Scandinavian countries, due to their unfriendly climate and natural conditions, used to struggle with a limited food supply. In order to set aside food for the long winter, the Swedes would marinate or smoke fish or meat. Marinated herring, above all, is the signature Swedish dish. Often when marinated herring is discussed, people think of Surströmming, or fermented herring, comparable to Korea’s fermented hongeo(skate)-hoe or Chinese stinky tofu. But the marinated herring consumed most often in Swedish households is not that pungent. “Marinated herring is a holiday food cooked on Christmas(Julbord), Summer Solstice(Midsommar), and other major holidays. Separately, Swedish families use their own recipes to marinate herring and reserve it for special occasions,” said Oh. The restaurant Hemlagat offers six types of marinated herring dishes. ’Silltalrik’ which is like an appetizer, is presented with pieces of marinated herring(using tomato and basil, curry and mayonnaise, and dill mustard and sour cream as a base), home-baked dark bread made of four types of cereals, and boiled eggs. Cut a slice of the egg or dark bread and place an adequate amount of herring on top as if you were making an open sandwich. That’s how the food is usually enjoyed.

Marinated herring always comes with a drink. It’s a Swedish flavored vodka named ‘Snaps.’ “Marinated herring and snaps remind Swedish people of a holiday or a family gathering.” Having a strong flavor and scent, snaps make a great combination with the salty fish. Hemlagat offers over 25 kinds of homemade snaps. Wild animals were also part of the traditional Swedish diet. Most of the hunting seasons were after the fall, meaning a stew made of game meat was loved as a winter food. Hemlagat’s ‘Vildsvinsgryta’ is a red wine-base stew made by boiling boar meat, mushrooms, and various root vegetables together for a long time, which shows the unique color of home food in Scandinavian countries.

Born in Skåne County, the southernmost region in Sweden, Wikstrand cooks food in a southern style. With a self-imposed mission of promoting Swedish food in Korea, he prioritizes ‘traditionality’ and ‘authenticity.’ “We have had many people ask us if we adjusted the Swedish recipes to reflect Korean tastes. Among Korean foods, some match foreigners’ taste buds better than others. We simply selected what we thought were suitable recipes. We didn’t change them. One decision we made was to reduce the salt ratio of our menu. Swedish food is pretty salty. That’s about it.” Oh kindly explained her answer to the question on the food prepared by Chef Wikstrand who puts his heart into making real Swedish food and bread, pickles, and sauce that he prepares every morning contribute to the outcome. The couple hope that the food they serve at Hemlagat will be a reminder of a ‘happy meal’ to their customers. Warm and comforting, the experience at Hemlagat will be similar to that of visiting a Swedish friend for dinner.
Address 35 Sogong-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
Phone +82-2-318-3335
Homepage hemlagatseoul.com

If you visit Morococo Cafe, you should try tagine, which is a classic home-cooked Moroccan dish. “It’s a food you can eat in any region. Not just on a special day but at any time. Moroccans eat it very often,” said the owner-chef. Tagine is served in a vessel called ‘tagine’ which has a cone shape. Moroccan stew cooked by boiling meat, vegetables, and spices together can be divided into two types depending on the kind of meat used as the main ingredient. At Morococo Cafe, ‘Lamb rass el hanout kefta tagine’ and ‘Preserved lemon chicken with green olives’ are available. ‘Chermala carrot salad with caramelized plums and toasted almonds’ featuring carrots marinated in the traditional manner is worth trying. In Morocco, a small side menu of carrot salad can be turned into the main dish if you add toppings and enlarge the size. ‘Morocco over rice’ is a fusion between Moroccan and Korean. To ease Koreans’ entry into Moroccan cuisine, it uses a Moroccan recipe but a bibimbap-inspired plating, putting the chicken, salad, rice, and dressing on one plate.

