freakZspeaks

Famous chicken dakgalbi @ Yoogane, Myeongdong, Seoul

If you think the poisonous puffer fish can't be eaten, think again @ Geumsu Bokkuk, Gangnam, Seoul

Japanese food & movie night @ Coex Mall, Gangnam, Seoul

Jjampong, jjangmyeon and tangsuyuk @ Andongjang Chinese Restaurant, Seoul

The best chicken ginseng soup (samgyetang) @ Korea Samgyetang VS Tosokchon, Seoul

Sanmotoonge 'Coffee Prince' Cafe @ Buam-dong, Seoul, Korea

The free 'hanbok' experience @ Myeongdong Tourist Information Centre, Seoul

The famous chicken dakgalbi @ Yoogane, Myeong-dong, Seoul

First of all, this is an absolutely famous place among tourists and it's a definitely must-try in Korea, regardless of whether you think it's overrated or not. In Myeongdong itself, there are a couple of restaurants. Dakgalbi (stir fried chicken and vegetables in spicy gochujang paste) is the very few Korean chicken dishes that has made its name around the world particularly, Yoogane's. Some things to know beforehand:

1. Make sure you get the place right as there are some restaurant fronts that looked very much similar.

2. A minimum of 2 people is required because you will have to order a minimum of 2 of the same dishes.

3. It's probably really spicy for those who are not used to eating spicy food; we though it was pretty mild ;p.

4. If there's only two of you, you might want to skip the rice no matter how tempting it looked because big chance is that you will not be able to finish it if you've already spent the whole day stuffing yourself silly.

Chicken dakgalbi 2 portions (10,000 per portion)

Lots of tourists but there were lots of locals as well

Panda just needed to try out the cooking himself…for a couple of seconds ;p

Remember to add-on some cheese which definitely added to the oomph of the dish (2,000 won)

We did not order any rice, which was what a majority people did. The two portions of chicken and some cheese were just nice for us without the overstuffing-feeling. This gave us some space to try out the various street food in Myeongdong :) The total came up to 22,000 won…a relatively cheap meal (compared to the other meals we had). I can definitely do this at home though ;p (if you have the gochujang paste). I personally felt this place is slightly overrated, however, its a relatively cheap meal that a whole group of people can enjoy, no doubt:)

Address: 3-1 Myeong-dong 2-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul
Directions: Myeong-dong Station (Exit 8). Turn left and walk for about 250 m, the restaurant will be on the right

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Fried mung bean pancakes or bindatteok @ Gwangjang Market, Seoul

If you think the poisonous puffer fish can't be eaten, think again @ Geumsu Bokkuk, Gangnam, Seoul

Japanese food & movie night @ Coex Mall, Gangnam, Seoul

Jjampong, jjangmyeon and tangsuyuk @ Andongjang Chinese Restaurant, Seoul

The best chicken ginseng soup (samgyetang) @ Korea Samgyetang VS Tosokchon, Seoul

Sanmotoonge 'Coffee Prince' Cafe @ Buam-dong, Seoul, Korea

The free 'hanbok' experience @ Myeongdong Tourist Information Centre, Seoul

If you think the poisonous puffer fish can't be eaten, think again @ Geumsu Bokkuk, Gangnam, Seoul

When my high school buddy suggested a famous puffer fish stew for dinner, my first question was, 'Is it safe to eat?'. Yes, we are talking about that poisonous, ballooning fish. Bok kuk 복국 (puffer fish soup) is a hot, clear soup with plentiful bean sprouts and green onions and with chunks of fish meat. Seemed super healthy, I would say. My friend brought me to her regular shop at Gangnam called Geumsu Bokkuk, a nice-looking restaurant with ahjummas (aunts) as servers.

Mostly locals, indefinitely

Loved the sides as they were slightly different from the usual ones

Puffer fish stew; clear broth, bean sprouts, mushrooms, and green onions

….and chunks of puffer fish meat

My 'kawan dua abad' working in Seoul for past 12 years!

Our spread. Puffer fish stew with healthy brown rice.

