Namdaemun Market, Seoul

Namdaemun Market, the largest traditional market in Korea, is a well-known and popular tourist spot. Namdaemun is the nation's wholesale centre and one can practically find anything here. However for clothes, I still think that for clothes, Dongdaemun is a better bet. 

I've always thought that Dongdaemun is a night market, and Namdaemun is a day market. True in it's Facts, but not exactly accurate, depending how you define day and night. Dongdaemun wholesalers start business at night, from 8pm and ends the day at 5am. Some wholesalers double up as retailers would stretch their business up to 5pm. 

Namdaemun, on the contrary, starts business as early as 5am in the morning. According to some websites, business starts as early as 11pm the night and last through the day. Well, for a typical tourist that is not into wholesaling, we'll look at the retailers business hours. 

For most tourists like myself. Namdaemun would be a more interesting place in the day. Namdaemun, would be a place to go for foodstuff, and Dongdaemun, at night, or even past midnight, to shop for clothes. 

Namdaemun is filled with busy street stalls. You find street stalls lined in alleys. A place I recommend for getting local foodstuff, kitchenware and household items. 

Look at how many different kinds of seaweed you can choose from. Definitely spoilt for choice. Some shops have samples though but you'll be obligated to buy if you do try the samples.

My most memorable part of Namdaemun is the food alleys or the food streets.

Some of the "cooked" food stalls, similar to our Singapore "Economical Mixed Vegetables Rice". The stalls have makeshift tables and chairs. It's amazing to find it in a developed country like Korea, but such street-food stalls are becoming an extinct species in Singapore.

You can find a number of stalls that sell this fried fish-cake stuff with sausage. They make the batter there and fry it on the spot. Looks really yummy, but truly unhealthy. 

We choose a stall that is pretty popular. Well, Papa Snew is a bit concern of the re-used oil, so we do try to find one which the oil that doesn't look too over-used, judging by the colour of the oil. 

Another popular stall that has long queue is this Hotteok (or Hoddeok). This comes in a variety of filled Korean pancake and is a popular street food in Korea.

There's a variety of sweet or savoury filling to choose from. I tried the one with vegetables, which is stuff with veggies such as chives, carrots and Korean vermicelli (our chinese "Tang Hoon"). It was so interesting that I have to try one of it despite the long queue.

Papa Snew is not into Chives, so he choose the sweet one with red-bean filling. It was yummy as well.

There's much more of stalls than this. However, this being towards the last day of my trip, my human battery is running low and my legs are beyond me.

Walking is a lot in Korea. Do be prepare to do tons of walking if you are exploring these places on your own.

Look at the makeshift money changer in the top right hand picture below. I heard that the rates here is not bad, though I didn't ask.

Namdaemun Market
Hoehyeon Station (Subway Line 4), Exit 5

Close on Sunday

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Dak Galbi @ Chuncheon

I am not a fan of Korean drama series. But of course, almost anyone who heard of Korean drama series have heard of  Winter Sonata which was one of the hit series that brought Korean drama series to fame. The famous romance series started off with the male lead, Joon Sang moving to a rural city of Chuncheon.

Chuncheon is the "gateway" city to Nami Island. We were very fortunate that our Korean friend, Romeo and his gf had so kindly offered to bring us to Nami Island. On our way, we stopped by for Dak Galbi lunch. Dak Galbi was originated from Chuncheon. Dak Galbi is a popular Korean dish, made with stir-fry diced chicken in cabbage, sweet potato and Ddeokbokki  (Korean rice cake), mixed in chilli pepper paste.

As we could not take too spicy, Romeo instructed them to prepare it less spicy. The ingredients are prepared in a large hotplate and you have to fry it for 10-15 minutes before they are cooked. The taste was delicious and it was not too spicy for us.

We also ordered Pajeon - Korean pancake and cold noodles. Of course, every meal comes with the sides dishes - Kimchi and the rest. The cold noodles may look spicy, but it is just sweet sauce. Very yummy as well.

Just outside the restaurant, we saw the lettuce growing on empty plot of land. Perhaps, that's where the restaurant get their vegetables! Just like any barbequed meat, dak galbi can be eaten, wrapped in the lettuce.

Lastly, we reserved some dak galbi to be fried rice. We order plain rice and just pour it in to mix it with the leftover dak galbi, and it turns out to be another dish - Fried rice!

Snew's Rating: 4.5 / 5

We were very grateful that our Korean friend drove us there. I am not sure how to get there by public transport as it is a very localised eatery. However, I saw some tour groups stopping there for lunch as well. I was told that this is the place that started the original Dak Galbi. No wonder it is so yummy.

There are many Dak Galbi restaurants just outside the Nami Island ferry terminal. However, they are very touristy and doesn't look authentic. I read somewhere in the internet that there's a Chuncheon Myeongdong Dak Galbi Street. I am confused if this is a street in Chuncheon, or in Myeongdong itself. If you have the answer, do drop me a comment.

