More food dispatches from Seoul

In 2014,  I visited Seoul with Paul for the first time. We enjoyed many types of Korean cuisine - Hansik, street foods, green tea, patbingsoo, bibimbap and barbecue. But even back then, I longed for all the foods I didn't get time to enjoy - chicken ginseng soup (samgyetang), Korean vegetarian temple food, ox bone soup (soulongtang) and pork belly barbecue (samgypsal).

Fast forward 5 years and Paul's dietary restrictions (no chicken nor beef) make it difficult to enjoy the full spectrum of Korean cuisine. Luckily, a shopping and eating trip with friends Elsa and Yvonne gave the opportunity to try these dishes and more!

Aside from enjoying Sinshon soulongtang, vegetarian temple food at Sanchon and fine Hansik cuisine at Yongsusan Biwon (see other posts), we also ate:


Korean porridge at Migabon

Migabon has the good fortune of being the shop above Sinchon Soulongtang. I've heard stories whereby those who could not wait any longer in Sinchon's queue would just go upstairs to Migabon. Since we visited Migabon in the morning, we often found the queue was at Migabon, as opposed to Sinchon! We purposely did not get the hotel breakfast so we could enjoy better food outside. This meant that Migabon became our go-to for early morning porridge. We tried abalone, beef and mushroom, ginseng chicken, pine nut and mushroom. Our favorites were the abalone with chunks of chewy abalone meat and the ginseng chicken which had jujube dates and a strong flavor of ginseng. Each porridge came with a few side dishes - kimchi, burdock root, radish and beansprouts.
Prices were incredibly reasonable - the abalone porridge was only KRW 8,000 or just under US$8.

Chicken and ginseng porridge in the forefront

Samgyetang at Toshokchon

Toshokchon is the place everyone writes about to get samgyetang. Housed in several traditional korean houses (hanok), Toshokchon is located close to Gwanghwamun gate and is just a short 5 minutes walk from Gwanghwamun station. We got the black chicken as well as the regular chicken version. The black chicken was more flavorful with wild ginseng. Koreans believe you fight "fire with fire" and rejuvenate the body in the hot summers with this energy-giving soup. Each chicken is filled with glutinous rice, jujubes, garlic and ginseng roots. We also ordered a kimchi pancake which was delicious.  At Toshokchon, unlimited cabbage and radish kimchi was presented in earthenware pots. We were also each given a thimbleful of ginseng wine. Although this was a delicious meal, I was unhappy to realize we were all very thirsty a couple of hours after. This is usually a sign that MSG was used in the soup broth which was a shame. Onwards and upwards - this means I will be hunting for the best samgyetang in Seoul for years to come. Your recommendations welcome!

Love the unlimited kimchi in the pots (top left)

Charcoal BBQ at Wangbijib

Wangbijib is a chain of restaurants that still use charcoal fire. There are 2 branches in Myeongdong - we took a while walking over to the main branch -  only to be walked over to the other branch by a kind staff member. We enjoyed marinated beef galbi, pork cheek meat and assorted mushrooms. Luckily, it was all grilled by a staff so we did not ruin the food with amateur cooking skills. Banchan dishes included thin radish slices, kimchi and beansprouts. We wrapped the meat into lettuce parcels korean-style.

Marinated galbi grilling

Knife-cut noodles - Kalguksu

Chewy and al-dente, korean knife-cut noodles make for a satisfying lunch. We chanced upon a restaurant serving these noodles in the basement of Ssamziegil Mall in Insadong. This chain is known for their cold chicken knife-cut noodles. We also ordered noodles in a mushroom and perilla seed broth which was very good.

Mushroom and perilla seed broth noodles

Cold chicken noodles

More green tea cakes at O'Sulloc

Could not resist revisiting O'Sulloc for our green tea cake fix. Aside from the famous roll cake, we ordered a green tea torte, green tea tiramisu and the Hallebong cake with a chocolate base. Simple is sometimes best and it was the roll cake that shone through. All accompanied by O'Sulloc's speciality green tea. Of course, we ruined our appetites with this afternoon treat as we didn't realize what an amazing dinner we would have a few hours later!

