There is sooooo much good Korean street food in Seoul! As an enchanted tourist, some of my favorites are below.
The first one is an egg on what tastes like corn bread called, aptly enough, egg bread (GYERAN BBANG). This was a little stall in the shopping district of Myeongdong outside of hotel. They are a delicious combination of savory and sweet and a perfect breakfast snack. I found a recipe for making your own here: http://mykoreankitchen.com/korean-style-egg-bread/. My next favorite snack from a street stall was a cup of rice cakes (tteokbokki) doused in hot sauce called gochujang. Tteokbokki is chewy, spicy and oddly satisfying to eat. This particular cup was peppered with small slices of fish cake.
Also in Myeongdong were these adorable dressed up ice cream dishes skillfully scooped to look like a budding rose with chocolate, green tea and strawberry cream. Like the kid in the picture I desperately wanted to try one but the line was always too long at the Milky Bee.
Other favorites were cups of fried sweet potatoes and fried, fish-shaped bread (not filled with anything fish but with red bean paste). They were so good!
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bibimbap ("dolsat" or hot bowl) is my favorite dish of all time, long before I set foot in South Korea. Something about the raw egg, the way the rice stays crispy on the edges and the delightful mix of different flavors, textures and spices in a single dish, all while staying sizzling hot the whole time. delights my tastebuds and my tum. I can't get enough! This awesome dish was from a restaurant called Gogung Insadong in Insadong's Ssamziegil Mall. The variation, called Jeonju Bibimbap, was served with red and white kimchi (below) and barley water instead of tap water, which took some getting used to but really grew on me. I did try this octopus variation while at Gwangjang Traditional Market. It was...interesting. Octopus is hugely popular in Korea, along with multiple free side dishes like kimchi or rice cakes (collectively called banchan). I took the occasional break from bibimbap to sample other cuisine, such as the city's famous "KFC" ("Korean fried chicken) and this spicy tofu soup with Chilsung (7up) while in Myeongdong. Koreanair even served a cute bibimbap dish on the plane!
Cat cafes. I have always wanted to go to one ever since the craze started in Asia several years ago. The U.S. has since gotten on the animal cafe train but due to food safety issues the American "cat cafes" consistent of grabbing coffee in one room and then going into a cat shelter next door. So I was excited to finally experience the real thing and it was everything I had imagined and more! There seems to be a cat cafe on every street in Seoul. The one we chanced upon required removing shoes before going inside and sanitizing hands for the safety of the cats. Once inside you can pet, but not pick up, the animals. This one had an entry fee o 10,000 WON per person (~$10) and came with one free drink. Inside was super relaxing, quiet and surprisingly clean for having about 10 cats lounging around!
For an extra fee, you can buy a small pack of chicken to feed the cats. This was a surefire way to get all the felines in the cafe running over to you and gently swatting at your arms or climbing onto your lap for a favored treat! Aside from cat cafes, we also passed a puppy cafe (closed), sheep cafe (!) and raccoon cafe (?!). Innis Free (everywhere), Tony Moly (best packaging), Skinfood, Too Cool for School and Etude House were my favorites for quality/affordability balance. Literally hundreds of cosmetic stores line the tourist and shopping areas in Seoul. Save some space at the airport for duty-free items. Most stores will give you at least one free sample--to score more, go directly to the stores and go in the mornings before it gets crowded. If you spend a lot in one place, you may get full-sized items as samples or even cute tote bags like the one I got below after spending a bunch at Tony Moly!
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