Details of Restaurant:
(Apologies, I do not have the details in English). But I do hope that this business card do provide some help.

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Food in Myeongdong - Jjimdak & Gomtang

There are numerous eateries at the Myeongdong shopping street. However, for good and popular shops, you need a local, or at least someone who has stayed in Seoul long enough to introduce you. Otherwise, check on blogs for recommendation.

Our friend, Mr KH, brought me to this Jjimdak place during my previous business trip and it was yummy! So I went back to Myeongdong and look for it. There were two similar shops selling, but I couldn't remember which was the one that he brought us. So, I just stepped into one, hoping that it is the correct one. Turns out to be not the one he brought us. However, this Bongchu Jjimdak, is also a very popular one, where many bloggers have recommended.

Jjimdak, or Andong Jjimdak is braised, or stewed chicken in soya sauce. Andong is the place where the dish is originated. The taste is slightly different from the one that our mum cooked in Singapore, or the Chinese-style one. This one is cooked with Korean glass noodles, carrots and potato, and the taste is really good. I love Korean glass noodles, the thick chewy type.

You can choose from different portions - Small, Medium or Large according to the number of pax. This restaurant only serves this dish. I was told that in Korea, if the shop only serves or specialised in one particular dish, it must be good.

There are a few other branches of the Bongchu Jjimdak as well. We saw one at Hongdae area. It could be a franchise store.


Snew's Rating:  4.2 / 5
After all the BBQ and spicy stuff, it's good to try something that is comforting to the tummy, and a dish that is close to home.

Bongchu Jjimdak, Myeongdong

25-2, 2-ga Myeong-dong,
Chung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Opens: 11am to 11pm

Directions:
Exit at Myeongdong Station (Subway Line 4), Exit 8. Walk straight and you see a small street with eateries on your left. Turn in the street. Walk straight ahead for 5 minutes and you will reach the shop.


The one that Mr KH recommends was another Andong Jjimadak. For a foreigner like me, I think that both are equally good. This is just a few shops next to Bongchu Jjimadak.

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On our last day, we met up with Mr KH. I told him I wanted to have something simple, no more of those spicy stuff and BBQ before our flight home. I ask him if he could bring us to the Seolleongtang - Ox Bone Soup as I came across a blog on this and I have always love Ox Bone or Ox Tail Soup. Hence, he brought us to this place - Hadongkwan which has been around for the decades.

Hadongkwan - 河东馆 is truly a very traditional Gomtang restaurant. The name of the restaurant is in Han language, which is our Traditional Chinese. Places with Han language in Korea usually means that they have been around for very long time. A search in the internet shows that this shop has been operating for 70years.

Gomtang or Seolleongtang are both brewed from Ox bones for hours to get the flavour. I am not sure what is the difference between the two though. Do drop me a comment to enlighten me if you know.

Mr KH was surprised that I have suggested to have Seolleongtang as he says that most people have this after a night of heavy drinking. This is probably the usual treat for hangover for the Koreans. For me, I need to detox after nights of BBQ meats and spicy stuff.

We have to pre-pay when you order your food before it is served. We get to choose between the normal at 10,000KRW or the "special" at 12,000KRW, which has more slices of beef. We ordered only the beef strip (slices of beef) as we are no fan of beef tripe. Beneath the soup is the rice, which is served in the same bowl. This reminds me of Teochew Porridge. You may also ask for a refill of soup.

As with most Korean meals, Kimchi is also served here. I was told that you can also mix the Kimchi into the soup to get the Kimchi spice taste. Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of detox, and overshadow the flavour of the beef broth? Instead, I use the salt to taste as it was pretty bland.

Snew's Rating: 3 / 5
I would recommend this for breakfast or a light meal. Even though we order an upsized portion at 12,000KRW, it was not really very filling. Papa Snew was hungry when we reach the airport.

Hadongkwan Gomtang

10-4 Myeong-dong 1-ga,
Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea 100-021
Opens: 7am - 4.30pm

Directions:
Exit 5 from Euljiro-1ga Station (Subway Line 2)
or Exit 4 from Myeongdong Station (Subway Line 4)
Check on Hadongkwan Gomtang for map directions


Initially I thought that Mr KH would bring us to the Sinseon Seolnongtang which has a number of branches. However, he brought us to the Hadongkwan. We would try it the next time we are in Seoul. If you have tried this before, do let me have your comments.

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Myeongdong, Seoul

Myeongdong, the "must-visit" shopping street in Seoul. This is the only place in Seoul that I will never fail to visit. And the only place that I am familiar with, in Seoul, before this trip.

