The Top Crazy Foods to Try in Seoul
I just came back from an amazing four-day trip to South Korea. The sole reason for visiting, at least for me, was to eat as much Korean food as possible. I forced myself to eat anything that looked interesting and, looking back, I can say it was a success.
Of course, while in Seoul, one has to eat foods such as kimchi, Korean barbecue and other typical dishes, otherwise why even bother travelling there. That's why I will skip straight to the intriguing, delicious, interesting an extraordinary foods I've come across.
By no means have I covered everything, and, as this was my first trip to Korea, I will definitely have to come back and expand my palate.
Korean Hot Dogs
Fancying a cereal, ramen or almond hot dog? I never thought I would, but when I came across a booth selling those exotic creations, I couldn't resist. Additionally, to the types mentioned, this shop also sells bread crumb hot dogs, potato hot dogs and normal sausage hot dogs. Although what was on offer didn't resemble a hot dog at all, more like a corn dog, we still went for it, choosing the most delicious sounding one: the ramen dog. Covered in sugar and sweet & sour sauce, it had just the right amount of crispiness, savoury and sweetness to it.
We found this place close to the Bukchon Hanok village, but I'm sure there are plenty more of such stalls selling those delicious snacks on a stick.
Hotteok 호떡
Hotteok is some sort of deep-fried cake with sweet (or savoury) filling. Typically, this popular street food is filled with molten brown sugar, peanuts, honey and cinnamon. We came across this snack still chewing on the Korean hot dog from above but had to try one anyway.
On my first bite, I, unfortunately, dropped the Hotteok and had to buy a new one. The second attempt proved more successful. Upon biting into the flat, bread-like bun, I was overcome with a unique mixture of caramel and peanuts and the cinnamon added a further layer to the experience. Definitely a favourite so far.
As quickly as the flavour explosion came, it disappeared, as my tongue and fingers were singed by the hot molten sugar filling, so, be careful and wait a while before devouring this treat.
Korean Dessert Cafe: Sulbing 술빙
This one is a must for any dessert fanatic. The cafe is a chain that can be found all over Korea and other places in Asia. It offers a popular dessert known as sulbing, or "snow ice" if translated. It consists of a large bowl of frozen shaved milk ice, covered with various toppings.
After a difficult time choosing from the plethora of flavours, we went for mint chocolate and green tea matcha.
A spoonful of sulbing delivered a creamy combination of brownies, ice cream, cocoa powder, sauces and other toppings. The dessert was surprisingly not as sweet as it looked since most of the ice underneath isn't flavoured. Either way, we ate it dangerously fast and as the sweetness ran low, we poured some more condensed milk on top making it a truly ful"filling" dessert.
Banana Tree Cafe 바나나트리
There are more than one locations for this cafe, but the one we went to was this extremely cosy and small place in the Sinsa area. With limited seating, we were lucky to visit during non-busy hours. The desserts they sell here are worth going out of your way for: puddings served in small flower pots along with little shovels as spoons.
Aside from making great Instagram opportunities, these cute little flower pots actually tasted decent. If that wasn't unique enough, the cafe also offers candy floss latte. Although nothing special in flavour, the uniqueness of these desserts is worth going there for.
Honourable mentions
This was by far not everything I tried in Seoul, but every single thing I tried blew me away and left me amazed.
While strolling through Gangnam, we came across a newly opened shop, called "Eggcellent", which served these amazing looking scrambled egg sandwiches with all sorts of different toppings. We went for cheese/avocado and it did not disappoint.
Of course, this entire trip I was craving Korean fried chicken and had it on several occasions (I even bought Korean chicken flavoured chips to bring home). Having chicken in Korea is a must on everyone's itinerary.
Ramen was certainly on the list of things I had to try, especially covered in molten cheese. While this was great, one of my local friends introduced me to something new, ramen with spicy chicken - both on one plate and fiery hot. Although I left with a burning mouth, it was definitely a dish worth trying again.
The perhaps most unique food experience was the Blind Alley Racoon cafe. There's nothing like sipping from a mint-chocolate milkshake while playing with happy little pigs and sleepy racoons. For more on this, wait for my upcoming YouTube vlog about my trip to Korea (have a look at some of my previous travel videos and subscribe here).
Overall, for me, this was just an introduction into the explosive world of fusion foods and revolutionary desserts, that is Korea. There's no doubt I will be back and explore even more of what the country has to offer.