While this may not be a major attraction in Korea, it is definitely something unique to try if you have the time to spare (or if you've already eaten everything else that a tourist usually eats). Honestly speaking, it tasted like normal fish cooked in clear broth. Really healthy, in fact, I felt that Korean meals are not greasy, lighter and with lots of vegetables. Loved the ambience, but price-wise was slightly on the higher side (but less than 20,000 won per person). Well-worth a try because you might probably not find it anywhere else in the world except for Korea and Japan!

Address: Geumsu Bokkuk, 338, Samseong-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

You might also like:

Fried mung bean pancakes or bindatteok @ Gwangjang Market, Seoul

Famous chicken dakgalbi @ Yoogane, Myeongdong, Seoul

Japanese food & movie night @ Coex Mall, Gangnam, Seoul

Jjampong, jjangmyeon and tangsuyuk @ Andongjang Chinese Restaurant, Seoul

The best chicken ginseng soup (samgyetang) @ Korea Samgyetang VS Tosokchon, Seoul

Sanmotoonge 'Coffee Prince' Cafe @ Buam-dong, Seoul, Korea

The free 'hanbok' experience @ Myeongdong Tourist Information Centre, Seoul

Japanese food & movie night @ Coex Mall (Sushi O' and Megabox), Gangnam, Seoul

Friday night in Seoul was our date night (and also the last day of Panda's business trip). Since he was yearning to catch a movie in Seoul, I checked with my close friend who is working in Gangnam on some of the possible cinemas that have English movies. She suggested Megabox Coex, which is located inside Coex Mall, a newly renovated underground shopping mall in Gangnam. At least, Megabox Coex (16 halls) is known to show more updated English movies (with Korean subtititles). The only flaw is that, the website is in Korean, so, either you need someones help to translate, or diligently do the translation yourself beforehand. It is probably easier to just purchase the tickets on the spot as some staff are able to speak English. Movie tickets are prices reasonably even on a Friday night!

Tangy, refreshing salad and a mini bowl of Udon as starters

Since our movie was at 11 pm, we had ample time for dinner. The problem is, most kitchens in Coex Mall are close by 9.30 pm. We decided to try out Sushi O', a Japanese restaurant which was still open and accepting customers (although Japanese food was not exactly on our itinerary during our visit to Korea). We ordered the couple set because we were attracted to the presentation of sushi on the special wooden stand ;p. For starters, there was a bowl of salad which Panda loved so much because of the special citrus dressing used. The mini bowl of Udon was really delicious and flavourful..so colourful to just look at it!

The well-presented sushi set for two :)

A really friendly server helped us with this photo!

L: Breaded (not tempura battered) shrimp. Unfortunately there was no tempura shrimp in the menu; R: Salmon sushi with octopus, good stuff!

We had a regular popcorn to share during the movie. Nothing to shout about though. In fact, those that I used to have from GSC or TVG Malaysia were way better in terms of flavour. The cinema (seats, screen) were just alright, again, nothing if compared to the cinema in Siam Paragon, Thailand. We took a cab back to the hotel as it was way past midnight. It was a lovely night out in Seoul :)

Megabox Coex

Address: 513 Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu, 서울특별시 South Korea

Directions: Samseong Station (Seoul Subway Line 2), Exit 5 or 6. COEX is directly connected to the station (adapted from Official Korea Tourism).

You might also like:

Fried mung bean pancakes or bindatteok @ Gwangjang Market, Seoul

Famous chicken dakgalbi @ Yoogane, Myeongdong, Seoul

If you think the poisonous puffer fish can't be eaten, think again @ Geumsu Bokkuk, Gangnam, Seoul

Jjampong, jjangmyeon and tangsuyuk @ Andongjang Chinese Restaurant, Seoul

The best chicken ginseng soup (samgyetang) @ Korea Samgyetang VS Tosokchon, Seoul

Sanmotoonge 'Coffee Prince' Cafe @ Buam-dong, Seoul, Korea

The free 'hanbok' experience @ Myeongdong Tourist Information Centre, Seoul

Wednesday, 18 March 2015

Jjampong (짬뽕), Jjangmyeon (짜장면) & Tangsuyuk (탕수육) @ Andongjang Chinese Restaurant, Seoul, Korea

Important to note the restaurant front as the name is not in English!

