Whenever I do get the opportunity to travel, I always make sure I savour as many food I can. Like for instance Korea, I try to go every cafe to look at their dessert menus or random street shop that sells fish-cake soup. Usually I will spend a lot of money on buying back snacks for my family so you pretty can guess that I am a glutton at nature :') Here's to the part II of the food guide from my previous entry where I'll just briefly talk about the history of the food and why you should taste them at least once in your lifetime!
Actually Seoul and Gangwon-do is pretty much close distance between cities, so I would expect their food to be slightly similar due to the same franchise shops we have seen everywhere in Korea! First top hit on my food list, BINGSU.
什么是 RED BEAN BINSU?
Bingsu is a popular Korea shaved ice dessert with the sweet topping that may include fruits, condensed milk, mochi, and redbean. I absolutely love this Bingsu because there's a rich taste of crunchy cereal soaked in the milk, the powder mochi flavour with sesame, and the red bean that goes really well with the shaved ice at the bottom!! I would totally fly to Korea just to taste all their bingsu everyday. There's too much variety for me to list here and it is readily available anywhere in Korea?!
A normal price for a good bingsu range around 10,000- 12,000 won and you can share it with your family or friends! Some of the dessert shops even offer free water dispenser service and also wheat tea to go with your bingsu after a meal. The portion is large and it's damn worth it.
Why EAT IN KOREA/!?!??!????????????
Because often, almost every shop offers FREE FLOW OF SIDE DISHES SUCH AS KIMCHI, BRAISED POTATO SOAKED WITH SOYA SAUCE (gamja Jorim), fried omelette cut into small portions and also spicy cucumber. I love how flavouful those side dishes were, and i don't mind eating that their white rice forever. To be honest if you're a budget traveller you could very well eat their free flow dishes and order their rice will do LOL
It also goes well with wrapping the barbequed meat with the sides. Like lettuce with a small chopped garlic, some chili and tada! here's your small bite.
wowwww happiness filled in lettuce. You can never find anything as good in Singapore! The good ones are probably expensive and then you found out that you've subconsciously burnt a hole in your wallet. Just purchase a ticket to Korea to enjoy and relax while feeding yourself fat! Actually you won't cause everywhere in Korea are stairs. They hardly have escalators unless shopping malls.
Spicy seafood fishcake stew with white rice and sides again!
Egg Bread known as Gyeran-ppang. Famous in Korea!
This is a sweet, steamy, hot and fluffy little loaf of bread in a cup, with a whole egg inside. It is usually sold by street vendors all over Korea. It is usually very cheap like 1,000 won to 1,500 won and you can carry it conveniently to eat while walking the streets of Ewhwa University or Myeongdong. I won't suggest Myeongdong cause it's a touristy place and the food are slightly more expensive than average.
Stir fry chicken (Dalkgalbi), simple yet I love the marinated chicken with korean sauce. My brother always said that whatever with hot pepper sauce, it will taste great! They cooked it with cuttlefish, pork belly for us. Quite a affortable meal at a small cafe considering the portion (yet again! Korea always have large portions that I'll never able to finish) hence, if you can, try to share with your friends!
I absolutely love this. I would call it that Korea Bento
There's so much work involved in preparing so many small dishes just for a person and it's cheap! I bought it near the stores of Sungkyunkwan university and I am pretty sure they have franchise shops in Gangwon do and Seoul?! Like I could tell it is a korean fast food restaurant serving cheap and affordable meals. I was given a juicy meat patty with two karage (chicken cubes?) and also fried fish. I remembered paying 6,500 won or 5,500 won? Can't remember but it is super cheap!
A toast that everyone knows. Isaac Toast
Isaac toast begin in 1995 and their selling point is freshly made bit-able sandwitch filled with ingredients. You could order either the choice of ham, cheese, egg or even egg-mayo/sweet potato filling. For me I think it was alright! Like if I'm rushing to school I don't mind grabbing this to eat while I study. The toast usually made up of 2 bread, slightly toasted and inside it's moist. For this, I've choosen ham and cheese. Mmmm taste good but not really cheap I guess! It's around 1,700 to 2,100 for a small slice of toast.
Yoogane!! Every singaporean love going here LOL
You can order any sides basically to go with chicken/pork. In singapore we usually pay around $50 per meal but in Korea, the bill totaled up to only $30+ it was a good deal considering we added instant noodles, potato and cuttlefish inside our yoogane pot. The staffs were very friendly to serve us as well and kept mixing the cheese to be melted with the rice. Awwwwwww i miss it!!
