Hot Spots
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Can Sundae Gukbab Be Recommended to Foreigners in Korea??
Sundae and Sundae Gukbab has been always my favorite Korean food. It is a very Korean style and traditional local food so I always thought that only the Korean people would enjoy this food. Sundae is a type of Korean blood sausage usually made from pig’s intestines stuffed with various ingredients. Does it sound disgusting already? Then you can skip this posting. But if not, you can hear me out.
If you’re still new to Korea then you may not like Sundae very much because of its look. You wouldn’t like the color either because it’s black. The strange thing at least to me is that most of the foreigners that I’ve known so far all liked to eat Sundae and Sundae Gukbab. Gukbab is like a hot soup with cooked rice in it so Sundae Gukbab means a Gukbab with Sundae in it.
Many of foreigners may not like Sundae because of its look and color. But once you taste it, you’re going to change your mind.
Most of Koreans love to eat Sundae Gukbab after drinking. Many of them believe that you can sober up after eating it. It works for me as well.
Sundae is a very popular street food in Korea. It became an inexpensive street snack since the Korean War sold in snack bars with other popular ones like Tteok-bokki and Twigim(fries). You’ll see Korean girls are crazy about them.
Here’s some information about the restaurant that I’d love to visit again.
Address: 6, Yangjaedae-ro27gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Phone No. : 02-445-0777
Operation Hours: 24 Hours
- Price for each -
Sundae Gukbab: 8,000 KRW
Sundae Set Menu: 12,000 KRW
Sundae Collection: Small 20,000 KRW / Large 25,000 KRW
Food
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Samgyupsal, the Most Common and Popular Barbeque in Korea
Samgyupsal can be translated as ‘pork belly’. And Samgyupsal is the most common and popular meat that Koreans enjoy. I always love to eat Samgyupsal with some beer and all my stress goes away. I would say everyone in Korea might feel the same way.
It’s not very hard to find a Samgyupsal restaurant in Korea. And I’ve never seen any foreigners who didn’t like to eat Samgyupsal. Yes, because it’s barbeque meat. Many people eat Samgyupsal with lettuce or with some other green vegetables. But personally I don’t recommend it. You can just dip it in the salt so you can taste the meat itself.
Some restaurants serve Samgyupsal with some salt sprinkled on it already. You can just eat it without sauce once it’s cooked.
You’ll be able to eat many different Korean side dishes as well when you visit them. But if you’re not very much into Korean traditional foods, you can just skip them.
Korean people love to grill Kimchi as well with Samgyupsal. When you do it, you’re going to see why they love to grill them together. Yes, Kimch tastes much better. But it’s not for Samgyupsal, ha.
Samgyupsal is the most common and popular meat in Korea. And it’s cheap compared to Hanwoo, Korean beef. You can also buy some at a butcher’s shop and cook it at your house. You have to make sure that you circulate fresh air throughout the house though.
Here’s some information about the restaurant we visited for Samgyupsal.
Address : 13, Cheonhodae-ro 155 gil, Gangdong-gu, Seoul
Phone No. : 02-6409-7771
Open & Close Hours : 12:00 ~ 24:00
- Price for Menu -
Samgyusal : 13,000 KRW (180g)
Moksal : 13,000 KRW (180g)
Hangjungsal : 13,000 KRW (180g)
Food
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100 Year Old Chickens for Samgyetang(?)
Yes, Samgyetang is such a popular Korean traditional chicken soup and it’s very common to eat Samgyetang everywhere in Korea. But this one that I had with my family was quite different.
First of all, the color is yellow which is why it’s also called Golden Samgyetang. Most of them have a color close to white or clear like water but this one is yellow. I figured that it probably had some sulfur in it as an ingredient.
And the soup is much thicker than others. Some of you may not like it but I would say the taste is definitely much better because of the thicker soup.
Maybe I’m not supposed to say this but the restaurant’s name has a unique word ‘Baekse’, meaning 100 years of age. They serve 100 year old chickens? Probably not, ha. It could mean that you might be able to live until 100 years old if you try this food. So it means this Samgyetang is that good for your health according to them. Besides, it was recently introduced on a TV show in Korea so you’ll probably have to wait in line to try it.
If you didn’t have a chance to eat Samgyetang yet then I would definitely recommend it because it is a traditional Korean soup. And if you already like eating Samgyetang, then try to visit this place for a difference in quality and taste. There’s a saying in Korea. Chickens are always right!
Address : 1533 Seobu-ro, Gwonseon-gu, Suwon, Kyonggi Province
Phone No. : 031-271-5888
- Price of Menu -
Sanghwang Samgyetang : 15,000 KRW
Hanbang Samgyetang : 17,000 KRW
Andong Zimdak : 32,000~45,000 KRW
Food
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Hanwoo, Beef that Melts in Your Mouth.
We had a chance to visit a Korean barbeque restaurant that serves Korean beef, also known as ‘Hanwoo’ near the office. Have you heard of Hanwoo? It means Korean native cattle or Korean beef. I would say that everyone in Korea would love to eat Hanwoo but the only problem is that it is quite pricey to eat often.
The restaurant that we visited was a very popular venue because of its taste and quality of meat. The moment that I had a bite, I thought it was melting in my mouth. I didn’t even need any kind of sauce, just a bit of salt because I didn’t want to spoil its original taste.
This restaurant is also a butcher's shop so you can compare the prices of each part and buy it at quite a reasonable price.
This is another reason why I loved this place. This is a Korean style raw beef and we call it Yukhoe. They serve it for free as a side dish but only once, ha.
When you have a chance to visit Korea, you don’t have to think about any other types of Korean food. Just try Hanwoo first, it could be expensive but it’s worth it and you will not regret it. It should be one of your main priorities when you visit Korea. There are different grades of Hanwoo but I would suggest you should try the A+ grade which is a bit higher than the average. We had A++ grade which is a higher quality of Hanwoo.
Here’s some information about the restaurant we visited for Hanwoo.
Address : 410 Yeoksam-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Phone No. : 02-567-5123
- Price for each -
Pork Rib : 17,000 KRW
Hanwoo : 22,900 KRW
Galbi-tang : 12,000 KRW
Samgyupsal : 16,000 KRW
And there’s more to be recommended.
Food