Costco food court has some fun options. Bulgogi pizza was basically the same but with tasty meat. The tteokboki is spicy and the dduk is chewy. My daughter loved the matcha ice cream. Churro was a dud - cold and limp.
The strawberries at Shinsegae department store were amazing. Sweet bigger version of Harry’s with very little acidity. About $19 for 15 berries. Significantly better than the same high end berries we tried in Tokyo for much less.
Wangbijib in Myeongdong is a hugely popular joint. They serve Hanwoo beef. The portions are small but the quality of the meat is top notch. Insanely hot charcoal. Surface of the sun absolutely blistering the meat. Very fast sear Malliard reaction. Nice variety of ban chan. There are 2 locations within 2 blocks. Both are packed with locals and tourists. Not cheap by Korean standards but probably 50% of what we would pay in US for the same quality and quantity of meat.
Was gonna go to the famous Netflix kalguksu place but it was raining and we were exhausted. Next door to our hotel is Jojo Kalguksu. They have 3 items on the menu and almost everybody is Korean. We ordered 3 kalguksu and a seafood paejun. They served all 3 of the kalguksu is one huge bowl. Loved it. Perfect cold weather food. Choke full of clams. All the kimchi in Korea is super spicy.
If you wake up early and go to Anguk you can hit up the bakery trifecta. All 3 are within 5-7 walk of each other and they open up at 7/7:30am.
Cafe Onion is in an old hanok building. Very cute spot. Got the garlic cheese baguette. A little on the sweet side but nice crunchy glaze with garlic chips. Strawberry croissant with cream was delicious. Had a lovely vanilla bean latte.
London Bagel Museum actually makes a great bagel. It’s more in the vein of soft Korean bread and not NY style. We got the everything bagel with lox caper cream cheese and jalapeño sausage bagel. First bakery I’ve ever been to with a bouncer. The truffle mushroom soup smelled and looked delicious but we were bringing everything back to the hotel.
Artist Bakery had the longest line made up primarily of Japanese tourists. Famous for their 15-20 types of salt bread. The potato salt bread was too dense for our liking. The pretzel and soft salt bread were fantastic. Crunchy on the bottom soft chewy inside with a load of butter and salt. Best salt bread I’ve had. This was the 2nd bakery I’ve ever been to with a bouncer.
Hyodo chicken. Wanted to try something other than all the chains BHC Goobne BBQ. Chicken was expertly fried. Crunchy and not greasy at all. Such a stark difference in the size of the bird vs GMO US chickens. Excellent shoe string fries and crunchy nori.
Gwangjang market. The famous Netflix sujebi place is just ok. Would recommend JoJo instead. My son absolutely loved the raw baby squid that moved around and gets stuck to your tongue.
Go to a baseball game if you have time. It’s a blast. The food is cheap and tons of variety. Tall boy Cass and other beers are $3. There are DJs and cheerleaders going hard all game long.
Korean drink a lot of coffee. There are so many chains like Starbucks and Coffee Bean, big Korean chains like Mega Coffee. Everybody drinks ice Americanos. My favorite spots were Cafe Onion Anguk vanilla bean latte, onion at Gwangjang Market ice pour over and LeafCups flat white. LeafCups is in the subway station and has single origin pour overs from Africa and South America. Problem is they have a crush of orders from people going to work at Samsung. I tried to order a pour over but they asked me to come back later. Ten Percent in Gangnam was also a good spot. They are a mini chain.
At 12:30 near the US Embassy. 4 coffee shops next to each other all with a line of people getting iced Americano during lunch.
I guess they print your name on the menu if you make a reservation on Catch Table at Wolwha Sikdang. Very popular joint we had dinner at before going to a drone show by the river. Pork is the name of the game here. Use that plastic bag on the seat to put your jackets and bags so they don’t get smelly.
Sandlehae Banpo is traditional Korean cuisine. Prices at 23k won per person they transport the entire meal on a moveable board via a cart then slide the board onto your table which is custom built. It’s the most efficient process of all time. We added on the spicy pork belly which was delicious. Most everything on the table ranged from good to great. I’m pretty sure we were the only non Koreans. If you enjoy ban chan this is your spot. Best rice we had on the trip.
Nice strawberry cream cake and drinks at Cheongsudang Bakery. Lot of people coming here for IG pics but the food and drinks were good but on the expensive side for Seoul.
Majang Meat market was one of the best meals in Seoul. Found this place from Austin on IG (can’t find his handle but American who lives in Korea). Some of the best quality meat we’ve ever had. Hanwoo is beefy tender delicious but well balanced. Not as fatty and rich as Wagyu. Tongue and pork belly were outstanding as well. You’ll get a lot for your money here.
Ranju Kaylmeon is an interesting blend of normal Chinese Korean restaurant with Sichuan spices. Right across the street from Shinsaegae mall and at the entrance of the Myeongdong night market it’s always bust. Lines every day. Some of the best chewiest hand made noodles we’ve ever had on any continent. They are not playing around with the heat. The jjampong and pork with chive noodles were numbing nose running level spicy. Even the sweet and sour pork had a ton of chilis. Unique fry that was crispy on the outside but had a mochi like chew. Delicious.
