Korean Food / Vegeterian Buffet!

I was biking around about a year and a half ago and I came upon this place:

"Wellbeing Vegetarian - Korean Food Buffet."

"Over 70 kinds of food.  The Best wellbeing food.  The healthiest food.  Chemical-free vegetables!"

Vegetarian buffet?  Chemical free*?  A dream come true!  And the cost...a paltry 5k or so, if I recall correctly.

Mixed grain rice, barley rice, and plain rice.

Care to make some bibimbap?

Steamed greens and other sides

Stir-fried and other sides.  Particularly awesome: garlic stems there on the bottom row, second from the right. 

Acorn jelly, tofu, etc

To my slight dismay, yeah, there was also a meat section.  

Dessert drinks: shikye and plum juice

And there's a lot more that I didn't get to take pictures of.  Or rather, I tried to take pictures, but it's kind of hard to do at a buffet. Thanks for your understanding. 

This buffet is located at  대구광역시 수성구 2ㅜㅇ동 322-14, about a 15-20 minute walk south from exit 2 or 3 of the Daegu Bank subway station.  Look for it on the Green Guide.  

*I didn't see any organic certifications around, so I'm not sure how true this claim is...

Porin Shabu Shabu

Let's be honest: despite all the wonderful vegetables present in Korean cuisine, the salad bars here generally leave more than a little to be desired. Either they're ridiculously expensive (lookin' at you, VIPS and NOVOTEL), or they're filled with pretzels, taste-free iceberg lettuce, and out-of-season produce that doesn't even deserve the name (take that, Pizza Hut.) Is there nowhere we can go to find heaps and heaps fresh, local vegetable abundance?

Despair not! Behold, Porin Shabu Shabu in Chilgok.

Ok, so it's not exactly a salad bar. No raisins, shredded cheese, croutons, or thousand-island dressing here. Rather, it's a Shabu Shabu (AKA Chinese hot-pot) buffet. An analogy for the uninitiated: cooked directly in front of you in fine Korean DIY fashion, Shabu Shabu is to Chicken-noodle soup as Samgyeopsal is to microwavable bacon. The poster below explains how it's done:

Step 1) Heat up the broths; one spicy, one mild.

Step 2) Head to the bar and pick up a few plates of veggies and friends. Choose from about ten different kinds of leafy greens, chives, green onions, sliced potato and sweet pumpkin, tofu, bean sprouts, tiny ddeok dumplings, a few varieties of mushrooms, and more.*

If all the choices leave you at a loss, and if you've got a translator, read the explanations of each vegetable and its nutritional benefits. This "jeok-gyeo-ja" is apparently full of vitamins A and C and is reputedly good for your eyes, ears, and "stability of heart.":

Bring the treasure back to your seat, dunk, and enjoy. Dip in either Thai-style hot chili sauce or soy sauce with wasabi.

Step 3) **OPTIONAL** Add either seafood, imported beef, or Korean Han-u.

Step 4) Enjoy a clump or two of nice, thick noodles.

The sign doesn't mention Step 5: Go back for seconds.

If you were a rabbit in your past life, if you're into vegetables piled high, or if you're even the slightest bit tired of standard doenjang and gochujang-based banchan, Porin will be a welcome change of pace. Graze on more kinds of greens than you knew existed, then fill up on delicious pumpkins and thick, chewy noodles. Choose either plum or cinnamon tea for desert, and then enjoy a cartoony game of kawi-bawi-bo with the owner. Win and you get a coupon for your next trip^^

The details:
Name: Porin Shabu Shabu
Location: Chilgok, within about 5 minutes walking distance of HomePlus.
Veg*an-friendly?: The broths are made with some amount of animal products; customers are expected to order meat or seafood with the meal, and the staff are confused if you refuse, but eventually they'll concede.
Price: dinners from W9,000, weekday lunches from W6,500.
Address: 대구 광역시 북구 동천동 904-4번지
Contact: 323-6661

UPDATE: There's a second location (which was actually the first location) at 대구광역시 수성구 수성3가 5번지, on the green line right between Daegu Bank Station and Beomeo Station.

*Up until a few months ago, Porin's Shabu bar contained a good deal of organic produce. Nowadays, due to increased prices, they've had to return to standard stuff. Keep supporting them and maybe they'll be able to switch back!

Ippl

Welcome to Ippl! If you like 1) knowing who grows your food and where they live; 2) splurging on organic veggies; and, 3) placemats detailing the proprietor's food philosophy, then this is the place for you.

Located in Suseong-gu, across from Trump World and between Hwang-geum Negeori and Dusan Ogeori, Ippl offers a variety of wonderful, healthy, and delicious services.

First and foremost, the organic buffet, with 25 or more dishes ranging from soups, pancakes, mains, sides, fresh fruits and veggies, and cold drinks:

Second, the marketplace, selling (mostly) healthy, (mostly) organic, and (mostly) local grains, fruits, veggies, sauces, and snacks.

And, third, the 반찬 bar, where you can buy pre-made side dishes to take home and enjoy. Candied black beans, lotus roots, different styles of Kimchi, roasted garlic, and more!

Themes of health and responsibility link all three operations. On the wall, you can see a list of all the ingredients used in the cooking, along with the name and location of the farmer that provided them.

And on your placemat, you can read Ippl's mission statements:

One: Food soon becomes a person's body and soul. If you treat it thoughtlessly, how can you properly care for yourself and for your neighbors?

Two: We must develop a sense of taste that likes healthy food. We must develop a tongue that dislikes and refuses food which is bad for us.

Three: Bread, snacks, yogurt, and other unnamed food additives and hidden sugars reduce our physical and mental capacities.

Four: Through overprotection of milk, eggs, and meat, the development of harmful bacteria is accelerated; consumption of meat in which harmful chemicals have accumulated may bring about allergies and a weak constitution.

Five: Soybean oil, margarine, and other artificial fats and hormonal additives confuse our bodies.

Six: Our bodies waste precious energy trying to flush out artificial flavors and additives, making us more likely to fall ill.

Seven: It's important to know and feel the meaning of directly growing the lifeforms we call "crops." Good food is made over a long time, through the devotion of many people, with a heart that acknowledges its debt to nature.

Eight: Healthy produce can not come forth from polluted land, air, and seas. Good ingredients and proper food bring nature, consumers, and producers together in a relationship of respect.

Nine: Food soon becomes our character. The world changes and history is shaped according to what and how we eat.

Three cheers for responsible restaurateurs!

In Brief:
Restaurant: 이플 유기농 뜨락 / Ippl Organic Garden
Location: Suseong-gu, Between Hwang-geum and Dusan Intersections, across from Trump World
Type of Restaurant: Organic, responsibly sourced buffet
Meat?: Almost all the dishes are vegan-friendly. Some egg dishes from free-range chickens and very few have meat.
Price: W15,000 for lunch, 20,000 for dinner. All you can eat.
Hours: Buffet open for lunch from 12-3 and for dinner from 6-9. The market and side-dish shop are open daily, 10 to 10. No dinner on the final Monday of the month.
English: No need, it's a buffet! As of September, one of the employees speaks decent English.
Official website: http://www.ippl.co.kr/