Andongjang is known to be the oldest Chinese restaurants in Seoul. Eating Chinese food in Korea ? To be fair, like in other parts of the world, the dishes here have been modified to meet the taste bud of the locals. In fact, Chinese food such as jjampong (Korean spicy seafood noodle soup) and jajangmyeon (black soybean noodles) is pretty famous among the locals particularly for home deliveries (remember Korean drama 'Coffee Prince' ?) Although this place is not exactly located at a tourist area, it is rather famous among the locals. Some servers here (and the owner) speaks Mandarin :)

The usual Korean sides

Tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork)

We ordered three of the most well-known Korean Chinese dishes. Tangsuyuk or sweet and sour pork is slightly different from the usual sweet and sour pork that I have eaten in Canada or Malaysia. Even the fried pork seems a little different. One obvious difference is the color and the sweeter taste of the dish. While the usual ones are usual stir fried with ketchup sauce, this has a rather clear, brownish sauce (probably what they call as orange sauce). Quite a number of tables, majority locals, ordered this dish by itself to share among them together with a couple bottles of soju.

Jjampong (Korean spicy seafood noodle)

I personally liked Jjampong the best, which was much enjoyed because of the delicious, spicy broth combined with seafood and noodles. Spiciness can be adjusted so no worries on that ;). The rich broth is totally satisfying for me since I love spicy food. One dish can easily be shared by 2 people. My advice would be to order tangsuyuk, jjajangmyeon and jjampong together to be shared between 2 or 3 people so that you can try a little of everything. Jjajangmyeon (black soybean paste with noodles) is another famous dish particularly for deliveries. You can probably get something like this in some of the Canadian Chinese restaurants (northern Chinese style cooking) although the soybean paste used is different from the Koreanized version. Andongjang's is way less salty compared to those I've tried at Canada and also the instant noodle version. You are also given some extra black soybean paste in case you prefer it saltier.

Jjajangmyeon (salty black soybean paste noodles)

Mixing the jjangmyeon

Mostly locals, quite a full house even past 8 pm

I can't exactly remember how much were they but overall, an average Korean dish price. Portion was on the larger side (at least for me ;p), so order to share. If you are getting tired of Korean dishes, give this Koreanized Chinese restaurant a try. I'm sure you will find something you like!

Address: Andongjang Chinese Restaurant, 124, Euljiro-gu, Jung-gu, Seoul

Directions: Euljiro 3-ga station, Line 2, Exit 10

Website: Andongjang

You might also like:

Fried mung bean pancakes or bindatteok @ Gwangjang Market, Seoul

Famous chicken dakgalbi @ Yoogane, Myeongdong, Seoul

If you think the poisonous puffer fish can't be eaten, think again @ Geumsu Bokkuk, Gangnam, Seoul

Japanese food & movie night @ Coex Mall, Gangnam, Seoul

The best chicken ginseng soup (samgyetang) @ Korea Samgyetang VS Tosokchon, Seoul

Sanmotoonge 'Coffee Prince' Cafe @ Buam-dong, Seoul, Korea

The free 'hanbok' experience @ Myeongdong Tourist Information Centre, Seoul

The best chicken ginseng soup (samgyetang) @ Korea Samgyetang VS Tosokchon, Seoul, Korea

Another must-try in Korea would be their chicken ginseng soup (samgyetang) which is considered one of the healthier way to cook chicken. Basically, chicken samgyetang is a small chicken, stuffed with sweet (glutinous) rice, ginseng, dates and some other herbs, and cooked in soup. The most famous samgyetang in Seoul is probably Tosokchon. We decided to try out two different restaurants in Seoul that serves chicken samgyetang; Korea Samgyetang and Tosokchon.

Korea Samgyetang (고려삼계탕)

This is probably a less tourist-ty place which appeared quite popular among the locals; having seen the crowd at lunch hour. Moreover, this restaurant is not strategically located at a tourist spots, hence, probably lesser recognized by tourists.

