Category Archives: Seoul

Eat a Lunch Box and Save the Market

Eating in Seoul could be quite expensive. Tongin Market Dosirak (Korean lunch box) Café is for those who want to eat a variety of food at a reasonable price, while supporting the local market. With ₩5,000 (about 4.50 USD) you can choose at least three side dishes, rice, and soup.

Some of the food you can choose from

How it works:

  1. Exchange cash with special gold tokens. One token is equivalent of ₩500 and usually 10 tokens will be enough for one person.
  2. Grab an empty tray and go around the market and find vendors with “Dosirak Café” sign. You can exchange side dishes with your tokens. One side dish will cost one or two tokens.
  3. Rice and soup of the day is two tokens each and are provided in the eating area. Kimchi is complimentary.

The Eating Area

You can either take out your meal or eat at a designated area with eating utensils and water. Microwave and microwavable dishes are also provided just in case you want to reheat your food.

Also, every Tuesday is “Bibimbap Day,” where instead of side dishes, you get to pick and choose toppings for your own bibimbap.

A meal for two (about $10)

With large supermarket chains like E-mart and Lotte Mart sprouting like mushrooms on every corner, traditional local markets like Tongin Market has lost many patrons. Dosirak Café is one of the many efforts to win back customers. So far it has stirred a lot of interest and hopefully it will contribute to the regeneration of many traditional markets. This will also be a great place for tourists and kids to visit since it provides a fun and easy way to explore various Korean side dishes.

Tongin Market Dosirak Café (Tongin-dong 44, Jongno-gu; Subway Line 3 (Orange Line), Gyeongbokgung stop, Exit #2; Tel. 82-2-722-0936; Open 11am~4pm, Mondays through Saturdays; ₩5,000 per person)

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A Subway Ride to Jeju Island

Jeju, the southernmost and biggest island of Korea, is a popular summer destination for Koreans and foreigners alike. But even if you don’t have the plane ticket to get there, you don’t have to miss out on the island experience.

Photo from jejutour.go.kr

Granted, Tamla Sikdang does not provide the clear blue waters and lush hiking routes of Jeju Island, but this is a rare place in Seoul where you can encounter pretty authentic Jeju home cooking. Located in a quiet part of Seoul, this modest restaurant with about twenty seats bustles with Seoulites in search of “something different.” All the ingredients as well as the restaurant’s owner come from the island.

Menu in the shape of Jeju Island

Jeju is famous for its distinct culture and food. Fermenting and strong spices are rarely used because of easy access to fresh ingredients all year round thanks to Jeju’s warm climate. Jeju is also famous for pork. Jeju black pig is a native breed in the island and it’s known for its chewy texture and good taste.

It was my friend who introduced me to this place and she ordered dishes I’ve never had in my life: momguk (pork and brown algae soup), gogiguksu (noodles in pork bone soup), and Jeju sundae (blood sausage with sticky rice stuffing).

Momguk (pork and brown algae soup)

Momguk looked suspicious at first. I never had “mom,” which is a type of edible brown algae, also known as gulfweed. It actually tasted similar to seaweed. In pork-based broth, “mom” is added for taste and nutrition. Momguk is chock-full of minerals and dietary fiber it’s considered good for curing hangovers. Buckwheat flour is added for a thick and creamy texture and a sprinkle of chopi pepper (also known as Japanese pepper) contributes to a slightly citrusy note and a refreshing fragrance that goes well with pork. Hearty and fortifying, momguk actually tasted way better than how it looked.

Gogiguksu (noodles in pork bone soup)

Gogiguksu looked less adventurous than momguk. But my friend warned me that some people don’t like it that much because of its bland taste. I liked the subtle taste, but I also understood her concern. The soup was just that—pork bone soup. And the noodles were plain middle-sized wheat noodles. As much as it’s easy to dismiss this dish by saying it’s too simple, I thought it was a good representation of Jeju food—humble, natural, and not ostentatious. Besides, it gets better with a side of good chive kimchi.

