Jackie's Kitchen Noodles & DimSum

I know this post is a bit late. But, time is not on my side lately.

Anyways, on the Saturday that I went to the Comic World Expo (see previous post), I ended up at COEX mall, right next to Samseong subway station, in Seoul after the expo. This is a huge shopping mall where you can find most major brands and it is the "in" place to shop for most young people. I'd been there a few times already and during one of my earlier visits, I spotted a Chinese restaurant operated by world famous iconic actor Jackie Chan. Well, I had to try this place the next time I was there. So, this was that next time.

But, before I continue, I must clarify before I go any further. When I say "Chinese" food, I really mean the "Cantonese" style of Chinese food as there are many different styles. The Cantonese style is the style most people in the world are familiar with as this was the cooking style brought around the world with the first Chinese emigres to the new worlds around the decades just prior to the Cultural Revolution in China; the peoples of Canton Province being the most eager to leave China at that time. For those who know their history well, there were also Chinese emigres during the times of the building of the first railroads, too. And, these people were mostly from Canton as well. There's lots of ground to cover when it comes to Chinese history around the world. So, I won't go into all of that now.

Canton Province? What is Canton Province? If you are young, you will not know "Canton" as "Canton". But as "Guangdong". This is because a few decades ago, the transliteration of Chinese into English underwent a change to a different style of transliteration. So, unless you are in your 40's, 50's or 60's the old style transliterations will be foreign to you. Or, unless you have old parents who taught you the old styles from their era. Like I said, a lot of history is involved here. Anyways, I digress.

Cantonese style food is the style of Chinese food those of you living in North America, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, South America and basically everywhere else in the world outside of Asia will be familiar with eating. This also includes the "North Americanized" versions of Chinese food that I have derided in previous posts. So, this is familiar territory to most readers. And, the authentic Cantonese style Chinese foods can be found in the Chinatowns' of all major cities in present day. All except for Seoul, until "almost" now.

Which finally brings us to Jackie's Kitchen Noodles & DimSum restaurant. I'll cut to the chase; this is the best Cantonese style Chinese food I have had in my almost two yeas in Korea. And, some of you will know that I have been searching for "real" Chinese food almost for as long as I have been here. It is way better than Ho Lee Chow, which was the best until now. It's expensive. Which is ironic because authentic Cantonese style Chinese food in major Chinatowns around the world, including Hong Kong itself, are dirt cheap eats. But, this is Korea and real Chinese food here is unknown to most Koreans. So, the restaurant caters to an upscale clientele, or at least it pretends to do, anyways. It is also interesting to note that there was a significant proportion of foreigners in the restaurant when I was there along with some Koreans. Like I said, real Chinese food is unknown to most Koreans.

We ordered Dim Sum, fried rice, and a sweet and sour beef dish. I'm not a fan of sweet and sour anything myself. But, my friend likes the stuff and I actually found it to be quite good as well. That was a surprise! The fried rice was typical North Americanized fried rice. But, very tasty and I usually like this type of fried rice as well. Not at all disappointing. The sweet and sour beef is obviously North Americanized. Again, a surprise hit. The Dim Sum was totally authentic in taste if not totally in texture. There's only so much one can do with frozen dumplings. But, they were excellent for taste and only mildly annoying for a texture that was not quite as tender and as delicate as fresh made. There was also a sweet potato deep fried dumpling that we ordered that I did not try. I was unsure of it as I'd never heard of such a thing before. It sounded too Korean! I didn't want to have a bad experience after so much goodness so far. Maybe next time. The meal was wolfed down in to time flat.

So, there you have it. The best choice for "real" Chinese food thus far in Korea. Expensive, but worth it.

Note:

Sorry, there are no direct food pix associated with this post. It was a long day and I was tired, hungry, and no longer had any brain cells left by the time I got there. It was all I could do to reach the restaurant. Next time I'll shoot some food pix. Although, there will be a few somewhat related pix in the next post! Oooh! The suspense! LOL

Update:

For some pix of this food, and more, please go here: June, 2011.