A taste tour of Seoul’s best restaurants
JoongAng Daily
When you’re out and about and looking for a tasty bite but don’t know where to go, look for a crowded eatery or, better yet, a restaurant with a long line outside. It’s a sure sign that the restaurant will provide more than a simple stomach-filling meal.
Where do the taste-conscious go to seek delicious meals? The following is a brief list of some of the most popular restaurants around Seoul.
Gamssarong
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| Gamssarong’s burger [JES] |
Hamburgers do not have to come from a fast-food joint. Tasty homemade burgers with thick juicy beef patties topped with fresh vegetable toppings are available at smart local restaurants such as Gamssarong.
Known for their thick patties, Gamssarong is popular for the important reason that its owners do not use frozen meat. All of the patties are prepared in the morning and the doors to Gamssarong close once all of the patties prepared that day have been sold.
The popularity of the restaurant and its burgers has grown by word of mouth, and the fresh burgers often sell out before 8 p.m. on the weekends.
Menu: A Gamssarong burger with a juicy beef patty topped with tomatoes, onions, a fried egg and cheese goes for 8,400 won ($7.29).
Hours: Noon to 10 p.m. (closed Mondays)
Location: From Sangsu Station (line No. 6, exit 1), walk straight and make a right at the Juchajang Golmok (Parking Street). Continue walking up the street and make a right at the corner with Joe’s Sandwich shop. Gamssarong is on the first street to the left. (02) 337-9373
Donburi
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| Clockwise from top: Donburi’s katsudon, Samwol Sujebi’s soup and Eulmidae’s naengmyeon |
Koreans like to get their rice fix. For many locals here, a meal is not complete without a steaming hot bowl of rice. It is perhaps for this reason that Donburi’s katsudon - a Japanese-style rice bowl topped with tonkatsu (pork cutlet), eggs and condiments - is always a favorite with diners.
Donburi offers traditional Japanese rice bowls at affordable prices. However, those interested in visiting must be forewarned: It is not unusual for diners to wait for approximately 30 minutes to an hour on weekends for a taste of Donburi’s katsudon.
Menu: Donburi’s most popular dish is katsudon, which costs 6,000 won per bowl.
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9:40 p.m. (closed Mondays)
Location: From Hongdae Station (line No. 2, exit 5), head toward the Hongdae playground. Then, walk in the direction of the Juchajang Golmok, go past the intersection and make a left into the alleyway where restaurant Bongchu Jjimdak is located. (02) 3141-8398
Samwol Sujebi
Sujebi, or soup with handmade dough flakes, is relatively simple to make but Samwol’s anchovy soup base and chewy dough make this spot a popular destination for visitors at all hours of the day.
Menu: Samwol Sujebi offers galguksu (noodle soup), sujebi and a mix of both. The most popular dish is, of course, the sujebi, which sells for 4,500 won per bowl.
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Location: Go to Daechi Station (line No. 3, exit 4). (02) 556-8229
Eulmidae
The Pyongyang-style naengmyeon (cold soup with rice noodles) is the must-eat dish at Eulmidae. Unlike the chewy naengmyeon you may be accustomed to, Pyongyang-style noodles are made of buckwheat and are not chewy but soft. Hence, there is no need to cut the noodles with scissors prior to serving as you would with the more common mul (water) naengmyeon.
Menu: A bowl of naengmyeon is 7,000 won.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Location: From Daeheung Station (line No. 6), head toward the Yeomri-dong Community Center. (02) 717-1922
By Choi Eunchorong [jason@joongang.co.kr]