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| ▲ Photo by MyKoreanEats / Jason Kim |
Jason Kim is a Korean-American foodie with a passion for cooking, eating and photographing. This article originally appeared on his popular blog, mykoreaneats.com.
Open for over 7 years, Supsokeui Dotori (“Acorns of the Forest”) was a great find just a few minutes from my Oedo-dong home. After thinking we had exhausted all the great restaurants (“matjip”) in our neighborhood, my girlfriend and I now wonder what gems remain to be found.
The restaurant itself is in an easily passed red brick building and they serve up some unique, delicious, and healthy dishes using dotori (acorns).
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| ▲ Photo by MyKoreanEats / Jason Kim |
From the usual dotori muk (acorn jelly) to the semi-unusual dotori jeon (acorn pancakes), this restaurant has perfected their signature dishes while utilizing and highlighting this lesser-known ingredient.
Another big plus is that most of the supporting ingredients (cabbage, lettuce, bean sprouts, etc.) are organically grown in the owner’s private farm just outside the city. Minus their lone BBQ dish, this is a vegetarian’s dream.
On this particular visit, we ordered their signature all-vegetarian A Course meal and it was quite an experience.
Besides some “banchan” side dishes like kimchi and dotori varieties, they first dazzle you with a thin yet large plateful of dotori jeon, and a colorful (and again large) bowl of saessak jaengban guksu (noodles and vegetables mixed in sauce).
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| ▲ Photo by MyKoreanEats / Jason Kim |
Shiny on the outside and super soft when eaten, the jeon reminded me of crepes with an added nutty flavor. And when used as a wrap with the refreshing platter of noodles and vegetables, it’s a combination made in heaven.
The mix of noodles and vegetables was similar to bibim guksu but on a larger scale with a sauce that only be described as apple sweet, slightly garlicky, tangy, and super tasty.
After pigging out and finishing this combination within minutes, next up was the dotori deulkkae sujebi (acorn dough pasta flakes in perilla seed broth). This was another winner with chewy acorn dough pieces (think liquorice sticks but softer) in a creamy, comforting, and hearty soup broth.
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| ▲ Photo by MyKoreanEats / Jason Kim |
Needless to say, we were very full after all this food, and it only cost us a very reasonable 12,000 won per person.
For meat-lovers, there is a B Course which includes smoked BBQ pork for 19,000 won. Personally, I always need a little protein in my meal, so it looks like we’ll be making another visit here soon.
Stars (out of five)
Food ★★★★1/2
Service ★★★★★
Ambiance ★★★★
Value ★★★★
Acorns of the Forest
숲의도토리
18 Dogeunnae-gil, Jeju-si
064-742-5835
10am ~ 9pm / 365 days a year
The acorn pancake (below) is one of the signature dishes and diners can also enjoy many side dishes grown organically at the owner's farm. Photos by Jason Kim / MyKoreanEats |
