Back to Korea 2018: Seoul food so good

I always recommend first timers to stay less than 5 days in Seoul, and try to go to a nearby county or go ski instead. There is really nothing much here if u don't shop a lot.

However, u can visit cafes after cafes, and eat lots of seafood and BBQ at a much cheaper price than Singapore!

These are the noteworthy food places I visited during my 3 days in Seoul.

Bistopping

LINE Friends Store and Cafe

Mr Holmes Bakehouse

Jogaepoksik 조개폭식

Coffee Namu 커피나무
Myeongdong Kyoja 명동교자 

Bonjuk 본죽
Kimchi soup (various shops around SNU)

Tongkeun Galbi 통큰갈비

Bistopping

I first saw this on Instagram and made it a point to visit this ice cream cafe. Coincidentally, I stayed near this area and this was within walking distance. The cafe was definitely far from touristy areas and quite inconvenient as u had to walk a distance to it. Price was also high (paid close to SGD 10 for my cone of ice cream), but hey, its instagrammable, and that's all that matters right?

68 Sinbanpo-ro 47-gil, Jamwon-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul

Nearest station: Sinsa Station exit 4

LINE Friends Store and Cafe

Because I must always visit a LINE store whenever I see one.
I saw one at Garosugil, and another one at Busan (last photo with Brown) later on. Well it's everywhere, even in Guangzhou, Bangkok and all. What we need now, is one in Singapore!

Mr Holmes Bakehouse Seoul

This is apparently a famous cafe. Weird that some of the famous cafes we tourists visit in Korea are actually non-Korean. This cafe stems from San Francisco and they are famous for their cruffins (croissant+muffin). But no doubt, I tried it and it is indeed very good! No harm trying it here and take a photo at the "I GOT BAKED IN SEOUL" neon light wall while u are at it. A lot of people apparently come here just to take photos at the wall. But hey, its instagrammable (yet again), and that's all that matters right?

34, Apgujeong-ro 10-gil Gangnam-gu Seoul

Nearest station: Sinsa Station exit 8

Jogaepoksik 조개폭식

Met an ex-colleague for dinner at this recommended place.

If u Google translate it, u get "Shellfish Binge". Which means, it is a buffet for SHELLFISH! Yep u heard that right. We couldn't really understand how the whole thing works with our limited grasp of the Korean language when we went. Menu was all in Korean by the way, and the servers don't seem to speak English too. 

At first we didn't even know that it is a buffet until we saw the word "리필" (refill) on the menu. When in doubt, just order the one with the "recommended" logo. In this case, we ordered the KRW 24,800 one because the KRW 26,800 one had ramyeon in the set. So whenever u want a refill, just let the server know which kind of shells u want. Remember to get the cheese bowl (they will probably get that for u though) to cook the shellfish in. When u are done eating, just throw all the shells into the pail provided. As u can see, we ate a pail of shells. Not very healthy I know, but it was soooo goooood.

They have various outlets over Korea. But the most convenient one would be the new outlet at Gangnam. KRW 24,800 per person is really a steal considering that u can have unlimited amount of shellfish. I highly recommend this place!

28-14 Teheran-ro 1-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

Nearest station: Gangnam Station exit 11

Coffee Namu 커피나무

Had a very fulfilling dinner at Jogaepoksik (above) and we decided to look for some cafes selling desserts. Came across this nice looking place and went in. The cake we ordered was actually real good! Too bad I didn't have enough stomach space for more desserts, but I highly recommend this place if u are looking for cakes and coffee.

It is apparently a chain in Korea, so there are various outlets all around.

Myeongdong Kyoja 명동교자 

This is a really famous restaurant in Myeongdong. Well, I tried it and felt that it is comfort food for the winter. Other than that... it's not bad, but not a must-have considering that there are so many other good restaurants in Seoul.

29, Myeongdong 10-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
Nearest station: Myeongdong Station exit 8

Bonjuk 본죽

I had porridge from this restaurant chain numerous times when I was doing my exchange in year 2011. Had them at the PNU Shopping street and Myeongdong, and it was the best thing ever. This time however, we didn't have much time and ended up at a small franchise shop in an ulu part of Seoul.

What I want to say it, avoid the small Bonjuk stalls, cos the one I had wasn't good.. Whatever happened, Bonjuk?

Kimchi Soup (various shops near SNU)

I didn't take note of the name of the restaurant I went to, but there are really many shops selling kimchi soup and BBQ along the stretch outside Naksungdae Station. Seoul National University students are just so lucky!

Just go past the petrol station after exit 4 and u will see the whole street of eateries with many banners stating how famous they are etc. Just randomly choose one that looks as local as possible, and the food would be good. Seriously, I have yet to find any kimchi soup in Singapore that is as good as those I had in Korea. uhhuh.

Nearest station: Naksungdae Station exit 4

Tongkeun Galbi 통큰갈비

This BBQ restaurant was recommended by my friend.

At KRW 11,000 per person, u get to enjoy unlimited meat for the BBQ!
I can attest that the meat is really juicy and succulent. Totally marinated with the right amount of sauce. Seriously, where else can u find such a good deal? Just be sure to go early and queue. It is super worth it. Highly recommended!

72-10, Changcheon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul
Nearest station: Sinchon Station exit 1

And so, that's all for my Back to Korea 2018 series. Till then.

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