Let me first say that food is not everywhere in Seoul and popular streets are pretty much asleep at night. It was a different experience compared with what I have grown up with.
In Malaysia, when we say there's food around, there really is food around. Five minutes from my condo and I can get my hands on chinese, malay and indian food. The smell of food wafts in the night air, and it carries on past my bedtime. I definitely made a mistake of expecting Myeongdong to be like Jonker street, because Jonker is food heaven at night while Myeongdong snoozes under the moonlight.
So while we were there, we found ourselves disappointed, especially after being told by a hotelier that there was food right around the corner. All we saw were the lack of it, and on most nights we retreated to 7eleven for a bowl of ramen. Anyway, cultural differences aside, I did enjoy Korean street food.
These are my tries:
#1 Hoddeok
I had it twice, because why not? I like sweet stuff, and this was sweet. It was 2,000 won per piece, which made it hard not to convert to ringgit and gasp at the large bowl of curry noodles I can get for the same price.
 |
| No ruler to measure the claims of it being 32cm though. |
#2 32cm Ice-Cream
We bought one and shared it. The texture was not as smooth as McD's but understandable if it is required to stand that tall. I think it was 3,000 won, or was it 2,000 won? Can't remember.
#3 Dragon Beard Candy
We actually tasted the Dragon Beard Candy in Guilin, China, and it was a let down. So we were very skeptical about tasting the Korean version. But when we did, it just completely blew our taste buds. They tasted so good! At least to me, that is. A box of 10 small pieces is 5,000 won. If it was cheaper, I would have gotten more.
#4 Jipangyi Ice-Cream
Yes, we had more ice-cream. This time in the shape of a J. The cone is corny, and the ice-cream was alright. Still not as smooth as McD's and I have no idea why. It was 4,000 won. No doubt a pricey ice-cream.
#5 Bao, Pau, Steam Buns
This was stumbled upon when we entered Namdaemun. The pau was slightly translucent and the feeling were vegetables and thin pieces of beef. It tasted a lot like a vegetarian pau. I can't remember the price though.
#6 Sausage Wrapped with Fish Cake
The name pretty much tells you how it tastes like. It was 1,000 won per stick, if I'm not mistaken.
# 7 Convenient Store Food
- Real Brownie: I decided to try it because it was talked about a lot. We paid 5,000 won for two small boxes, 4 pieces in each. It's not bad.
- Ddeokbokki snack: We got our hands on the 7eleven version because it was the cheapest; 1,000 won for a pack. Everyone loved it, which was surprising because my parents don't eat junk food, especially my mum. It was crunchy, sweet, and spicy, definitely worth trying.
- Seaweed: Definitely felt like we were carrying air home. Can't recall the price, but it's pretty standard everywhere we went.
We definitely did not try all the street food in Korea, and we opted out of some because they were just too expensive. But we still ate more than we usually did, which is definitely a good thing... WHEN on a holiday.
Now back to eating healthy! Wait, I take that back. The M&M's I bought at the airport duty free section are calling to me, and the Real Brownies and Jeju chocolates have learned my name too. I think it's going to be a challenge for a while... a Real challenge.
Check out my other posts on South Korea:
