Food to Eat When you are in Korea!

Hey, ya'll! As you probably know, I have recently returned from my 2 weeks trip in Seoul Korea and am bursting to share with you all the amazing food I have had there. After much consideration, I think to make a 'Korea Must Try Food Check List' would be the best way to make sure you guys got all the good food covered.

I've also made a summarized PDF version of this list for you to print out and bring along your travel :)

Jajangmyeon 자장면

Description: Korean Chinese Noodles topped with thick sauce (black bean paste). Usually contains diced pork and sliced vegetables.

Type: Single (No Minimum Order)

Good as: Lunch, Dinner

Price Range: $5- $7

Store recommendation:

My personal opinion & rating: Although delicious, this is one of my least favorite dishes as it lacks layers of flavor. And since Korea’s food portions are quite big, I’ll get sick of the repetitive taste and totally need some kimchi with it. 5/10

Kimbap (small kimbap, tuna kimbap, tonkatsu kimbap) 김밥

Description: A Korean dish made with rice and other ingredients like pickled radish, meat and vegetables wrapped in seaweed.

Type: Single/Grp (No Minimum Order)

Good as: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Supper

Price Range: $3 - $8

Popular Store recommendation: Hongdae street stores for small bite size kimbap, and regular Korean eateries or restaurant for regular-sized kimbap. I would especially recommend trying the TONKATSU KIMBAP from 밥세상, a small local eatery which operates 24/7. Unfortunately, it cannot be located on google map, but it is located near Exit 1 of Hongik Univ. Station, directly behind the estate building at 157 Yanghwa-ro with Dunkin Donuts at level 1.

My personal opinion & rating: L.O.V.E K.I.M.B.A.P ~ Kimbaps are affordable, delicious and convenient. It may not look like much but is very filling and perfect for any meal of the day. Such a must try item, especially when you are on a budget but want a full tummy! 10/10

Jjamppong 짬뽕

Description: A spicy Korean seafood noodle soup delicacy, usually coupled with chewy noodles, a large portion of squid, mussels, cabbages, zucchini, and pork.

Type: Single (No Minimum Order)

Good as: Lunch, Dinner

Price Range: $6-$8

Popular Store recommendation: 唐家园 (Tang Jia Yuan)

My personal opinion & rating: For sure a must try! I love the fresh and abundant amount of seafood (can be prawns, baby octopus, etc depending on the store) they put in the soup, making it worth your money. I personally find the spiciness level just right, and the hot soup makes it feels spicier (awesome). The broth smells x100 better than those cup noodles Jjamppong. Its strong seafood flavor is so intense and mouthwatering. It’s a pretty huge portion so I usually share this dish. 9/10

Rabokki 라볶이

Description:

Type: Single (No Minimum Order)

Good as: Breakfast, Lunch, Supper

Price Range: $5-$8

Popular Store recommendation: Rabokki is a simple dish and it generally taste the same, but the only difference would be the consistency of the sauce, whether is it thicker or more watery.

My personal opinion & rating: Super yummy and a dry spin-off from the classic wet ramyeon. The sweet and spicy flavor of the dish makes any Singaporean mouth water. The noodles and rice cakes are chewy yet slightly crispy as they were fried and the supple fishcakes pairs with it perfectly. It'll be even better if they could throw in more ingredients. (8/10)

Description:

Cold Noodles 냉면 (regular naengmyeon or bibim naengmyeon)

Description: A cold dish with hand-made noodles, usually made with flour, starch and buckwheat. The regular naengmyeon is served in icy cold “soup” which taste sourish and refreshing. As for Bibim naengmyeon it is usually served dry, topped with bibimbap ingredients, sauce and sesame oil.

Type: Single (No minimum Order)

Good as: Side dish/Appetizer for cleansing of palate between dishes

Price Range: $5-$7

Popular Store recommendation: For Bibim naengmyeon, Myeonghwadang would be the local eatery which I recommend at Myeongdong. It is really crowded during lunch hours as the store is rather small. Their Bibim naengmyeon is both sweet and spicy, and well seasoned with sesame oil which brings out the frangance of the cold dish.

My personal opinion & rating: Super refreshing dish and what you need on a hot summer day. However like the Jajangmyeon, this dish can become a little blend half way through eating it. Also a large portion and since I get sick of the taste quite easily, I usually would share this dish with friends. (7/10)

Kimchi Stew 김치찌개

Description: A stew made from large amount of kimchi as the soup base, giving a tangy flavor to the dish. It usually contains pork strips and served with a bowl of rice.

