Travel
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Insadong Dumplings That Are Worth The Wait In Seoul
While exploring Insadong on a rainy Sunday morning, I stumbled upon Bukchon Sonmandu, a local Insadong dumpling restaurant and couldn’t resist stopping by and trying the gullim and steamed pork and kimchi dumplings.
I haven’t had gullim before so wanted to give it a try. It’s essentially a meatball of the meat filling of a dumpling consisting of (I think) ground pork, onion, green onions, garlic. These were tasty. Nice, juicy, freshly made, these were easy to put down.
I also got the steamed pork and kimchi dumplings. Both were very good. Dumpling skin was perfect with great texture. The pork dumpling filling was very similar to the gullim, perhaps with a slight twist, with a little more green onion.
The kimchi dumpling was my favorite of the bunch. The kimchi added a little spice, crunch, and flavor to the ground pork mix. It provided a burst of flavor to the mix and was very delicious. I only wish I had more hot sauce and soy sauce to dip all these wonderful gullim and dumplings in!
Overall, this was a very satisfying experience. I loved the number of different options that were available. Many of which I hadn’t tried before. The dumplings were all quite different from one another with varying flavors and textures from their fillings. With very affordable prices, everything varied from about $3.50 – $5.50 USD, Bukchon Sonmandu is certainly worth a stop for some Insadong dumplings.
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Experiencing Myeongdong Street Food in Seoul Is A MUST
Myeongdong Street Food
Myeongdong is a popular tourist destination in Seoul and is known primarily for it’s robust shopping which offers many international name brands and a ton of department stores packed in the area.
There’s also plenty of food options with restaurants and food vendors lining a major street running through the heart of Myeondgdong.
A few of the many, many restaurants in the area 
View of the strip in Myeongdong with lots of food vendors 
View of the strip in Myeongdong with lots of food vendors The draw for me was the aforementioned food stalls which I’d seen plenty of vloggers try so I was fairly familiar with the type of food found here and was excited to try some of the items!
There’s so many Myeongdong street food items to try here but with me traveling solo I really had to be selective on what I chose since I can only eat so much! I’ll update this article when I return to Myeongdong someday and am able to try new items.
A prominent item not only in Myeondong but I feel throughout South Korea is the chicken skewer (dakkochi). Pieces of tender, grilled chicken lathered in a sweet, slightly spicy sauce, delicious. The sauce takes the cake here. A great balance of sweet and spicy.
Egg bread (gyeran) is something I definitely wanted to try since it sounded and looked so interesting. It doesn’t taste how you would think it would since it seems like it would more of a savory item but the bread portion of it is actually sweet. Not overly sweet though. The egg adds the savory element to it and goes well with the bread creating a tasty snack.
Waffles in South Korea are dessert items with various toppings and fillings. The texture is different then what would be deemed a “breakfast” waffle as well. It’s firmer due to a sugar glaze on the outside. This particular waffle was topped with shredded Norwegian cheese. I wouldn’t think waffle and shredded cheese would ever go well together but this absolutely does. It may look and sound strange but the cheese pairs really well with the sweetness of the waffle and is very delicious.
Probably my favorite street food in all of South Korea – Hotteok. It’s like a deep fried pancake that can have either a savory or sweet middle. I always opted for the sweet variety which was usually brown sugar, cinnamon, honey in the middle. The dough has a satisfying crunch on the outside and the inside is nice and doughy and chewy and full of sweetness. It’s an unbelievable snack that I never passed up when walking through a food market while in South Korea.
There’s many more options when it comes to Myeongdong street food. This is just a sampler of what this street and area have to offer. What are some of your favorite Korean street food items?
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In Seoul, South Korea, Chicken Ginseng Soup Is A Traditional Dish Worth Trying
Chicken Ginseng Soup Is A Traditional Dish Worth Trying
Chicken Ginseng soup (Samgyetang) is a comforting bowl of bubbling hot soup consisting of a small chicken stuffed with rice, ginseng, garlic, and jujube (red date).
It’s a very popular dish in Korea and it’s customary to eat during the summer with the belief that the nutrient rich soup will replenish those nutrients lost in the hot summer days.
From my outsider perspective and first time having it, it has a chicken soup kind of comfort level while eating, except I enjoyed it a lot more.
This particular restaurant is conveniently located near the famous Bukchon Hanok Village and is a great way to end the visit to the area.
After a very long day of travel and exploring the great city of Seoul, I certainly needed a pick me up and this dish had the intended effect. I can see why this is such a beloved dish and a staple in the South Korean culture.
This is a broth that you season with salt and pepper yourself. The woman who brought the soup out also set the salt and pepper in front of me as well letting me know to season.
It’s nice to be able to season the broth yourself and adjust to your contentment. The base broth is quite bland on its own and certainly needs the salt and pepper.
Once seasoned to your liking it’s reminiscent of a chicken noodle soup, just replace the noodles with rice…and the chicken pieces with a whole baby chicken…with rice stuffed inside. But you know what I mean. This is a cozy soup. The chicken just falls off the bone it’s so tender. The ginseng flavor is very subtle. It’s there but not overpowering at all. The sticky rice on the inside of the chicken is delicious as well.
This soup got demolished It’s quite a filling meal that will leave you warm and content. Perfect if you’re feeling a little under the weather as well.
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