Seeing this make me drool at night LOL. Korea mandu is always filled with ingredients!!!!!! Like exploding kind and can you see how nicely they wrapped it before steaming it? #dumplinggoals better than china HAHAAHA the interesting thing is they have variety of kimchi mandu as well! Usually stuffed pork with kimchi.
I LOVE SEAFOOD CHAMPON!!!!!!!!!!
Although my mom will justify that it is very unhealthy to eat instant noodles all the time but I love this so much. Koreans usually cook this with seafood broth from all the fresh seafood and also the taste of kimchi boil to boiling temperature. The noodles also tasted springy and there's so many mussels and clams inside the rich broth. I love it.
PLEASE don't tell me is instant noodles because it is definitely way more than that!!!!!
Seafood onion meat pancake.
I love the flavourful meat patty with spring onion. The skin is also very crispy and you dipped it with a special sauce mixed with onion and some vinegar soya sauce. It goes very well with it actually! It cost around 4,000 won per plate with 2-3 slices of meat pancake? Worth it!
Yum yum yum. Wrong idea to post at 3AM in the morning.
More dumplings for you sir?
And in Korea, how can not drink the legendary banana milk!?!??! Since 1974, 800,000 bottles of Banana Flavored Milk are sold each day in Korea and around 6 billion bottles have been sold across the country. The bottle's design is said to be inspired by traditional Korean jars. So cute. It was also said that that's one of the korea government initiative to encourage more koreans to drink milk.
And because banana is a luxury and considered expensive, it will entice more customers to purchase it. Somehow it became so popular that everyone that is in Korea would purchase it. HAHAAHHA CUTE STORY
Cusard soft bread. Don't really like this so much..... but still not too bad.
THIS IS THE BOMB. If you see Mealtop bingsoo cafe, please run there. I miss the bingsu so much!!!!!!!
More chicken cutlet.
WAH THIS ALSO DAMN GOOD.
Honeydew sitting on milk shaved ice. When you cut it and eat it, it feels like heaven.
Korea always make me feel so happy HAHAAHAAH the food is realy so good.
Kimchi rice with seaweed and egg. I love how the rice is moist and flavourful with the kimchi taste and also the combination of seaweed and egg yolk running and soaking the rice. Love every bite of it.
Kimchi Musuem that we visited. Do you happen to know that every part of Korea prepares their kimchi differently? Some province's kimchi are sweeter, some more sour/spicy etc. It is interesting to know how they actually make kimchi! Alot hardwork making sure that the kimchi remains nice and monitor it through a prolonged period of 4-5 months.
Tasting time. I have tried every single kimchi in the different parts of Seoul maybe. Still impressed and obsessed over it still :))))))
YAY SIDES AGAINNNNNNNNNNNN
Seafood stew with prawn.
And if you're a food lover like me, you can check out the cool things relating to food in Gangwon-do that you may visit if you're heading there!
1) Makguksu (Buckweed noodle musuem)
credits: http://imanjung.blogspot.sg/2014/05/chuncheon-city-tour.html
It is all about maguksu, a buckwheat noodle dish. The museum's exhibition hall is in Korean only. Also, there is also an 'Experience Hall' where visitors can learn to make the famous cold buckwheat noodle soup from scratch (woah highly recommend this!) showing the dough rolling part to noodles.
The administration fees is only 1,000won, and the experience is around 2,000 won.
How to go there:
Across from Chuncheon Intercity Bus Terminal, take city bus No. 7, 9, 64, or 64-2 and get off at Chuncheon's Myeong-dong (10 min ride).
- In front of Chuncheon Station, take city bus No. 63 and get off at Chuncheon's Myeong-dong (about 10 min ride).
- From Namchuncheon Station, take city bus No. 1, 32, 32-1, 35, or 67 and get off at Chuncheon's Myeong-dong (15 min ride).
2) Hyoseok Cultural Food Street
2) Bamdokkeabi Night Market, Trendy Night Market!!!
credits: timeout
There are lively music and entertainment with food trucks provide plenty of choices for delicious late-night snacks at an affordable price. Seoul Bamdokkaebi Night Market is the perfect opportunity to take in the beautiful nightscape of Seoul and cure you guys hunger pangs!
How to go there
Address:
330, Yeouidong-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 영등포구 여의동로 330 (여의도동)
Location:
Areas of Banpo Hangang Park, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Cheonggyecheon Stream (Mojeongyo Bridge-Gwangtonggyo Bridge), and Yeouido Hangang Park
Thanks for reading guys! I will be heading to Korea again in dec!!! can't wait to try out everything I have talked about here! :)