Type: Single/Grp (No Minimum Order)

Good as: Lunch or Dinner

Price Range: $6-$8

Popular Store recommendation: Generally, the kimchi stew from small eateries taste around the same, and the only difference would be consistency of the stew. Some restaurant have their stew thicker and others may have it more watery.

My personal opinion & rating: A flavorful and tasty dish. I always thought I don’t like Kimchi Stew because in Singapore, all you get in this stew will be KIMCHI, THE END. But the stew in Korea not only has a lot of meat in it, it is also so much more flavorful and authentic. It is so good that you will crave for it during the hot summer weather(10/10)

Bingsu 빙수 (Chocolate Brownie Bingsu, Patbingsu, Strawberry bingsu)

Description: A Korean shaved ice dessert made from milk and topped with a variety of sweet toppings such as chocolate, strawberry, red bean, ice cream, condensed milk and many more.

Type: Grp (No minimum Order)

Good as: Dessert,Supper

Price Range: $8-$14

Popular Store recommendation: Sulbing is widely located in Seoul, it can be found along Hongdae, Myeongdong, and many popular shopping spots.

My personal opinion & rating: Personally, I prefer the newer Bingsu with the milk drizzled all over. I am not a strawberry type of girl but the Korean seem to really like their Strawberry Bingsu (any fruits in fact). I tried the strawberry one for the sake of the hype but NOPE, the strawberry was wayyy to blend, not sweet at all, making the whole Bingsu tasteless. However I would definitely recommend the Chocolate Brownie Bingsu! If you have a sweet tooth like me, you will for sure enjoy this one. And tip: the milk is refillable at the counter so go knock your sweet tooth out! (9/10)

Bibimbap 비빔밥 (pre-cooked bibimbap)

Description: A rice dish topped with sauteed vegetables, sesame seeds and fried egg. Usually served with a bottle of homemade gochujang sauce where you can customise the amount of sauce to be added to the mix rice dish.

Type: Single/Grp (No minimum Order)

Good as: Breakfast

Price Range: $6-$8

Popular Store recommendation:

My personal opinion & rating: For me, this would be an item I will skip on the menu. Well technically it's just rice mixed with A LOT of vegetable, a bit of meat and tons of red sauce. Since this is a rice item, I also end up comparing this to Kimbap and of course Kimbap Wins. But since this is a Korean traditional dish, I would still recommend you to try it, but maybe share with friends just for the experience? It’s really nothing special to me. (5/10)

Fried Chicken & Beer 치맥

Description: A dish of battered and freshly cooked fried chicken which comes in a variety of flavour such as sweet and spicy, spicy, garlic soy, honey and many more.

Type: Single/Grp (No minimum Order)

Good as: Lunch, Dinner or Supper

Price Range: $19-$25

Popular Store recommendation: Kyochon 1991 would be the recommended store as they serve large portions of freshly made fried chicken at an affordable price. They offer different parts of chicken ranging from whole chicken, wings and drumettes to tenders.

My personal opinion & rating: Went to Kyochon to eat and 5 of us shared 2 plates of chicken. Bill split out to be about $9 per pax which is a lot cheaper than in Sg. The beer there is also so much more affordable and goes so refreshingly with the fried chicken. I personally really love the honey or spicy flavoured ones. I will recommend this as more of a dinner as it canbe pretty oily. Also wouldn't eat too much of this in a trip as you'll get sore throat really easily. (9/10)

Baked /Grilled Chicken

Description: A korean dish where the skin of the chicken are baked to crisp  while the inside remains tender and juicy. Baked chicken are usually more flavourful as the dish are drizzled with large amount of sauce.

Type: Single/Group (No minimum Order)

Good as: Lunch, Dinner or Supper

Price Range: $19-$26

Popular Store recommendation: Noona Holdak aka Oven-baked Chicken serves one of the best oven-baked chicken dish. The chicken are tender, fresh and flavourful, and it is also reasonably priced.