Jeju sundae (blood sausage with sticky rice stuffing)

My favorite was Jeju sundae. I’m not a big sundae fan, but tasting Jeju sundae changed my mind about traditional Korean blood sausages. Jeju sundae was soft and chewy, and had a bit of spiciness of chopi pepper. Usually sundaes are stuffed with glass noodles, which make them less soft. I really liked the alternative sticky rice stuffing because it made all the ingredients really “stick” together.

Jeju makgeolli (rice wine)

And let’s not forget to add a glass of Jeju makgeolli (rice wine) and Hallasan soju to all this. Hallasan (named after the highest mountain in Jeju and South Korea) soju is an old-style soju, which means it’s stronger than your usual. On the other hand, Jeju makgeolli tastes lighter and more refreshing than its mainland counterpart.

Hallasan soju

With the help of alcohol and great food, my friends and I started to feel as if we’ve escaped the megacity and were sitting somewhere in a leisurely beach town. Well maybe not exactly, but something similar to that.

Tamla Sikdang (Sangsu-dong 337-1, Mapo-gu; Subway Line 6 (Brown Line), Sangsu stop, Exit #4; Tel. 82-2-337-4877; Open 5pm~2am, closed on Sundays; ₩8,000~₩20,000 per person)

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My Shaved Ice Marathon

On Tuesday, which turned out to be the hottest June day in twelve years (33.5 °C), I invited my mom to a grand tour of shaved ice, or bingsu. My plan was this: eat icy desserts all day without eating an actual meal. I figured a day that felt like you were in a steaming rice cooker would be a perfect day to do this. My mom agreed.

Our first stop, Café the Air, is one of those stylish places with a lot of white space and simplistic designer furniture. They also serve food, but we were only there for the famous “towering” green tea bingsu.

It looked really impressive with tall homemade green tea ice cream top and gigantic icy middle drenched in thick green tea sauce. The cashew nuts and almonds were a nice touch. But eating it was a challenge. It almost felt like we were playing Jenga; we dug carefully with our spoons, concentrating hard not to knock down our ice tower.

The taste? Overall, the ice was soft and fluffy and the green tea flavor sufficiently strong. Sweet red beans nicely mellowed out the bitter green tea taste. When the ice started to melt, what remained in the bowl was similar in texture and taste to green tea Frappuccino, only (hopefully) less fattening than that. If you’re a big fan of green tea like myself, you’d want to try this.

 

Café the Air (Seokyo-dong 374-10, Mapo-gu; Subway Line 2 (Green Line), Hapjeong stop, Exit #2; Tel. 82-2-324-2780; Open 11am~11pm; ₩12,000 for green tea bingsu)

 

 

Then we headed to one of my absolute favorite places in the city. Suyeonsanbang means “a small cottage in the woods where writers gather.” The house belonged to Lee Tae-jun, a novelist, from 1933 to 1946. He defected to North Korea after Korea won independence from Japan and now his house is preserved and turned into a traditional teahouse.

The waitress approved of my choice of pumpkin bingsu, which is only served during summer. She didn’t forget to mention that they don’t use artificial colorings or preservatives.

Surprisingly the ice was not as soft as other popular bingsu these days. It was the coarse old style bingsu I remember from my childhood. Bigger particles of ice don’t melt in your mouth immediately, but because of that it’s more refreshing and chilling. It didn’t feel like I was eating dessert since it felt so healthy to be eating minimally sweetened steamed pumpkin and red beans. The toppings were pumpkin ice cream, dried persimmon, and black rice cake. On the menu it said their bingsu was “sufficient for one meal” and that was true. With a nice breeze coming in from the open doors and soothing traditional Korean music playing in the background, having a mouthful of excellent pumpkin bingsu was blissful.

 

Suyeonsanbang (Seongbuk-dong 248, Seongbuk-gu; Subway Line 4 (Light Blue Line), Hanseong University stop, Exit #6, then take bus 1111 or 2112 and get off at Dongbang University stop; Tel. 82-2-764-1736; Open 11am~10:30pm; ₩15,500 for pumpkin bingsu)

 

 

 

 

Dongbinggo is considered as one of two famous bingsu places in Seoul. I’ve been to the other one, Mealtop, in Apgujeong-dong Hyundai Department Store multiple times, but never been to Dongbinggo. It was time to give it a try.

