In the past 2-3 years I’ve noticed an
increasing trend in Korea: fusion Korean-Mexican food
This probably all stemmed from the immense
fame the Kogi taco truck had in Los Angeles about 3 or 4 years ago. The chef of
the taco truck used popular Korean marinated BBQ meats and merged them with
Mexican street tacos. The rest, as they say, is history.
But what makes Seoul the target of this new
food trend?
Unlike Los Angeles where street tacos have DOMINATED the street
food scene for years, Korea has had very little exposure to other cuisines
besides Korean ones. Ten years ago, I doubt even 20% of the population knew
what a tortilla was. Nowadays, walk along the trendy Garusogil and you’ll bump
into one Mexican restaurant and one fusion restaurant: Grill5.
Grill5 is serving pretty much exactly what
the Kogi taco truck serves. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Kogi taco truck was its
inspiration. Koreans can be welcoming of other nationalities food, but they
will always say Korean food is best. That’s why I’m sure fusion places like
Grill5 are experiencing a surge. They are using traditional Korean flavors and
injecting something new into them.
That specializes in the Korean-Mexican fusion
trend. I’m a big fan of their kimchi carnitas fries. Grill5 also has a similar
version called Seoul fries.
To be honest, I found the Vatos kimchi
carnitas fries better than the Grill5 one. The Grill5 one is sweeter and the
fries were too thin for my taste. I also felt that for the price, Vatos gave
you a bigger portion.
I did love that Grill5 offered free
tortilla chips (unlimited!). You have you order salsa separately though.
This is a order at a counter, get a buzzer type place.
Overall, I'd say if you can go to Vatos. I think they're food is better than here.
Directions:
The best way to get to Grill5 is to go out
of exit 8 at Sinsa Stn. Keep going straight and make a left after Café Benne. Then
make a right at the end and an immediate left into the long street. Keep going
down and you will see Grill5 on your left.