Happy food journey (Seoul Edition)

Although I had 10 days in Seoul to eat as many types of food as I possibly could, I wasn’t able to eat everything that I had hoped to try. Let’s be honest, if I had eaten all of the foods that I had wanted to, I may have ended up in a coma at the hospital. I missed out on foods like Naengmyeon, Pajeon, and so much more! But I guess that now gives me an excuse to go back? Right? Right?!

However, I did get to try out some fantastic things! And, since I took pictures of so many (but definitely not all) of the things I ate, I thought I’d share those with you!

 

Convenience Store Food

So first thing’s first – THEM KOREAN CONVENIENCE STORES THO

I need to take a moment to praise Korean convenience stores. Sure, we have convenience stores in Canada, but I’m 99% sure they are not as great as the ones in Korea. Korean convenience stores have a plethora of goods (ranging from drinks, gimbap, onigiri, chicken skewers, pastries, chocolates, ramen, and so much more!). Not only that, but they also have seating areas!

What I would do most mornings before heading out would be to grab a pastry from the convenience store (and sometimes some snacks for later) and head out on my adventure-filled day!

This was one of my favourite ones! It was called “cheese bread”. At first I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from it, because let’s be honest – what would something called “cheese bread” taste like? Would it be savoury? Would it be sweet? I had absolutely no idea! In the end, I bought it because it was cute and to my great delight, it was actually sweet!

 

Bingsu, Bingsu, Bingsu

This dessert (which you may have seen me talk about before in another blog) was something I had wanted to try for years. My Korean friends would talk about it whenever they came back from Korea, I would see it on Korean dramas, and I had seen pictures of it on other blogs that I followed.

This not-too-sweet-but-still-sweet dessert did not disappoint! 10/10 would recommend! The shaved ice blends so nicely with the fruit in such a way that the dish itself is not too overpowering. It is the perfect amount of sweetness and is so refreshing to have after a long day of walking.

I wonder if other countries have desserts similar to this?

PS. Korean strawberries are very delicious. They are sweet and juicy and I could probably live off of them for the rest of my life.

 

Traditional Korean Food + Banchan (side dishes)

Next on my list of food was getting to try a traditional Korean dish. While attempting to find Bukchon Hanok village, my friend and I stumbled upon this little spot and had a lovely meal. Unfortunately, my tolerance for spice isn’t the best – so I wasn’t able to finish the whole soup, but the meal was wonderful nonetheless. I especially loved the rice! Does anyone know why rice would be purple? (Is it a certain kind? I would love to find it and try it out myself at home!)

I wish I had had the opportunity to eat more dishes that came with banchan, but unfortunately I did not have that chance. Maybe next time when I go visit I’ll be able to do so!

 

Tonkatsu/Donkkaseu

I have been told that Tonkatsu is actually a Japanese dish, and not a Korean one (if I am wrong – someone please let me know!~)

After a long day of walking around Myeongdong, this was the perfect dish to fill me up! I stumbled upon it when I was trying to find the subway station, but instead found a food court at the Lotte Department Store. The dish had pork cutlets, eggs, onions, green onions, and rice! Not to mention it came with a delicious miso soup!

 

Hotteok

I don’t even know how many times I bought Hotteok to eat during my stay. I can’t stress enough how delicious this is. After hours of walking around in cold weather – eating a sugary and warm Hotteok is the best thing! It warms you up and you can’t help but smile.

I think the best one I had was at Namdaemun market (pictured below) – it was soft on the inside, but crispy on the outside. The other Hotteoks I had eaten (like the one pictured above) were more squishy and soft (if that makes any sense?)

 

Caramel Machiattos

Yes, I know Caramel Machiattos aren’t food, but I became obsessed with them in Korea… Sooo I thought it wouldn’t do this blogpost justice if I didn’t share the drink that I had whenever I had the chance.

This picture was taken one afternoon on my very first day in Korea where I was in Myeongdong and decided to go to a coffee shop. Being able to drink a warm drink, while looking outside of the window at the people below, gave me a sense of calm and I was rushed with feelings of happiness. “I’m finally in Korea” was what I thought. I am so thankful to have been given this opportunity and to check one more thing off of my bucket list.

 

Honey bread

I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to try this if it were not for my new-found friend, Christina.

SO DELICIOUS! If I could eat this everyday without getting diabetes, I would consider it. If you ever see this sweet dessert, don’t overlook it thinking “I could just toast my own bread at home and put honey on it myself” – buy it, eat it, love it! …and yes… that is a Caramel Machiatto that I ordered… for the gazillionth time

PS. I also had such a wonderful time going to Korean BBQ with Christina (thanks guuurl!), but unfortunately I have no none-blurry photos to share :'(

 

Bibimbap

One of my most favourite foods to eat back home in Canada whenever I go to a Korean restaurant! (My other favourite is ddeokbokki)

This picture was taken right before I mixed everything together – at the moment, the only things that you can clearly see are the seaweed and eggs, but the dish itself contains many kinds of vegetables, rice, and mine also came with beef.

 

Jajangmyeon + Mandu/Gyoza

There was a place near where I was staying where I went to eat at three times. I had their Jajangmyeon the first two times and instead of eating at the restaurant, I ordered take-out.

Aaaand this… is what I ended up doing. Eating Jajangmyeon while watching a Korean drama? Livin’ the life. But note that I haven’t mixed the noodles with the sauce yet (the sauce is sitting on top of the noodles right now). Those green things? Those are pieces of cucumber. And, see those yellow things? Those are pickled radishes! They are so delicious and are such a great pairing with the Jajangmyeon.

The third time that I ate at the same restaurant was the day of my departure. Before heading back to finish up my packing, I decided to take a short break and go eat Gyoza. So glad that I did – because it tasted SO SO GOOD!

 

 

Airplane food

Yes, yes, I know – this isn’t technically food that I had in Korea. But, I wanted to share with you one of the meals that we were given on my Korean Air flight. I was actually quite delighted with what we got!

They gave us Bibimbap and seaweed soup – and for dessert, we were given fruit on my way to Korea, but on the way back we were given these little rice cake balls that contained red bean paste!

 

I have to say, one of my most favourite things to do while traveling to different countries is trying their food. I am always so in awe of how different (or sometimes, how similar) the food in different countries is to the food that I’m used to eating.

I am so excited that I had this amazing opportunity to go to Korea and have a chance to eat the many different foods it had to offer. And thank you to the amazing individuals who took me to try some of these dishes! (Thank you thank you thank you)

xx