My personal opinion & rating: DELICIOUS! As the chicken is grilled, the entire chicken is well marinated with flour bursting in your mouth with every bite. I personally prefer baked/grilled chicken in comparison to the fried ones. Though the fried chicken is crispy and tender, it lacks the marinated flavouring which the baked ones offer. Its really personal preference, but do give this a shot, you will not regret it! (10/10)

Korean BBQ

Description: Korean BBQ only serves pork or beef and the meat are in-house marinated. The meat are cooked over the charcoal fire and usually comes with complimentary tofu stew, kimchi, vegetable leaves for wrapping of the meat and seasoned salad.

Type: Single/Grp (Minimum of 1 order per pax)

Good as: Dinner or late night supper

Price Range: $11- $25 per pax

Popular Store recommendation: There are many stores along the streets of Hongdae, with pricing ranging from $11 to $20 plus. The pricing differs mainly due to the meat variety which the restaurant offers, as well as the stove and cooking experience you will be getting and sometimes, it can also be representative of the quality of the meat you will be receiving.

My personal opinion & rating: A must try experience for anyone heading to Korea, especially on a chilly night. I like to have this at night as I do feel that the smell will linger on your body for the rest of th day. Do expect to pay abit more if you want to leave with a full tummy, maybe 7 servings for 5 pax, or 3 servings for 2 pax. Do note that the amount you pay = quality of meat you will be getting. (9/10)

Seolnongtang

Description: A soup made from ox-bone which are simmered for hours until the broth turns milky white. The soup usually comes unseasoned, therefore, salt and pepper would be provided at each table. Complimentary kimchi and seasoned radish are usually provided as well.

Type: Single (No minimum Order)

Good as: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Price Range: $12-$16

Popular Store recommendation: Sinseon Seolnongtang is a 24/7 restaurant which offers a variety of ox-bone soup coupled with different beef parts. The serving provided by this restaurant is big and the beef given for per pax is generous as well.

My personal opinion & rating: Had this on the first night we were in Korea. It was a cold night and so late that most stores were closed. We were so happy to see this soup store was still open and boy were we pleased! When I initially tasted the soup I was quite confused as it was sooo blend. Apparently we are supposed to add in the salt on our own, to customize the soup each to our own. Which I thought was pretty cool. The milky taste of the beef in the soup is so delicious and calming at the same time. The broth contained alot of meat. The beef was so well cooked, soft and chewy. A great meal to have when you want a break from fried food.

Dakgalbi

Description: A Korean dish made from stir-fry marinated chicken. The dish is usually made with cabbage, scallions, sliced potatoes, tteokbokki, topped with gochujang sauce.

Type: Group (No minimum Order)

Good as: Lunch, Dinner

Price Range: $10-$16

Popular Store recommendation: Yoogane is one of the famous place to enjoy dakgalbi as they offer a wide range of variety to choose from. The meat are fresh and the layout of the restaurant is spacious. Another cheaper option would be Piak’s pan, whereby they offer the regular stir-fry chicken dish and some other dishes like Taeyang Bokkeumbap (Kimchi fried Rice with cheese and eggs). Both restaurant differs greatly in terms of their marination and food variety, giving different experience to diners.

My personal opinion & rating: A must checkout place with friends! I love adding the fried rameon in, so delicious and fulling. The Koreans would recommend you order fried rice to mix into the remaining of the sauce to finish up the meal. There are quite a few flavours and it was a shame we couldn't try them all out during the trip.

-Dumplings

-Yachaejeon (Veggie Pancake)

-Tteokbokki

-Sundae

-Fishcake (Eomuk- spicy or non spicy)

-Chicken skewers

-Honeycomb ice cream

-Strawberry and red bean mochi

-Walnut cake

-Cheese Lobster/Scallop

-Sausages

Description:  Street food and desserts along the shopping districts such as Hongdae, Dongdaemun, Myeongdong, Ewha and many more usually only start surfacing at around 5pm to late night. However, at selective areas such as Myeongdong and Ewha, some street stores are open at 11am and ready to serve their patrons.

Type: Single/ Group (No minimum Order)

Good as:  Lunch, Dinner, Super

Price Range: $3-$10

Popular Store recommendation: All street snacks are made by the owner and the taste would most likely differ. Tips would be to try them out with your friends before taking massive orders.

My personal opinion & rating: YES YES YES! You can't visit Korea and not eat this. That are absolutely great as snacks while you shop! My friends and I ate along the vendors in Myeongdong street while we shopped the entire day. We just order a bunch of things and share for a quick meal/snack.