Annyeonghaseyo!
It's my first time to visit South Korea and I didn't really know what to expect when it comes to food. My friend and I relied on our tummies and some IG / TikTok recos! Hahaha
We just ate bread bought from CU at the airport after getting our bags. It was way past midnight and even if there were some restos open, our tummies were not up to the challenge.
Our first day began in Seoul Station, not sure what my friend ate but I had Cream Pasta with Pollack Roe at Tokkjung Project somewhere outside Seoul Station. Did I mention it was raining? Making a decision where to eat and where to go on a rainy day was definitely a mood damper! I wanted to eat beef but the food hall inside the station was full. Luckily, I saw this pasta place somewhere in-between the escalator coming from the subway to the station and I love mentaiko. The pasta was good but the serving portion was huge! They don't allow take-aways boo-hoo. But given the opportunity, I'd like to eat at Tokkjung Project again and try the other dishes on the menu.
It was still raining when I left the resto and I don't really want to get wet so decided to just go back to the hotel and sleep. Yes, sleep. But I got sidetracked with the Pig Bread (custard and choco-orange) at Quiche Mignon located at Cityhall Station near our hotel. It's basically a waffle pig with filling. I was planning to bring some piggies home but I totally forgot all about that till now. Oh my!
Traveling is not complete without buying from the convenience store or pyeoneuijeom. I got myself some KPop Demon Hunter Prawn Snacks (think Oishi) and Orange Juice. It was still raining when I met my friend at the hotel so we just decided to eat at the noodle shop a few steps away. Both of us ordered Fish Cakes Noodles and it came with two banchan- kimchi and pickled radish. The piping hot noodles was perfect for cold rainy nights.
The following day, we wanted to have breakfast at Cafe Onion Anguk which was near (if you love walking) Changdeokgung Palace. We did left the hotel early and even took Uber to Onion but there was a line going in already. My friend bailed out but since I was there already, I said I will just buy coffee and bread for take-away. But TKG got lucky and was escorted inside after buying food. I got Pizza Bread and this delicious-looking cream pastry with fresh pomegranate which I paired with Iced Vanilla Bean Latte.
After Cafe Onion, my friend and I went to Dongmyo Flea Market to burn the calories. She mentioned eating street food somewhere near the palace. And it was at Dongmyo Market that we discovered, or as my friend exclaimed- 'Follow your nose!' Which we did, and saw this fried chicken resto. And it was funny because when she used her phone to translate the menu, it says- 1 animal, 2 animal, 3 animal! Hahaha. The 'animals' refer to the whole chicken. And it was super good and flavorful fried chicken. We were still full from breakfast but we can't resist the intoxicating fried chicken. Then we also ordered fried gizzards which tasted so-so. Btw, the fried chicken came with spiced salt which was good also.
Then it was early dinner at Wangbijib in Myeongdong where we met another friend and her daughter. This resto is popular for its grilled meat or DIY grill. We chose the former! Haha. For dessert, we went to Hello Kitty Apple Cafe. Actually, we just happen to see the Hello Kitty building so it's meant to be.
Our third day was extra special because my friend was celebrating her birthday. We're to meet at this popular hanbok rental place near Gyeongbokgung Palace and have birthday photoshoot at the palace then go somewhere for lunch. By lunchtime, we were all famished from exploring the palace and saw this tiny resto manned by an Ahjumma who does both cooking and serving. Okay, let's have another round of local meal. We just ordered two beef bulgogi which came with tons of ban chan including tofu stew, and extra mandu and pajeon. Our bill was around W75,000! Hahaha please convert to that to PH peso. And it was fun to have lunch while still wearing hanboks. We did skip dessert because 'full' doesn't justify how 'full' we all were from all that food.
Went our separate ways to shop or whatever. In my case, since I promised the hubby to take photos of King Sejong (ask him why), I just took a nice stroll from Gyeongbukgung Palace to Gwanghwamun Square. I discovered that there were a lot of benches and chairs at the square and there were a lot of people resting in the area, some with books and some with coffee. Bought a bottle of cold orange juice from the nearby 7-11 and found myself a nice bench. And it was memorable because there's this Ahjussi with his bicycle full of bags. Then I saw him get a bag filled with grapes and got a handful and gave to an old lady across from where I was sitting. Then he borrowed a chair which we brought near his bicycle. Then he gave another handful of to the lady sitting beside me and another handful to me! Wow! Kamsamahnida!
I still bread and some chips at the hotel so I ate that for snacks then back to Myeongdong to meet my friend at Yoogane Chicken Galbi. I got lost a bit since there's 3 Yoogane restos in Myeongdong but was able to arrive at the right one eventually. We had this chicken and cheese galbi with tons of cabbage. The best part of the meal though was the steamed egg custard. Yum! Shopped some pasalubongs at Lucky Store in Myeongdong afterwards.
Day 4 was supposed to be a market tour but I didn't want to wake up early so it's a separate exploring again. I did went back to Myeongdong (for the nth time!) to buy salt bread. I bought an extra for breakfast. Btw, salt bread is similar to a brioche in texture but looks like a croissant in form. It has some nice salt crystals on top of the bread, best eaten warm. I bought another bottle of orange juice to pair with the salt bread and had my breakfast at the lovely ground of Myeongdong Cathedral. A bit funny because when I asked the baker to direct me to a nice coffee shop, he recommended Blue Bottle! Haha. Then I did a bit of more exploring till I reached Namdaemun Market and Sungnyemun Gate. Then it was back to the hotel to pack because our flight back home was on the following night. Late lunch was at the popular Coex Starfield where we had a nice pizza and pasta meal at Nipong Naepong. Back to exploring the shops after pizza then late dinner at Kyochon near Seoul City Hall.
On our last day, there was a demonstration near Seoul City Hall and it was also a Sunday and most of the restos are closed! Had a seafood rice meal with ban chan at the noodle place near the hotel and bought sausage bread from Dunkin.
To sum it up, Korean food (except the fried chicken and Kyochon) were not really exciting for me and my friend. But I'd still like to visit Korea but not for the food.
PS. Will post travel tips on Travel Smart with Viva Manilena. Stay tuned!