이문설렁탕 (Lee Mun Seol Leong Tang)
Seol Leong Tang is a soup made by simmering beef bones, brisket, and some other cuts for a long period of time until you get the milky white color. This is eaten with rice (which the shop has already put into the soup). They've put some noodles into it too. It comes unseasoned, so you add salt, spring onion, white pepper powder and red pepper powder as you like. You help yourself to the containers of napa cabbage kimchi and radish kimchi on the table.
This shop has had more than 100 years of history, and they only serve beef soup! This bowl of seol leong tang cost KRW6500 (about HK$45).
이문설렁탕, 서울시 종로구 공평동45번지, 02-733-6526
Get off at Jonggak Station (Line 1) Exit 3. It's right behind Jongno Tower.
이춘복 참치 (Lee Chun Bok Tuna)
Of all the types of fish in sushi/sashimi, I love tuna the most. This restaurant offers an all you can eat tuna buffet (different grades of tuna, different prices). We went during lunch, so we got to see their set menu. We went for the tuna set lunch, which was KRW18,000 (about HK$125).
The chef gets to cutting our tuna while we start with some small dishes.
The star of the show - the tuna. There were various cuts as well as some white tuna. Served with soy sauce, or if you want to eat it Korean style, with sesame oil and salt. They also provided some Korean roasted seaweed.
Some tuna sushi, a stone bowl rice, and a spicy fish soup was also served.
명동교자 (Myeongdong Gyoja)
A restaurant chain with two branches in the popular shopping district of Myeong Dong, this place has been operating for 46 years and only serves four things on its menu - dumplings (만두), hot soup noodles (칼국수), cold soymilk noodles (콩국수), and spicy mixed noodles (비빔국수). Each is priced at KRW 8000 (about HK$56).
The dumplings - not bad. Anything hot and steamy was good on a cold day in Seoul. The filling is pork and vegetables. While the dumpling skin is nice and thin, the filling was a bit rough in the mouth. Personally, I like Shanghai dumplings better.
I liked the noodles better - it also had dumplings (boiled instead of steamed, same filling), and the noodles were thick and chewy.
You can also have as much kimchi as you'd like, but this is not the nicely marinated type. I thought it was napa cabbage bathed in pepper sauce.
The ladies will take your order and have you pay once you finish ordering. It does save a lot of time for both the tourists (so they can continue spending more money in Myeongdong) and for the restaurant to have a higher turnover rate. Good for a quick stop, but not spectacular.
명동교자, 서울시 종구 명동 2가 25-2, 02-776-5348
Get off at Myeongdong Station (Line 4), Exit 8, turn left and walk down the street for about 2 minutes. Right across from M Plaza.
명동함흥면옥 (Myeongdong Ham Heung Noodle House)
Cold buckwheat noodles (냉면, naeng myun) KRW 8000 (HK$56). Yes, even though it's -10 degrees outside, I still have to eat the cold version. Chewy noodles in a clear beef broth mixed with the juice of water kimchi (dongchimi), with a few slices of beef brisket, julienned cucumber, matchsticks of Korean pear, and half a boiled egg. You can season it with a bit of mustard (Koreans use it to counter the 'chill') and a bit of vinegar if you like it more tart.
If you can't stand the cold, then there's always the hot beef broth version, also KRW 8000 (HK$56). The soup base is like the seol leong tang from above. They also serve the beef broth instead of tea, to warm the stomachs of those who ate the cold noodles. They serve dumplings like those in Myeongdong Gyoja, and it's KRW 8000 (HK$56) as well.
명동함흥면옥, 서울시 종구 명동 2가 26-1, 02-776-8430
Get off at Myeongdong Station (Line 4), Exit 8, turn left and walk down the street for about 2 minutes. It's on the small street right behind Myeongdong Gyoja.
경복궁 (Kyeong Bok Koong)
Kyeong Bok Koong, which is also the name of one of the Korean palaces, is just off of the main Myeongdong shopping area. Of course, I can't leave Seoul without having some Korean BBQ. Recommended in most of the Hong Kong published Seoul travel guides, we ventured over to this restaurant. I love the fact that it uses wood and not gas stoves!
We ordered a mixed beef platter for 2 (KRW 65,000, HK$455). It came with different types of kimchi and some small side dishes. The ladies helped us do all the cooking; all we had to do was eat!
We were taught to wrap the beef with a bit of Korean miso paste, roasted garlic, marinated onions, and spicy marinated green onions. Yumm. We also ordered a cold noodle to wash it all down (KRW 5,000, HK$35).
경복궁, 서울시 종구 자둥 2가 88-5, 02-2266-2004
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