in Halifax.
Brunch is popular even though some Koreans do not really like the food served at the meal: eggs and bacon, pancakes and toast are all a marked contrast to the usual Korean breakfast of rice, soup and vegetables. The portions are huge by Korean standards. And brunch can be expensive, typically around 25,000 won, or $27.50.
For 25,000 I hope there’s lots to eat.
Has anyone heard of brunch in Daejeon yet?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
25,000 won for bacon, eggs and toast? I think the question you should ask is: How does one go about starting a restaurant in Daejeon?
Good call! Look like I should have pursued that greasy spoon idea…
After last year’s turkey free year here in Daejeon, I’m thinking of making a trek up to Seoul and joining The Republicans Abroad Annual Thanksgiving dinner on the 17th: http://gopkorea.blogs.com/gop/2007/11/annual-republic.html
I hope it’s worth the price of a KTX ticket and braving the cold weather. Anyway I hope to hit What the book? and Yoricome. I also hope that they are worth it.
I see that there are some large frozen turkeys at Costco this year. Too bad my apartment lacks an oven to cook such a meal, or cookies and cakes for that matter.
Seriously? Turkeys at Costco? Praise the gods that be!