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Seoul 2013 - Food Guide

I'm back home to the sunny island today!
I don't know why but I feel so tired despite sleeping till 10.30am today :(
Anyway, the weather was cooling in Korea, especially Seoul.
Busan was rather hot though, and Jeju was just AWESOME.

I think it's pretty easy for me to say that my Jeju trip was the highlight of our 14 days in Korea.
Probably because of the scenery and the accessibility to these spots by our rental car.
Will blog more on that later.
Headed to Seoul on 17th May via Singapore Airlines.
Our itinerary was like this:
1. Seoul from 17th to 20th
2. Depart to Jeju on 21st (3Days 2Nights is not enough!)
3. Busan from 23rd to 27th morning
4. KTX from Busan to Seoul from 27th; till 30th.
Food to eat in Seoul:

1. Drinking coffee
I was NEVER a coffee kind of person - I very much prefer my milo and hot chocolate.
But being in Korea, where caffeine are everywhere, I am very sure both of us had a cup of coffee every single day.

2. Andong Chicken
Well, seeing this franchise store everywhere, I thought this would be a decent Korean meal. Turns out it taste like Chinese food. With potato and chicken and noodles, it was just a normal meal that my mom cooks - and it wasn't cheap. Probably 23,000Won for two.
Plus it's only this dish plus two bowls of rice - WHUTTT
I don't recommend going here, but if you're curious how it taste like, go try!


3. Patbingsu - the korean EXPENSIVE version of Ice Kachang
Oh no, now that I'm talking about this, I forgot to bring my bf to Paris Baguette for Patbingsu! Oops, too late.
Anyway, we tried patbingsu at different locations. Please do not have your patbingsu at TWOSOME PLACE! :( especially not the berries version, I'm not sure about other flavours, but the one we ordered was too sweet! The berries weren't fresh either - too frozen.

4. Seollongtang Beef Broth Soup 설렁탕
This was recommended by my Korean friend, when I asked her what are the korean dishes I could try. I tried pretty much the usual stuffs when I was there on summer exchange. So, for this trip, I wanted to eat more different varieties and I did :D so happy.
Anyway, I love soup, really, especially bland ones haha. This is a rather bland and milky soup, which was nice. I had this at Sinchon in this restaurant. We ordered mandu/dumplings as well.
Both of us really love the dumplings! It was so delicious :)
5. Lotteria - Korea's McDonalds
When I told my bf I wanted to try McDonalds, he was so quick to say NO. Okay lor. Anyway, it's rather difficult to spot McDonalds in Korea, unlike in Singapore (that's ironic).
But, Lotteria was nearly everywhere! I'm not sure if Lotteria is associated with Lotte, lazy to check haha.
Went to Lotteria twice, once for their cheese sticks which my friend recommended (but I don't think it's nice leh) and another time for the burgers. The burgers in Lotteria were rather decent. We ordered a spicy chicken burger set which was on discount (4400 W instead of 6000+). Well, I still love my KFC Zinger burger more, but eating in Lotteria was a good experience - if you're sick of Korean food, head here!
6. Tteokbokki 떡볶이
For me, this was just an average tasting Korean food. If you want the "authentic: korean experience, try eating tteokbokki at pochang macha (those tents that sells a variety of drinks and food). Didn't experience this in Seoul, but we did in Busan! Look at the Busan post to see more.
Had the tteokbokki below for only 1000 won near my hostel - SUPER CHEAP, but don't expect a lot of tteok. Well, it's still good for tastings!

Also, before we left, we had the final meetup with my Korean friends. We went to Sindang station, which is famed for its tteokbokki alley! The most famous stall is the signboard with the granny's face, called Mabongnim Halmeoni Tteokbokki.

BUT, really, WE WERE SO UNLUCKY. The stall wasn't open, so we had to go to another stall - I Love Sindangdong.
Truthfully, the tteokbokki at the restaurant was bad, I didn't like it. It's so weird that there were so many celebrities who patron the shop. Saw signatures of Yoo Jaesuk, Jaejoong, Micky, Hyunbin etc all over!
Erm, but the tteokbokki sucks man.

7. Ddakgalbi - at Yoogane
Yoogane is a franchise store that is nearly everywhere in Korea. This was my first time eating dakgalbi here. The last time I went to Seoul, my korean friend brought me to this dakgalbi stall at gangnam which tasted SO GOOD.
Sadly, this time, the dakgalbi at Yoogane disappoints. But it's still worth a try - I suggest going to any dakgalbi stall. You don't have to come to Yoogane to have it!

8. Samgyupsal - bbq pork
This is really my favourite! But, not all samgyulpsal stalls offers delicious food. We love our samgyulpsal at a restaurant near Gangnam station, but the one at Busan was HORRIBLE.
Please don't be trick by cheap samgyupsal stalls offering meat for 4,900 won or etc. The one at Busan said the minimum order was 3 pax, when we only had 2 pax. Plus their meat was bad. More on that in the Busan post.
As I'm editing my pictures, I'm salivating while looking at the BBQ Pork!!

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