- Siiri
Nearly everything I ate in South Korea
This post is going to be a huge photo dump of delicious food pics. I will organise the the pics by the city and then list all the restaurants and cafes below with links to Naver Maps. At least all the ones I can remember. First there is a long list of restaurants from Seoul and its areas, but keep scrolling for pictures from different cities around South Korea!
Seoul
Gangnam and Seongsudong
It's good to start with the best Korean BBQ restaurant we went to during the whole trip. We happened to stumble past this place by accident after our spa session, but saw the great reviews and put our names on the list. Had to wait for an hour and there were a lot of people lining after us as well. Rise, meat, wasabi and ginger. Simple but oh so delicious.
Next pic: We shared a bowl of jajangmyeon black bean noodles at the COEX Mall in a Chinese restaurant. Was very delicious!
A hidden Italian style restaurant with a fun entrance. The restaurant itself is in multiple levels. The pasta here was amazing!
Namdaemun and Ikseondong area
The first restaurant we went to in Seoul. Directly next to our hotel in the third floor of an office building. A great izakaya.
Already a second Izakaya from the area we went to. The food was great and we enjoyed some Jim Beam high balls as well.
A Korean BBQ restaurant in Ikseondong. We went here for lunch so did not eat BBQ but instead tasted a delicious bowl of cold noodles (mud naengmyeon).
Popular cafe in Ikseondong hanok area. Shared one of their signature dishes.
어니언 안국 / Onion cafe
Another popular cafe close to Bukchon Hanok village. A lot from where to choose from and everything looks so delicious.
Hongdae
Our last Korean BBQ restaurant in South Korea. It was delicious, and the waiter made an heart out of the egg in the middle of our rice - just to clarify, he did this to everyone, but it made the fried rice even better!
On the last day my friends were still with me we realised that we had not had any kimchi jjigae, so I asked my Korean teacher for a recommendation and it did not disappoint.
We went here for breakfast one day as I was missing my oats. I ended up getting yogurt with granola and sandwiches, so no oats, but it was delicious nevertheless.
A calm and beautiful cafe in the middle of Hongdae. Great dishes as well.
While still waiting to get our room from the hostel we went here for lunch. There was a line outside so it was a good sign. We had what I think is the best kimbap and tteokbokki of the whole trip here.
토메루 / Tomeru Izakaya
A really atmospheric small izakaya in Hongdae. Delicious food!
선인장커피바 / Suninjang coffee bar
A great place for working or studying. I went here while waiting for my laundry.
We went here for a quick lunch and the place was very instagrammable. The place was pink and the small burgers we shared were good and cute. There were a lot of people working and studying as well, so a good place for that.
A cool looking place that sometimes has live music. Unfortunately, the food wasn't the greatest, but maybe this is a place for drinks and chat rather than dinner.
On my last day in South Korea before flying out, I wanted to have something very good and typical Korean food, but I was also a little bit under the weather because of the air con at my new hostel. So I walked to this place, got some deliciously spicy tteokbokki to go and enjoyed it at the hostel.
A must, if you are staying in the area. I went here with my Korean language teacher and she helped me get all the dishes I had missed so far. Here I tasted an amazing salty hotteok, kimchi jjeon, songpyeon, kimbap and some steamed dumplings.
The last four pictures are from around Seoul. The fish ice cream was a definite favourite of the trip and we lost count on how many of these we ate. Also, getting iced drinks from the convenience stores, let it be coffee or juice, is such a great idea - did this many times, too many to count and tried to taste as many flavours as I could. Peach and grapefruit were my favourites. Finally, a picture of the first tteokbokki I tested on the trip - this one was after driving away from Seoul and stopping on a rest area.
Gyeongju
This restaurant I got as an recommendation from a local on a language app. Excellent place filled with people, close to Bulguksa temple. Went here for lunch and ate well.
Great bakery for breakfast with lots of products to choose from. We went here for breakfast two times since it was conveniently located next to our accommodation.
Our dinner for the first evening and it was delicious! The place is also known for its makgeolli, a milky, lightly sparkling rice wine. We of course tried a bottle of it with peach flavour.
A very popular Izakaya near the Main Street. May need to book ahead. Delicious food and busy atmosphere. Had a dessert here as well - mango sorbet, if I remember correctly.
We went here for lunch one day and ordered some dumplings and tteokbokki to share.
Also enjoyed some Gyeongju style hotteok bought from the main street.
Busan
We did spent multiple days in Busan but since the typhoon was coming we were mostly indoors and I guess we didn't eat that much at restaurants since I don't have many pictures of food from around Busan. Here are the few great suggestions.
You can go around the food court, get what you want and gather up to eat together or take it to go. Got to taste a lot of things here and also took some back to the hotel room to prepare for the typhoon.
앤드커피 / End Cafe
We had breakfast here once juat for the convenience. It was right next to our hotel. Good smoothies, nothing out of the ordinary. I tried the famous strawberry latte here. Very sugary but enjoyable.