Of course, while in Seoul, one has to eat foods such as kimchi, Korean barbecue and other typical dishes, otherwise why even bother travelling there. That's why I will skip straight to the intriguing, delicious, interesting an extraordinary foods I've come across.
By no means have I covered everything, and, as this was my first trip to Korea, I will definitely have to come back and expand my palate.
Korean Hot Dogs
Fancying a cereal, ramen or almond hot dog? I never thought I would, but when I came across a booth selling those exotic creations, I couldn't resist. Additionally, to the types mentioned, this shop also sells bread crumb hot dogs, potato hot dogs and normal sausage hot dogs. Although what was on offer didn't resemble a hot dog at all, more like a corn dog, we still went for it, choosing the most delicious sounding one: the ramen dog. Covered in sugar and sweet & sour sauce, it had just the right amount of crispiness, savoury and sweetness to it.
 |
| 핫도그트럭&커피 |
We found this place close to the Bukchon Hanok village, but I'm sure there are plenty more of such stalls selling those delicious snacks on a stick.
Hotteok 호떡
Hotteok is some sort of deep-fried cake with sweet (or savoury) filling. Typically, this popular street food is filled with molten brown sugar, peanuts, honey and cinnamon. We came across this snack still chewing on the Korean hot dog from above but had to try one anyway.
On my first bite, I, unfortunately, dropped the Hotteok and had to buy a new one. The second attempt proved more successful. Upon biting into the flat, bread-like bun, I was overcome with a unique mixture of caramel and peanuts and the cinnamon added a further layer to the experience. Definitely a favourite so far.
As quickly as the flavour explosion came, it disappeared, as my tongue and fingers were singed by the hot molten sugar filling, so, be careful and wait a while before devouring this treat.
Korean Dessert Cafe: Sulbing 술빙
This one is a must for any dessert fanatic. The cafe is a chain that can be found all over Korea and other places in Asia. It offers a popular dessert known as sulbing, or "snow ice" if translated. It consists of a large bowl of frozen shaved milk ice, covered with various toppings.
After a difficult time choosing from the plethora of flavours, we went for mint chocolate and green tea matcha.
A spoonful of sulbing delivered a creamy combination of brownies, ice cream, cocoa powder, sauces and other toppings. The dessert was surprisingly not as sweet as it looked since most of the ice underneath isn't flavoured. Either way, we ate it dangerously fast and as the sweetness ran low, we poured some more condensed milk on top making it a truly ful"filling" dessert.
Banana Tree Cafe 바나나트리
There are more than one locations for this cafe, but the one we went to was this extremely cosy and small place in the Sinsa area. With limited seating, we were lucky to visit during non-busy hours. The desserts they sell here are worth going out of your way for: puddings served in small flower pots along with little shovels as spoons.
Aside from making great Instagram opportunities, these cute little flower pots actually tasted decent. If that wasn't unique enough, the cafe also offers candy floss latte. Although nothing special in flavour, the uniqueness of these desserts is worth going there for.
Honourable mentions
This was by far not everything I tried in Seoul, but every single thing I tried blew me away and left me amazed.
While strolling through Gangnam, we came across a newly opened shop, called "Eggcellent", which served these amazing looking scrambled egg sandwiches with all sorts of different toppings. We went for cheese/avocado and it did not disappoint.
Of course, this entire trip I was craving Korean fried chicken and had it on several occasions (I even bought Korean chicken flavoured chips to bring home). Having chicken in Korea is a must on everyone's itinerary.
Ramen was certainly on the list of things I had to try, especially covered in molten cheese. While this was great, one of my local friends introduced me to something new, ramen with spicy chicken - both on one plate and fiery hot. Although I left with a burning mouth, it was definitely a dish worth trying again.
 |
| Ramen and spicy chicken |
The perhaps most unique food experience was the Blind Alley Racoon cafe. There's nothing like sipping from a mint-chocolate milkshake while playing with happy little pigs and sleepy racoons. For more on this, wait for my upcoming YouTube vlog about my trip to Korea (have a look at some of my previous travel videos and subscribe here).
Overall, for me, this was just an introduction into the explosive world of fusion foods and revolutionary desserts, that is Korea. There's no doubt I will be back and explore even more of what the country has to offer.
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