Thanksgiving Meal at O'ngo

American holidays seem to come and go without much notice here in Korea. For example, the Fourth of July just swept on by, along with Memorial day. But, Thanksgiving seems to have a special place here in the land of kimchi and dumplings. You can choose to either order all the fixings yourself and have a party locally or choose from restaurants and hotels serving up the infamous meal.

The last time I went for a Thanksgiving dinner, here in Korea, was with my ex at a fancy restaurant in Hannam (near Itaewon). It was good and I enjoyed sharing that experience with him. Last year I lived down in Suji (South of Seoul) and didn't really feel like trekking far to get a turkey dinner. So a friend and I went to a fancy-pants Indian restaurant in Bundang.

This year I think the "must-eat-turkey" bug caught me as I decided to go to O'ngo's celebration. Usually this place is used for learning how to cook delicious Korean meals. But on this occasion they managed to get a hold of some yummy turkey and accompany it with stuffing, mashed potatoes, salad and veggies.


Compared to other venues I found this one more casual and it had that home-like feel to it. It didn't take the event so seriously and people came with friends to share in the experience. Things were set up buffet style, and no one was there to stop you from getting 2nd's or 3rd's.


Plus the food provided wasn't some fusion concoction or a transformed version of the real thing. Instead, everything was authentic and true. The only minus I would say is that there was a lack of other dishes like a sweet potato one or a green bean casserole. But when you are far from your mom's kitchen, you take what you can get.



Dessert included a foray of three different pies; pumpkin, cherry and chocolate cream. Below is the pumpkin.
Immediately the question was, "Where is the whipped cream?" And the answer was, "Haha, whipped cream." I think it wouldn't have been too difficult to provide it since I have seen both white and chocolate versions at my local Lotte Mart. This adds to my point that things were a bit too minimal. However, in the end all of it was very delicious, served in a nice friendly environment and at a good cost (35,000 Won).

Maybe they will do something similar for Christmas, otherwise I would look forward to this event next year.