Korea Samgyetang at Jung-gu, Seoul

Convenient cutleries and awesome kimchi (pickled radish)

Stick to the basic samgyetang (14,000 won) or black chicken samgyetang (20,000 won) to try the authenticity of this dish

Pipping hot black ginseng chicken

Clear light broth with a piece of ginseng root as part of the stuffing

What we liked about this place is that their broth is clear and on the lighter side (not so starchy), which allows you to easily sip the broth as well. Honestly, the black chicken ginseng and normal chicken ginseng were not really much different taste-wise. So, you might just want to stick to the basic samgyetang and save some bucks there. Each dish also came with a little cup filled with ginseng wine; in case you prefer your soup with stronger ginseng. DO NOT pour the entire cup into soup at one go. Give it a try first to see if it fits your taste bud.

Address: 1, Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 서울특별시 중구 서소문로11길 1 (서소문동)
Website: Korea Samgyetang (menu)
Directions: City Hall Station (Seoul Subway Line 1, 2), Exit 10. Go straight for about 100m to arrive at the Korea Samgyetang on the right (adapted from Official Korea Tourism).

Tosokchon (토속촌)

This is definitely the more famous restaurant in Seoul. Conveniently located near Gyeongbokgung station, frequent visits by their past president, and approval from the locals all definitely adds up to their popularity. The line-up will probably be long at lunch hours; even during winter. We were there at 3 pm and there was still a queue (but not too long).

Yes, it's cold if you have to line up during winter ;p

A really unique place, with unique, traditional Korean house feeling (minus the throngs of people)

Slightly more expensive than Korea Samgyetang; normal (15,000 won) and black chicken (28,000 won)

There's the traditional floor seating and normal chairs.

The extra ginseng on the normal chicken soup (21,000 won). Not much of a taste, really

Obvious larger chicken compared to Korea Samgyetang but not as tender

Spotted; chestnut as stuffing and super huge ginseng root

Please no stinky feet ;p

Maybe we were still full from our late breakfast earlier; but Panda and I thought that the broth was a little bit too starchy (probably from the glutinous rice). Also, although the chicken seemed bigger (more worth eating?), it was not as tender as Korea Samgyetang's. In fact, it was a little bit hard to chew. Perhaps there are just too many people, that the dish when served was not pipping hot as well (just tad warm). Stick to the normal chicken ginseng soup and forget about paying for the additional ginseng (extra 6,000 won!) because it was really not much of a difference. Again, the difference would come from how much ginseng wine you will be adding into your broth.

Address: 5, Jahamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul 서울 종로구 자하문로5길 5 (체부동)

Website: Tosokchon

Directions: Gyeongbokgung Station (Seoul Subway Line 3), Exit 2. Go straight about 170m and turn left onto Jahamun-ro 5-gil Road. Tosokchon (토속촌) is located 10m ahead on the left (adapted from Official Korea Tourism).

Verdict:

Overall, if you have the chance and if you decide that you loved this dish, go try both of them! I, personally am not a herbal/ginseng fan, but I definitely felt that this was probably one of the best Korean dish. Even my mum agreed on that! Panda and I preferred the Korea Samgyetang's because it was at least served hot, lighter broth and perfect size chicken. Tosokchon will definitely be a good place to go as well (since its so conveniently located) and the chance to experience a Korean traditional house without the need to pay extra. Again, it would be of personal preference :)

You might also like:

Fried mung bean pancakes or bindatteok @ Gwangjang Market, Seoul

Famous chicken dakgalbi @ Yoogane, Myeongdong, Seoul

If you think the poisonous puffer fish can't be eaten, think again @ Geumsu Bokkuk, Gangnam, Seoul

Japanese food & movie night @ Coex Mall, Gangnam, Seoul

Jjampong, jjangmyeon and tangsuyuk @ Andongjang Chinese Restaurant, Seoul

Sanmotoonge 'Coffee Prince' Cafe @ Buam-dong, Seoul, Korea