Jokbal (Pigs Feet) and Whisky in Gongdeok Jokbal Street!

 궁중족발  (Gungjung Jokbal)

서울특별시 마포구 만리재로 23

(서울특별시 마포구 공덕동 256-30)

Exit 5 - Gongdeok Station 

(walk straight until you see the street to the right)

02-718-7087

Naver Maps

www.mapo-gungjungjokbal.co.kr/

Ever since coming to Seoul, I repeatedly heard about the 'jokbal street' in Gongdeok. 

How awesome is it that they have a street dedicated to pigs feet. I admit, it doesn't look or sound very appetising, but hey sometimes the grittiest scariest looking food turns out to be the best food!

I've been wanting to go check it out for sometime but had been saving it up for a rainy day when all you could think about is a bottle of soju and 'meat'. So one evening after a long week at work, we decided to meet outside gongdeok station to head down to the street.

I swear my boyfriend and his friend must think I'm one sketchy individual after all the alleyways I've dragged them into in exchange for a good but slightly less hygienic meal. Hey, but I do always deliver excellent meals though!

So tonight I lead them to the narrow alleyway of Jokbal Street.  All the restaurants seen above in the tiny side-alleway sell Jokbal and Sundae. There are couple of more famous ones: 오향족발 (Ohhyangjokbal) being probably the most well known and 궁중족발 (gungjungjokbal) coming close. I don't think there's a big difference in quality and they all have the same price-level too.

궁중족발 actually have 4 restaurants next to each other all served from one massive kitchen half indoor and half outdoor. 

I mean look at that! (At least they wear gloves right?)

Anyways the menu is pretty straight forward. Order either the small ($26) or large ($30) and a bottle of soju and beer. The small one should be enough for 2 adults (or 3 if you're not a big eater) and large for a bigger group.  The menu comes with UNLIMITED sundae and sundae-soup. Now that's what I call a good deal. 

As it is with these soju-fuelled restaurants (look at the pile of them in the photo below), it can get pretty loud so don't expect any high-quality conversations in there. 

When you're done with dinner and stinking of pig's feet and soju, you should shamelessly walk out and head to this gem of a whiskey bar.

It's called Valinch (google/naver) and has excellent choice of single malt whiskeys and cocktails.

The place is pretty small, and run by the owner himself who actually is very helpful in picking out new whiskeys to try depending on your preferences! He certainly helped us pick ours, and we both loved the ones we got to try. The prices vary from 12 - 30+ per glass for the whiskey and 10 -15 for cocktails. Alternatively you can order a bottle and keep it behind the bar too.

He also serves a generous portion of chocolate and biscuits so if you still have any space left after dinner, you can have your whiskey-fuelled snacks here! 

My favourite whiskey of the night was Glendronach 12 years! I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for a bottle at airports! 

Buckwheat Noodles & Strolling around Samcheong-dong (by main palace)

메밀꽃필무렵

02 - 734 - 0367

서울특별시 종로구 통의동 7-23 

7-23 Tongui-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul

(Naver Maps/Google Maps)

Pancakes - 7,000 WON
Buckwheat Noodles (Hot / Cold) - 7,000 WON

Although not as beloved as its other 'gluten-free' alternatives, Koreans have been quietly eating buckwheat noodles for centuries.  Often known as 'soba-noodles', it began its Korean history in the 16th - 17th century (Japanese have eaten it in their soba form much earlier).

As buckwheat grows easier than rice/wheat in cold and dry weathers, it was often eaten in times of famine or droughts. The seed of the buckwheat flower is then crushed to produce buckwheat flour.  Usually as it breaks off easily when heated, it is usually mixed in with flour when made into its noodle form.  It’s actually highly nutritious and has 12-14% more protein than other grains!  Also it has high lysine and rutin content, which is said to prevent aneurism from strokes and blood vessel damage.

Apart from the health benefits, I love it because it packs a lot more flavour and texture than normal noodles. ALSO it’s calorific content is 1/3 of normal wheat flours – which means more guilt-free eating ;)

Anyhow, there’s couple of places scattered around Seoul that’s famous for their buckwheat foods in various forms.  Some of my favourite include Buckwheat pancakes, Soba (Hot/Cold), Kalguksoo (칼국수 -  more brothy version),  naengmyeon and even in chicken stews and such.

The one I went to is right next to the main palace (kyeongbokgung). Easiest way to get there is to get out of exit 4 of gyeongbokgung station turn around and then turn left at the road until you see the restaurant!

The place translates to “Around when the buckwheat flower blooms” or 메밀꽃 필 무렵.

It’s a tiny place with probably less than 30 seating and each time I went there seems to be a queue, so if you go during the lunch time then expect a little queue.  Also they sell out around 4-5PM and close shop when all the home-made noodles for the day are gone- so make sure you show up on time!

Waiting patiently for our lunch :)

The menu is straight forward and limited as shown above my friend and his goofy grin.

We opted out to share a buckwheat pancake (메밀전) and bibim-myeon(메밀비빔면), which is the soupless and slightly spicy! I’ve tried all the menu, and I highly recommend sharing the pancake and choosing between the 메밀칼국수 (with warm soup) or 메밀비빔면 depending on your preference or the weather!

The pancakes are much chewier and crisper than traditional flour-based ones (and a bitch to cook/flip).  The best way to eat it in my opinion is dipped in the slightly sour soy-sauce and topped with the pickled onions!

The noodles were also cooked to perfection. Buckwheat noodles can easily loose its texture if overcooked – but out of the 4/5 times I’ve been here, they’ve always been spot on with getting the noodles out at the right time.