Green tea overload

Souffle pancakes and other beauties at Innisfree cafe

My first time eating the souffle pancakes that originated in Japan! Light and incredibly fluffy, the recipe entails beating the egg whites to a stiff peak before folding gently into the batter. At Innisfree cafe in Myeongdong, we were told that the souffle hotcakes will take 20 minutes. Aside from the pancakes, there were some beautiful cakes, drinks and desserts. We enjoyed a canola-decorated green tea cloud tiramisu, strawberry latte and a pear and rosemary ade.

Souffle pancakes served with whipped cream, blueberry compote and a little fruit

A closer look at the canola decoration

The Innisfree cafe early in the morning

Specialities on display for cherry blossom season

Sinchon Seollangtang

Ox bone soup or seollangtang is one of my favorite korean dishes. It's particular good for cold autumn and winter days. The soup is milky-white, achieved by many hours of boiling shank bones. Enhanced with heapings of green onions and some slices of beef brisket, the soup usually comes with kimchi and rice. It makes a great breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper. As this soup takes a lot of time and effort to make at home, I'm always on the search for good seollangtang restaurants.

I was thrilled to discover that Sinchon Seollangtang was in the Myeongdong area where our hotel was located. It was also open 24/7 which made it an ideal location for a late supper when all other restaurants had closed by 10pm. We got a little lost walking around the streets of Myeongdong looking for this place, only to discover it was just round the corner from the hotel! We knew we had found the place when we saw the red ropes outside (to manage the queue at peak hours).

Salt and pepper is laid out on the table as you are expected to season the seollangtang yourself. However, we discovered the soup was already naturally flavorful so only added a little pepper. We ordered a standard ox bone soup but also ordered an enhanced version with ginseng and red dates.

Both soups were outstanding. The radish and cabbage kimchi was also the best we had in Seoul. I like my kimchi fresh and not so fermented which was Sinchon's version. Both kimchi were in stainless steel containers built into the table - all you can eat. We also ordered some mandu dumplings (these were just so-so) and a kimchi pancake which was quite good. The soups are really the star of the show though.

Korean vegetarian temple cooking at Sanchon

One of the more interesting meals we had was at Sanchon - located in an alleyway off the main Insadong shopping strip. Sanchon's cuisine is Korean vegetarian temple and it did not disappoint in its sheer variety of exciting vegetarian dishes. There was no cheese or diary in sight but plenty of wild greens, mushrooms, seaweed - all artfully prepared. Buddhist temple cuisine uses no 'stimulants' such as onions, scallions, garlic and chives. It is believed that these stimulants encourage negative emotions such as lust and anger which interfere with meditation. Plus the onion grows downwards in the soil which again is not seen as a good thing.

The owner was a Buddhist monk who had collected temple cuisine recipes from all over Korea including North Korea. He has written 5 recipe books to date and there was certainly a lot to buy in the restaurant - everything from the tasty snacks we enjoyed as appetizers and dessert, his cookbooks and even the beautiful napkins!

The interior was dimly-lit with lots of mysterious antiques including a whole set of temple bells hanging from the ceiling. There was also a central performance stage where every night at 7.30pm, there was a brief show of traditional korean dancing and drumming.

We enjoyed the performance while sampling the appetizer plate with kimchi and a smooth black sesame porridge.

Appetizer plate with kimchi, black sesame porridge and carbonated tea

The black sesame porridge was good - reminiscent of Cantonese black sesame sweet dessert but with no sugar. I actually preferred this savory version so much more.  The appetizers came with a tangy cold tea that almost tasted like sweet carbonated alcohol. We were told though that it was definitely tea.

