I came across a facebook post on this place and that one picture attracted me to turn on my detective mode and I searched all over the internet about this new place in town (probably more or less a month or two months old) called Manimal Smokehouse located at the joint of Itaewon and Noksapyeong. and.. I probably salivated all over my keyboard that night. I’m salivating even right now writing about it.

저번에 페복으로 매니멀스모크하우스 발견했는데 그 때부터 정말 오고싶었다. 이태원과 녹사평사이에 있음. 인터넷으로 사진만 봐도 침물리게 @_@. 그래서 시간 날 때 매니멀으로 출발!!!

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after 2 weeks, I finally made my visit to Manimal! I loved how they had Simpson looking down like that.

매니멀의 유모 ㅋㅋㅋ.

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they grill their meat in a wood smoker with yeah, tonnes of wood! everyone knows that the electric grill kind of spoils the taste of meat right?

여긴 우드로 고기를 그릴하는 것이다! 전자그릴과 맛이 완전 다름.

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there was a lot of.. well foreigners there. it was like I stepped into America the moment I stepped into Manimal. oh the entrance was fairly difficult to find pfft because the steep stairs up to it was behind the building. not a good entrance but we had to wait to be seated! well, when there’s good food, there’s people!

여기 도착하자마자 외국에 간 느낌? 거의 외국사람 밖에 없고 가게도 크지 않기 땜에 15분 정도 기다렸음.

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(picture by afatgirlsfoodguide.com) so I forgot to take a picture of the menu. but thank goodness somebody else uploaded it online. there was only 2 of us and they were out of their signature Pork Spare Rib, leaving us to choose between chicken, brisket and pulled pork. I had a very hard time deciding even though there was only 3 choices pfft. I mean.. I looked through the net and..

메뉴는 딱 봐도 외국인에게 준비한거고 한국말을 설명에 나옴. 메뉴의 정류가 많지 않지만 고르기 완전 어려웠다. 7시 쯤에 도착했지만 등갈비가 벌써 다 팔렸대요.. ㅠ.
인테넷으로 보면….

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these were what I saw. some people commented that the chicken was amazing and some people commented that the brisket was the best so.. chicken and brisket it was! I love beef too so I thought I’d prefer it over pulled pork until.. the table beside us got pulled pork and I was salivating all over it. I NEED to go there again.

이런 매력적인 사진만 나와서 뭘 시킨지 오랫동안 고민했음. 근데 전 돼지고기가 보통 딱딱해서 쇠고기나 치킨을 더 선호해서 이번엔 쇠 brisket과 치킨을 시켰다. 근데 옆 테이블의 pulled pork 보니까.. 여기 꼭 와서 그거 먹어봐야 겠다!

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the waiter told us that the chiptole lime potato salad is a MUST TRY. since I love everything from lime to potato salad I thought why not. and…… it IS the best salad I’ve ever had. it wasn’t heavy and the spicy sauce together with it just made it such a perfect blend. I was IN LOVE with this salad. the only complain is that.. there wasn’t enough.

박재범 닮은 남직원이 chiptole lime potato salad이 필수라고 해서 시켰는데.. 제 평생에서 먹었던 젤 맛있는 샐러드임 ㅠ. 제 적성과 딱 맞는 맛이었다. 매콤하면서 씨큼한 것이였음. 외에 올린 작은 동그랗게 생긴 것이 뭔지 모르지만 입에 터지는 느낌이 좋았구 덕분에 샐러드가 가벼워진 느낌이 들었다.

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and it’s here!!!

드디어!

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my plate wasn’t very flattering with the two buns there but..

빵을 이렇게 올려서 별로 안 이쁘다.

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okay now it looks better. we had the banchan set but I wasn’t quite impressed with it compared to the meat and the potato salad. the banchan set consisted of pickles, corn and bread. for 3,800won I’m not sure if it’s that worth it. I’d get two of those salad the next time I go there haha. but their bread that comes with the salad was super dope though. it was really delicious but because I went with my friend who lived in France, he thought it was good but not great. I seriously don’t know how those buns can taste any better.

이래야죠. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ. 완전 맛있어 보이지 않아요? 우리 반찬 세트도 시켰는데. 빵, 콘과 피컬였다. 빵은 정말 맛있었지만 딴 것은 평범했다. 아마 제가 콘과 피컬 별로 좋아하지 않아서 그런지.. 3천8백원은 차라리 chiptole salad 시키는것이 좋은 것 같다. 그래도 그 빵은 정말 맛있게 먹었고 완전 강추! 그래도 프랑스에서 살았던 저와 같이 갔던 친구는 프랑스에서 더 맛있는 빵 있다고요 ㅎㅎ. 그래도 전 여기의 빵도 이미 대만족.

고기는 brisket 더 맛있다고 생각하지만 치킨도 굉장히 맛있었다. 거의 고를 수 없는 정도로. brisket은 15시간까지 요리한것이라 정말 부드러웠다. dipping sauce 없이 그냥 먹어도 맛있고 같이 먹어도 맛있었다. 암튼 고기를 좋아하는 모두 사람은 매니멀 스모크하우스 꼭 한번 가봐야겠어요~! 1인당 만5천원에서 2만원 쯤였지만 1인분 200그램과 여기 우드로 요리하니까 상당히 적절한 가격이라고 생각함.

VERDICT? I absolutely loved the place. although it is slightly pricey (for me T_T), I felt it was really worth it because the brisket meat and chicken were fabulous. I personally preferred the beef brisket because of the perfect combination of the lean and fat meat (plus they claimed to have smoked it for up to 15 HOURS!) while my friend really liked the chicken. it’s a really tough choice. I hope they had a platter with a little bit of everything for girls. it didn’t look like it was a lot but it was in fact A LOT. I was so filled I couldn’t have anything else after it. wanted to try their mocktails but most of it was sold out T_T. some people had mac and cheese but I was glad I didn’t order it because my stomach will not be able to fit all that food. I recommend going with more people so you can try more and also I think the portion is great for guys. for around 15-20 dollars per person, I’d say it’s super worth it.

here’s the map:

지도 크게 보기
the left station is Noksapyeong. right is Itaewon. basically Itaewon 1’st exit and straight……. turn right into the alley on the 5th turn and straighttttt. Noksapyeong station might be a little tricky so I recommend going from Itaewon, it ain’t that far really! ©  NAVER Corp.

 

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although I was super filled, there’s always space for dessert. an American Korean friend once introduced me to Lady M (opposite Hamilton Hotel of Itaewon) and everytime I was there, they’re closed. this time, they had 3 types of cakes left so I gave it a try and it was………… oh my… you just HAVE to try it for yourself. it wasn’t cheap though. 7,000won to 8,000won per piece. but for cakes this good? GO FOR IT!

저번에 재미교포 친구 추천해서 가보고싶었던 레이디엠입니다~ 여기의 케이크도 강추! 해밀톤 바로 건너편이라 찾기 쉬워요~ 다만 여기의 케이크는 빨리 팔릴 수도 있어서 일찍 가는거 좋아요~

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Miss Lau
Miss Lau
8 years ago

Wow it look delicious. I saw your honey chip review on Youtube. You should become Youtube star. I hope you will do more videos reviews on foods in Korea.

Sherina
Sherina
8 years ago

Hi Jamie”

Can yr portion be shared? Will they allow ?