Myeongdong is the main shopping area where locals and tourists shop, probably similar to the Orchard Road in Singapore, but a more vibrant version. This is also the place where one is spoilt for choice on Korean cosmetics and skin care products. Faceshop, Etude House, Natural Republic and many more. As you approach the shops, the staff would hand out the packs of facial cotton as free gifts to entice you into the shop. You will be surprise that the staff speak conversational Mandarin. Infact, they are more fluent in Mandarin than English. Chinese are big spender tourists everywhere these days.

Myeongdong Theatre, a prominent building in Myeongdong showcase the popular Nanta Cooking Show. The actors using knifes, pots and pans to create music and dance with it. We do not have watch the show but this was highly recommended by my Korean pals.

Street food and street stalls are another highlight of Myeongdong at night. The roads are closed to traffic from the evening to midnight. The street food commonly found in the street stalls is "Ddeokbokki". Ddeokbokki is the Spicy Korean Rice Cakes. The pot of red gravy looks too spicy for me to try!

Papa Snew salivate at the Kebab. He simply loves Kebab. But the irony is, he has never been to the Middle East nor Turkey to taste the original ones.

And yes, we found Gong Cha in Myeongdong. The Gong Cha over here is a cafe selling the bubble tea, instead just the usual take-away stalls found in Singapore. Infact, this particular one in Myeongdong is three-storey high.

Myeongdong is definitely a place to visit during the night. But if you are there during the day, do also check out one of the tourists sight - Myeongdong Catheral. It was under renovation when I visited it. Otherwise, the Gothic structure would be really impressive.

Lotte Town
Across the road from Myeongdong Shopping Street is the Lotte Town, just next to our Lotte Hotel. Lotte Town has two adjacent shopping malls - Lotte Departmental Store and Young Plaza. Lotte Department Store house the Avenuel and the Lotte Duty Free Shop (on 9th to 11th floor) are located in the Lotte Departmental Store. Lotte Young Plaza has good fashion clothings, more for the younger crowd.

Luxury and branded products are much cheaper in Korea. Tourists can claim for tax refund or just purchase from the Lotte Duty Free, where we got really good discounts. But do visit early, the duty free located on 9-11th floor is always packed with tourists from Mainland China. For better shopping experience, do try to shop during less crowded timings.


Myeongdong Street
Myeongdong Station, Subway Line 4
or
Euljiro 1-ga Station, Subway Line 2

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Bukchon & Samcheongdong, Seoul

After Gyeongbokgung Palace, we continued on to Bukchon & Samcheongdong. Samcheongdong is a street adjacent to Gyeongbokgung. It is one of the most beautiful streets in Seoul, incorporating a mix of traditional Korean houses with modern cafes, art galleries, designer and specialty shops.

To my knowledge, Samcheongdong is also a high-end area with many government officials residing there as it is near to the Blue-House (Cheongwadae). Cheongwadae is the official residence of the President of Korea.

Check out the many unique cafes at Samcheongdong. It's a place where the East meets West. You find modernised cafes and shops operating in traditional looking house. Unique as it is, you don't feel that either of these are "out of place", but well-mixed.

I really love the nice cafes in Samcheongdong. If I have the luxury of time, I would probably try out all these nice-looking cafes. I was told that the must-do at Samcheongdong is to enjoy a cuppa of coffee with waffles. A pity that I did not get to try to waffles.

We spotted these nice cafes while we are on the uphill of Bukchon. This would be my dream cafe, if I ever have a chance to open one. It is call Kona Queens.

The cafe has a full glass frontage. Guests can choose to sit at the 3rd storey, outdoor area or the second-level indoor dining. As there were people smoking on the outdoor deck, we decided on the second storey which has a better to people-watch.

What I was surprise was that the menu are all in English. The staff spoke good conversational English, and most of the customers were young people. I believe the older folks would prefer the traditional Korean Tea places. Free WIFI is commonly found in cafes.

Enjoy my favourite Green Tea Latte with a cheesecake.

Continuing on in Bukchon, you will find street stalls, restaurants and art galleries.

Street Stalls that we came across.

We were searching for the Bukchon Hanok Village and finally arrive after walking around the area for about half an hour. The Hanok Village is the Korean traditional houses which dates back to the Joseon Dynasty. Till date, there are still residences in these houses, while others have been converted to guesthouses, culture centres and teahouses.

There are 8 views of Bukchon - the photospots of Bukchon.

Looking at the roof tops, are you thinking that you have travelled to the past?

When we were there, Persimmons are in the season. Can see them growing everywhere. I believe the resident decide to grow it on higher ground so as to prevent people from plucking it. Honestly, the persimmons was pretty tempted to pluck them as well!

Bukchon Hanok Village
Anguk Station (Subway Line 3), Exit 2. Go straight for about 300m to arrive at Bukchon Hanok Village.

Samcheong-dong Street
Anguk Station (Subway Line 3), Exit 1, 2, or 3. Walk 10 minutes.

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