Sanchon only serves one set menu - which makes selecting dishes from a menu necessary. The price for the dinner set was KRW 45,000 (approximately US$45) which is very reasonable for the generous helpings. The set also comes with a free glass of wine, unlimited buckwheat tea as well as other speciality teas during the appetizers and dessert.







The main affair took up all of our table. A rustic basket of small dishes was presented - along with several other surrounding dishes. There were about 16 dishes - tofu, sweet potato, okra, mushrooms, burdock root, radish as well as many ferns and wild greens that I did not recognize. Every diner was also given their own scorched rice bowl and there was a tureen of soup for the table as well. The soup was very appetizing with all kinds of different mushrooms and tofu in a miso-based broth.

Vegetarian Food Heaven

The whole table

After our main dishes were cleared, we were presented with our dessert platter consisting of homemade vegetable chips with some cinnamon and ginger tea. There was sliced lotus root and burdock and one other vegetable I couldn't identify. The rice puffs were mildly sweet, chewy and delicious. The chips were not too salty which was good.

Dessert platter with cinnamon tea

Red wine included with the dinner set

The creativity needed to make the natural food stuffs taste good was astounding. I have always loved vegetables but rely heavily on using garlic and strong spices to create flavorful dishes. This meal definitely gave us a lot of food for thought.

Sanchon's Oriental Medicine cabinet

By the time we finished at 9.30pm, there were only a few tables left and the dimly-lit surroundings took on a mysterious and almost spooky atmosphere. We finished our visit by buying one of the cookbooks - looking at the pictures to draw inspiration on cooking Korean vegetarian cuisine.

This is truly an ideal meal for the overseas visitor who enjoys vegetarian food!  If you are vegetarian for ethical or health/enjoyment purposes, this is a great destination restaurant in Seoul. Further details can be found at Sanchon's website.

A beautiful lunch at Yongsusan Biwon

A recent repeat visit to Seoul enabled me to visit some notable restaurants. Yongsusan Biwon - conveniently located near Changdeok Palace is one of them. This korean restaurant is mentioned in the Michelin Guide, although it does not have any stars. The cuisine is North Korean Gaesung-style which is more clean and subtle than Jolla-style cuisine.

Entrance of Yongsusan Biwon

We visited on that day before lunch service to enquire about a table. Luckily, they were able to accommodate us at 1.30pm - perhaps it was because we were all dressed cutely in traditional Korean hanbok! This gave us just enough time to walk around the Palace and take photos.
























 When we got to the restaurant, the dining room was bustling. There were also private rooms. We were seated at a large table in our own private area. There were 3 of us and we all got the San Set Menu which was priced at KRW 35,000 (approx. US$35 per person). This was a steal for a beautiful set lunch in fine surroundings. The set began with a few mouthfuls of abalone porridge, watery kimchi and a side salad for each.

The appetizer of mung bean jelly salad was subtly delicious. There was a side helping of beansprouts with spicy squid. After some vegetable tempura, there was a dish of roast pork slices with napa. Similar to korean barbecue, we wrapped the pork in the napa leaf, adding kimchi for an additional flavor kick.

We then received a beautiful vegetable consommé, with dumplings and rice cakes. It was served in a photogenic dragon tureen.

A dish of bulgogi then arrived on its own. It was a good version, if a little sweet too. It would have been amazing with a little white rice to soak up the flavorful juices.

The set lunch came with a choice of either bibimbap, soup noodles or cold buckwheat noodles. The bibimbap was particularly beautiful - fresh vegetables, mixed grain rice. It also came with a cool radish soup. The cold buckwheat noodles with pork was a generous portion.

Bibimbap components ready to mix

The enjoyable multi-course lunch then finished with some omijia tea and a small cherry-tomato mochi dessert.