Dongbinggo has five different types of bingsu: original red bean, red bean with grain powder, green tea, coffee, and royal milk tea. We ordered the original and royal milk tea. I was skeptical about the royal milk tea bingsu because it looked “too complicated” for my taste. But I was pleasantly surprised by its combination of delightful flavors—bananas, roasted coconut bits, walnuts, vanilla ice cream, drizzle of chocolate syrup, and milk tea. The crunch and fragrance from the roasted coconut bits really made this bingsu stand out. Walnuts were raw, with skin, which gave them the bitter flavor, but it balanced out the sweetness of vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup.

Their original one with red beans and rice cakes was perhaps the least sweet patbingsu I’ve ever had. I could actually taste the earthy nuttiness of Korean red beans. The simple taste of milk and finely shaved ice with mildly sweet red bean paste can never go wrong. Everything just melted in my mouth while cooling off my body.

 

Dongbinggo (Ichon-dong 301-162, Yongsan-gu; Subway Line 4 (Light Blue Line), Ichon stop, Exit #3; Tel. 82-2-794-7171; Open 10:30am~10:30pm; ₩7,000 for royal milk tea bingsu and ₩6,500 for patbingsu)

 

 

 

 

Bingsu has come a long way and now it comes in various flavors and a wide array of toppings. Many countries have their own versions of shaved ice. What are your favorite kinds?

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“When lost, follow the tourists”

One doesn’t need to be a Taoist to be justified in aimless wanderings. After going through an extra busy week, I decided to calm my nerves by taking a stroll at a neighborhood where everything is slower and more aesthetically pleasing than where I live. Without a plan or a company, I roamed around with a camera in my hand, deciding to stop only when I find something interesting.

The first place I took out my camera was at Anguk Station, where a wall was decorated with tiles that had paintings or poems about Insa-dong. I usually try to avoid going to Insa-dong because I consider it a tourist trap and think it’s shamelessly becoming more of one every time I go there . But I have fond childhood memories of the place when it was still unique with dusty streets and genuine art galleries. I go back to Insa-dong time to time to see if I can find anything I remember. Yeah, there are some charm left in the neighborhood.

But I walked out of Insa-dong quickly to escape the crowd. After all, I wanted go somewhere with less people. So I headed towards Bukchon. Despite being another popular destination for tourists, Bukchon is less crowded than Insa-dong and it’s one of the few places left in Seoul where you can walk through the narrow streets of hanoks (Korean traditional house). Some hanoks are delightfully reinterpreted in modern style. I like to wander around charming little alleys of Bukchon while listening to the hum of the giant city. It’s really hard to listen to sounds other than cars and motorbikes and K-pop in other busy parts of Seoul, but in Bukchon all those noises are a murmur.

Because I was feeling a bit peckish, I decided to head towards Samcheong-dong, where they have lots of small cafes and restaurants. But as always I got lost. “When lost, follow the tourists” is my brother’s motto and he’s right. I followed two Japanese tourists and their detailed Seoul map and soon I was at a narrow staircase with a cute name: “Clear Sky Route.” At the end of the staircase was Samcheong-dong.

In Samcheong-dong I stumbled upon a small teahouse with an interesting title—The Second Best Place in Seoul. I immediately remembered my mom talking about this place. So I stopped by at this 36-year-old traditional teahouse. The age of the patrons inside proved this is a nostalgic place for many Seoulites. I had sujeonggwa, a cold persimmon cinnamon punch. The sweetness of persimmon and cinnamon combined with a bit of spiciness from ginger was invigorating and was able to wake my tired body.

My last destination was a strange little fusion restaurant, De Miel, where you could order arrabbiata pasta and Shanghainese fried noodles on the same table. I ordered guo bao rou (Northern Chinese-style deep fried pork in sweet and sour sauce). It felt good to reintroduce some fat to my body after burning so much.

By the time I got back home, I felt nicely worn out; it’s a different kind of exhaustion from the one you feel after working all day. You feel tired and your feet are sore, but your mind feels like freshly done laundry, ready to be thrown into a messy week once again.

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