부산댁 / Busandaek
This was our first Korean BBQ restaurant in South Korea and it was delicious! The round table was filled with banchan (side dishes) and the meat was great. Busandaek is very close to the Gwangalli beach with amazing views to the bridge.
요카레
The first evening in Busan we struggled to find a place to eat since we wanted Korean food but Heundae beach area is filled with international restaurants. We ended up sitting down at a small japanese restaurant and ordered some dishes to share. I couldn't find this one from Naver Maps but it was on the main road in Heundae.
As we waited for the typhoon Hinnamnor to hit Busan we prepared with snacks in our hotel room and bought for example some delicious banana milk!
Jeju
Jeju Island was one of the places I enjoyed some of the best K-BBQ and this was the first place to try it. Jeju has its own pork - the black pork which is a Korean breed of the domestic pig. The restaurant was filled with locals and we had to wait for a while to get a table.
I had seen on a TikTok that this is a place to try out the amazing dish from Jeju. The cold green mandarin soba noodle dish was so delicious. Wasabi gave the dish the perfect kick.
A really nice cafe filled with souvenirs from New Zealand. The cafe owner is amazing, and even though we were a bit late from breakfast, she gave us the breakfast deal anyways. We got some great sandwiches and a pie for breakfast.
Another great cafe close to our Airbnb. Ate breakfast here - some scones and pretty drinks.
An atmospheric Korean BBQ restaurant where you can ask to be seated outdoors in one of their tents. Had to add an picture of the tent as well - the food was, once again, delicious!
Breakfast! It was a really quiet cafe with a nice yard and a couple of dogs running around. Got some smoothies and crepes for breakfast. They were meant to have a good brunch, but I think it is only during tourist season.
Dinner! We shared this tofu, black pork kimchi stew with rice and some side dishes. Can recommend!
This was something I wanted to try for a long time. The sushi at Hallabong looked amazing and fresh on some pictures I had seen. The venue was great and the food was good, but unfortunately, the sushi was not as good as it could've been.
Before entering the Nohyeong Market Digital Art Exhibition, we had some quick lunch at the rest stop close by and bought delicious kimbab from a small kiosk.
The rest are good mentions - we had some corn dogs before entering a waterfall, we tried mint chocolate soju for the first time in Korea - it went straight to the top with Grapefruit AND yogurt soju. It was refreshing and not too sweet. Also, we drove to Hyeopjae beach for dessert and drinks and got some ice cream in a coconut and in a pineapple from one of the container yard restaurants.
Gwangju
We didn't spent that much time in Gwangju, but it seems like we didn't take that much pictures either. On the way to Gwangju we stopped on a highway rest stop and I have taken a picture of a potato. Just a potato. I added some salt. It was good.
The next picture is from a great Korean BBQ 춘부집 문화전당점. After the BBQ we headed to 1943 구시청점, a bar close by and ordered some soju, Jim Beam highballs and melons. Everything could be ordered through a computer on your table, which was extremely convenient.
Later in the evening we changed areas and had a late night snack at Izakaya 마마통. The area was buzzing with people and many good restaurants.
Jeonju
When we arrived to Jeonju, the small hanok village town was buzzing with people. Everyone had the day off from work so people had gathered to take pictures in hanboks and enjoy the atmosphere of the village.
Our hanok stay owner gave us a good tip of a bibimbap place and we headed there on the first evening. Appraently, this place has won some prices with bibimbap as well as had some famous visitors. The food was good, but I must say, not the best bibimbap I have tasted!
The next picture is of our breakfast provided by our hanok stay in Jeonju. Some fruit, bread and maybe some black bean porridge?
This place was also a recommendation. We ordered some dumplings but also a chicken noodle soup since it is their signature dish. I did not take a picture of it, though. Must've been so delicious!
On our last night in Jeonju we ended up eating here. Many of the restaurants in the area were closing early. The owner of the restaurant was very nice and proud of his robot tray holder, that brought us all of our foods. After the dinner, we went across the street to the cafe and bought a dessert with strawberry.
외할머니솜씨 / Grandma's Best
Again, a delicious recommendation from the owner of our hanok. Wish we knew how big the portions were, since we ordered a couple and had some trouble finishing them. This is a dessert cafe with many different shaved ice dishes.
And finally, at the end a picture of another hotteok but this time in a different shape. Inside was honey and nuts. It was delicious, as hotteok's usually are. I bought this from one of the shops in Jeonju night market.
I will end this food post to this picture of me acting as the BBQ master trying not to burn the meat. In conclusion, Korean dishes are one of my favourites. The variety of flavours is amazing, and the best thing during this trip was to get to share the food experiences with my friends. Alone, I probably wouldn't have gone to as many Korean BBQ restaurants, where sharing and enjoying the meal together is the main idea.
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