Food dispatches from Seoul

My first visits to Seoul in the 2000's were strictly work trips. Back then, I had no burning desire to visit South Korea but  I remember a cold wintry land where an indecipherable language was spoken. The memories of the food was tremendous though - warm kimbap (rice rolls) wrapped in foil for breakfast bought by a colleague and a BBQ lunch where all of us stank of garlic afterwards.

Fast forward a decade and Korean pop culture is the cultural trendsetter in Asia - exporting K-dramas and K-pop to all of Asia and the world. You can watch Korean dramas and variety shows (subtitled in English) on drama apps. Korean pop acts release their music videos real-time on Youtube for their global fans. There have been K-pop concerts not just in Asian countries but also LA, New York, Paris, Brazil. After watching 30+ dramas, following 2 K-pop bands and numerous websites, my immersion into K-culture is deep. I've attended a few Korean language classes at MIT and no longer does the Hangul alphabet flummox me. A Korean mega-supermarket - Hmart opened near my home and I learnt to cook and love Korean food with its strong, spicy flavors.

No surprise then that I had a culinary hit-list for our vacation in Seoul this year. Bibimbap, street food, jigaes, kimbaps - short of pork hocks and intestines, I wanted to eat it all!

Luckily, the food at Rakkojae where we stayed for two nights was excellent and we started each morning with a satisfyingly traditional breakfast. The first morning, we had an abalone porridge with grilled fish. It was my first time eating abalone porridge but it was thick, subtle and delicious!

Abalone porridge at Rakkojae

The second morning, we were treated to Winnie's spicy kimchi jigae. Unfortunately, this was too spicy for Paul so I tried to eat both portions while Winnie cooked up more abalone porridge for Paul. I also loved the egg rolls!

The kimchijigae at Rakkojae for breakfast

Walking around the streets of Insadong, we enjoyed this hot eggy bread (gaeran bbang) which was a delicious morsel in the cold January weather.



Eggy bread
 

More snacks - at the sauna (jijimbang), I couldn't wait to drink the sikhye (a sweet rice drink) and eat sauna-style eggs. These are eggs that are beige/brown in color, having been cooked at a very low heat for a longer time. Rather than the taste, it was more to do with the overall jijimbang experience that I have seen so often in k-dramas. While all this was happening, Paul was enjoying the sauna.



Selfie at the jijimbang with egg (sorry no make up!)

While out late night shopping in Dongdaemun, this seemed like an ideal opportunity to enjoy some spicy tteobokki from the street stalls. Filling, sweet and very spicy, I couldn't even finish this small portion of rice cakes.

Spicy tteobokki (rice cakes)

After a couple of hours of the requisite sightseeing at the Gyeongbokgung palace, Paul admitted it was boring and off we went to look for food in Samcheongdong. This was a delightful area bordering on Bukchon Village with lots of interesting cafes. We were tempted by the signs alluding to waffles at this one café but it was this massive portion of patbingsoo (shaved ice with red bean, vanilla ice cream, mochi and banana) that truly hit the spot.

Red bean patbingsoo

And my favorite snack - close to our hotel in Myeongdong, a busy kimbap joint makes the Korean equivalent of Subway sandwiches on the spot. Warm rice rolls with assorted fillings, wrapped in seaweed. The rice is flavored with sesame oil and Korean seaweed is tastier than it's Japanese counterpart, making kimbap satisfyingly savory.This decent portion only cost about $4!

Made to order kimbap

With Paul not being able to eat spicy food, bibimbap was an ideal compromise as the spicy gochujang sauce often comes separate so that it can be mixed according to taste. In the basement of Ssamzegil mall in Insadong, Gogung is well-known for their Jeju-style bibimbap. I enjoyed a spicy squid bibimbap dolsot-style which meant it came in the hot stone pot. I prefer bibimbap this way in the winter as it keeps the rice toasty-hot. Others also enjoy the crunchy rice at the bottom.

Dolsot bibimbap (hot stone)

Generous banchan

Our meal at Gogung also came with some interesting side dishes which I enjoyed trying. I also love makgeolli (Korean rice wine) which came in the traditional kettle! Unfortunately, it was too much liquor for me and I could only manage a couple of bowls.

A Kettle of Makgeolli

I had so much fun eating in Seoul - it's no surprise that my only regret is that I didn't get to eat even more! We never got round to enjoying Korean vegetarian temple food, BBQ pork belly (samgypsal), beef soulongtang (beef bone stock soup), ginseng chicken soup (samgyetang) or fried chicken!

Guess these are my five reasons to plan another visit... 

Jinsadaek, Seoul

Jinsadaek is a traditional Korean restaurant tucked away in a back alley of busy Myeongdong. It is owned by the same group as the Rakkojae inn where we stayed for two nights. As we were impressed by the breakfast at Rakkojae, we decided to give Jinsadaek a try. The restaurant was styled like a hanok (traditional Korean house) which meant Paul and I had to sit on the floor for 90 minutes. We elected the 13 course Sa Jeongsik menu - the cheapest course at KRW38,000 per person (about US$38).


1st course - abalone porridge

The course started with a little abalone porridge, corn silk tea as well as some cold "white" kimchi which Paul liked as he can't eat the spicy stuff. We loved the abalone porridge which was thick but had a subtle taste of savory abalone.

White kimchi

The next course was Korean sweet potato vermicelli stir-fried with various vegetables which is called japchae.

Japchae

We will then served slices of cold rare beef with shreds of scallion tossed with chilli and garlic slices. I guess you wrap the scallion and garlic with the strip of beef. I loved this dish as I'm a huge scallion and garlic fan. Paul - not so much.

Cold slices of beef (minimally cooked) with garlic and scallions

Fresh sashimi was the next course. In Korea, sashimi is usually eaten with dabs of spicy gochujang and wrapped in perilla leaves as opposed to soy sauce and wasabi.

Hoe (Korean sashimi)

Our next course was a simple steamed shrimp with vegetables - satisfyingly simple. Unfortunately, we only got one each!

Steamed shrimp

























The next course was three different types of pajeon - Korean pancake with zucchini, oyster and potato fillings respectively. These were delectable little bites dipped in the soy sauce.

Pajeon sampler

By now, the table was groaning with all the dishes and there was still more to come! The next dish was a good version of beef bulgogi.

Beef bulgogi

Past mid-way point - we had reached the seasonal soup course. This was a lukewarm seaweed soup. Not unpleasant in taste but a bit slimy in texture. It was different.

Seaweed soup

 

The next dish was the steamed belly pork served with slices of seaweed to wrap the pork in.



Steamed pork with seaweed wraps

The next course was one of the reasons I wanted to eat here. Raw crabs marinated in soy sauce - called ganjang gejang. I had heard about this delicacy in Korea and wanted to try it. Here was my chance.

Looking delicious!

The taste was interesting - subtle taste of crab meat but marinated in soy sauce with scallions and sesame seeds. I would certainly eat it again but must say cooked crab still beats raw crab. By this time, we were getting full but there was also grilled tile fish to enjoy. This was followed by rice and a side dish of whelks with zucchini which was good. There was also a soybean paste stew which was fabulous with rice. Alas, I was too stuffed at this stage to truly enjoy the last few dishes of the course menu.

Chilli zucchini and whelks salad

All in all, I really enjoyed this 'degustation' menu of traditional Korean foods. It was priced very reasonably and we tried a variety of dishes although nothing stood out particularly. Throughout the evening, we were also treated to a rather jarring gayageum performance but that simply added to the charm.

Looks better than it sounds

We had an early dinner reservation but by the time we left, the restaurant was bustling and turning walk-ins away. It seemed like an ideal place to take visitors from out-of-town for business but there also seemed to be locals dining there. Since we were staying at their sister property Rakkojae, we even got a 10% discount!

Having a grand time!