사계절 팟타이 (4Seasons Padthai) — Restaurant in Jeju

A small Thai restaurant in the village. I was told beforehand that the food would be adjusted to local tastes. The first dish I tried was the green curry, and on the first bite it really felt like Bangkok, very creamy and flavorful. The original name is gaeng kiao wan, which actually means “sweet green curry,” and here the sweetness was missing. Inside were a few pieces of chicken and some unusual vegetables like pumpkin and mushroom, but they worked surprisingly well and showed that the chef knows what he is doing. Compared to many European Thai curries overloaded with bell pepper, carrot, and onion, this combination was much better. It was a good curry, but not authentic because of the missing sweetness and the use of Korean rice.

The pad thai was a different story and did not remind me of the original dish at all. Local ingredients were used, which is fine, but the real issue was that the sweet-sour balance from tamarind paste and sugar was missing. Some parts were nicely done, like individually fried shrimp and tofu, but overall the dish was very oily, which is unusual for pad Thai and made it less enjoyable.

I also tried the tom yum goong, which was quite good, though the sourness was not balanced by sweetness, so it felt a bit one-sided.

The restaurant only has one big table, which naturally leads to social interaction. I enjoyed that and we had a great chat with some locals. So if you are looking for Thai food and do not mind a Korean interpretation that leaves out the sweetness, this is...

Another sajangnim, who looks like chef Edward Lee, that runs the store on his own - washing, cooking and serving. His food had plenty of attention to detail, using the small shrimp that Thailand cuisine uses (Hae bi-small shrimp) in the Pad thai.

The prawns displayed his craft by a unique seasoning not really similiar to Thailand style food, which normally lightly seasons it with oil,lime and spices. They were delicious.

Overall, a really good chef who has attention to detail. Korean garlic is really spicy, I cried from eating half a clove of the garlic offered as the side. Insane. The takeaway was a tad bit slow, he served the in-house...

Don't get fooled by the dry cleaner sign. Take the narrow path between the two buildings to find the entry. Seats about 8 -10 people and it is a commuty style dining with one large table. Cozy and cute atmosphere with Thai music in the background.

I would say the green curry and pat thai were one of the best 👌. Curry had lots of fresh veggies, and the pat thai had a hint of sweetness and the noodle was cooked to perfection. The egg dish...