The sourness of lemon pickle, hot taste of harissa sauce, and spiciness of various spices conveyed through the authentic Moroccan cuisine will captivate your palate. Anyone can enjoy Moroccan food as long as they don’t find spices repulsive. The interior design of the cafe featuring pink walls, plant pots, and art frames adopted the traditional Moroccan style, which was influenced by French architecture. In the streets of Haebangchon crowded with people of diverse nationalities, you can pretend like you’re on a vacation at an exotic location, while enjoying a Moroccan homemade food, courtesy of Morococo Cafe.
Address 34 Sinheung-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Phone +82-2-794-8367

Kuna’s signature menu is ‘gnocchi.’ It is a classic homemade pasta dish of Italy using potatoes as the main ingredient. Kuna offers two gnocchi dishes, among which cream gnocchi made with porcini and four other types of mushrooms is popular. Cooked with bacon oil, the pasta is smooth and savory. Gnocchi, the dough of which took Park 300 trials to perfect, is crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. To give this a fancy spin, add truffle-infused egg yolks. Carefully pop the yolk, mix it well with the rest, and eat. The rich flavor of gnocchi will be doubled. Another recommended item on the menu is butter-roasted octopus with carrot puree. It takes three steps to cook the octopus — blanching, frying, and roasting with butter. Using only carrots and onions, the puree packs a punch. Park believes that a sauce can either save the dish or kill it. His carrot puree is surprisingly tasty, even from a carrot hater’s point of view.

“People these days are very sensitive to trends and have a feeler out to see how a restaurant is managed and how its food is made. So I thought if I just tried really hard with sincerity, it would work.” Opened in late May, Kuna is fully booked for two weeks ahead. Without any PR, it was all word of mouth. If you want to visit Kuna for Italian homemade meal, make sure you book a table.
Address 9-16 Yeonmujang 5-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul
Phone +82-10-8008-1028
Instagram www.instagram.com/chefkuna

‘Kiwiana Cafe & Bakery,’ run by the Kiwi husband and his Korean wife, presents meat pies using his mother’s recipes. In order to perfectly re-create the homemade pie taste, the couple relies on ingredients imported from New Zealand, including seasoning powder, butter, and cream. As butter is used for pastry, they remove fat from meat as much as possible and follow the mother’s recipe to get rid of meat smell as well. The couple’s meat pie is a reminder of motherly love.

There are two chicken pies and four beef pies at Kiwiana Cafe & Bakery. The bestseller is the pie with beef and cheese filling. Fruity drinks such as lemonade, grapefruit ade, and plum ade are a good match. Lee recommends the combination of beef-and-cheese meat pie and caffe latte. “The meat pie is better with a drink. Caffe latte surprisingly blends well with the meat pie. We picked coffee beans with our pies in mind. Coffee with stronger acidity seems to match well with meat pies.”

Kiwiana Cafe & Bakery is now considered a hangout for those who miss the meat pies from New Zealand, like how the owner couple hoped. Lee thinks she has met all New Zealanders in Seoul since opening the cafe in 2019. More than half of their customers are foreigners, and they all say the meat pies at Kiwiana brings back memories from their homeland. There are of course those who claim they are regulars. Why don’t you get a table at Kiwiana for a warm meat pie and a refreshing lemonade? The heaviness from the beef and cheese filling will keep you full for a while.
Address 11 Apgujeong-ro 32-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Phone +82-2-515-0439
Instagram www.instagram.com/kiwiana_cafe_bakery

You may feel like you’re in a small pub in a French rural town, as you walk into La Planque. The space has rustic, cherished vintage items brought from France by the chef in order to create a French local atmosphere. Quite a few of them including the chest, bookcase, and ladle were actually used by his grandmother. She is the one person who inspired him the most to be a cook. He naturally learned about the right attitude of a cook and secret recipes while helping her make food during family gatherings.
The bistro’s signature menu is boeuf(beef) bourguignon. It is one of the classic French dishes enjoyed at Sunday family dinner. It is known to have originated from the farmers’ meal in Bourgogne region famous for wine and beef. Boeuf bourguignon is a beef stew braised in red wine, along with potatoes, onions, carrots, and button mushrooms. It is quite similar to a Korean health food. Potato gratin is also popular, especially for its affordable price. The oven-baked dish uses potatoes and cream as a base and often gets paired with stew or meat dish. Traditional gratin recipes do not use cheese, but for Koreans who like cheese, the chef adds it on top before putting in the oven. “Boeuf bourguignon is good with red wine, and potato gratin with white wine.”

The owner-chef of La Planque has many fond memories of his grandmother and her heartfelt cooking, and he wants to relay the same kind of inspiration to his customers. “While having a meal at La Planque, I would like them to feel the warmth of food made by their grandmothers.” La Planque opens business at 5pm. It would be a pleasant experience to visit the French bistro with a loved one and share the chef’s hearty, home-style food before ending the day.
Address 26 Itaewon-ro 26-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Phone +82-70-7719-3010
Facebook www.facebook.com/LaPlanqueSeoul