I admit, it’s not a complex dish containing multitude of flavours but there’s something about the right balance of texture and simple flavours that keep me coming back for more each time.

I’ll make a fan out of you, I know it!

Plus once you’ve finished eating – you can take a lovely walk around the Samcheong-dong area right opposite the palace and continue to fill up the ‘saved’ calories! AT least that’s how I justified my afternoon snacking.

Top 3 Kimchisoup in Seoul: 굴다리식당

굴다리식당

Kimchi always reminds me of my mother

Living in Amsterdam before the influx of exchange students and toursits, my mom and I made Kimchi from scratch with chilli peppers sent by my Grandma and chinese cabbage we sourced from a korean farmer in Germany.

Squatting on the kitchen floor making Kimchi from scratch was one of the strongest and most proudest link I carried throughout my childhood away from Korea.


I've eaten countless kimchi soups and kimchi (as side-dishes) around Seoul, but they never quite had the home-cooked taste that I craved. It was most of the times overly spicy or sometimes even sweet but always screaming with strong bold flavours that are not natural to home made kimchi.

That's why my friend, overhearing my numerous complaints on the matter, suggested I check out the 3 restaurants that were apparently thought of to be Seoul's 3 top restaurants for Kimchi Soup.

굴다리식당 was first on the list being closest to home.
It's located close to exit 8 on Gongduk line (Naver Map, Google Map), and has 2 locations fairly close to each other. The restaurant is a little tricky to find as it doesn't show the name of the restaurant but rather a big sign that says 김치찌개 (kimchi soup).

The menu is also straight foward with limited choices.
Most people usually go for the Kimchi Soup (7,000won) or the Spicy Stir-fried Pork/ 제육볶음 (10,000KRW). The portions are not too big but usually people fill themselves up with rice that goes perfectly with the soup and the spicy sauce.

I think whether you like the soup from this restaurant or not really depends on what Kimchi means to you. It's unlike the other kimchisoups in that it doesn't really have that crazy spiciness or that overwhelming instant flavour. Some might say it's a little bit bland, but to me at least it has that perfect blend of pork broth and properly aged kimchi. It reminds me of the huge pot of soups my mom used to make whenever our kimchi got too fermented. My brother and I always wanted her to add more pork as we loved to, with her admonishment, fish them out of the bowl.

It's a place for all to visit if you want to taste what Kimchi-soup is all about. It's a unpretentious dish made by mothers and grandmothers with overfermented sour kimchi that should never be wasted.

Authentic (and asian-ghetto) Chicken Stew (닭도리탕/Dak Doritang) in the back alleyways of Seoul

계림닭도리탕 - Gaerim Chicken Stew

 

서울특별시 종로구 종로3가 167 (돈화문로4길 39)

167 Jongno 3(sam)-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

google map// naver map

+82 2 2263 6658

Open MON- SAT from 11:30 ~ 22:00  (Closed on Sunday)

Chicken Stew (닭도리탕): 19,000 WON (+2,000 for noodles/ramen/rice etc.)

Drinks: Beer, Soju etc. (~3,000 WON)

Is it weird that I actively search out restaurants that have been around for longer than my parent’s lifespan never mind mine? I understand that age doesn’t always correlate to quality, but there’s something about a restaurant that’s been around for 50 plus years and stood the testament of time that promises a good meal. Especially if it’s a nitty-gritty blue-collar restaurant tucked away in the alleys of Jong-ro.

It’s been a while since I blogged, and I think this one is a good one to re-immerse myself in documenting the travels through the hidden dark alleys of Seoul spooking all those that I’ve invited to partake in this mini adventure!

The restaurant I’m writing about has been around for more than 50 years and the authenticity of the food and the history proves that it’s not some ‘number’ made up for advertisement purposes (as well as the décor and the aged patrons downing soju like it’s sprite).

The place is a little tricky to find – the easiest way is to walk out of exit 12 of Jonro-3ga (종로3가) walk straight until you see am opening along the main road to the right in between buildings (see the map below for reference!) Sneak inside the alleyway and you’ll soon find a long narrow alley parallel to the main road. Continue walking past dodgy businesses and restaurants and you’ll soon come across a bustling restaurant with a sign!

 

Although many of you think Koreans are all about the endless numbers of banchan (side-dishes), this place only gives you two – raddish kimchi (깍두기) and beansprouts. The menu doesn’t really give you any choices either. There’s couple of lunch options but at night there’s only one thing on the menu, the eponymous 닭도리탕 (Dak Doritang) for 19,000 WON. The portion should be enough for 2-3 people, as you can add 사리 (sari) in forms of either fried rice (w/ the sauce) or addition of hand-noodles. Just a little bit of history to note, 닭도리탕 is actually Japanese/Korean stemming from the word Toriniku (chicken meat). As such nowadays people tend to call it 닭볶음탕 rather than the former name. 

The place gets filled up crazy fast after 7PM and queues begin to form (even on weekdays) so make sure you come between 6-7PM if you want to be seated straight away. 

After being seated and ordering the only thing on the menu, soon the ladies bring out a beaten pot filled with horrifying (or awe-inspring) amount of garlic in a red sea of chicken, potato and rice cakes. We did worry a little when we first went that it’ll be numbingly spicy and overwhelming but surprisingly it’s hardly spicy and the garlic flavour is well balanced by the stew! It’s really odd actually knowing how much garlic went in!

After waiting for a while – you’re ready to dig in! Actually the rice-cakes (떡) received the most compliment! Unlike the generic store-bought ones you get everywhere, it had a really chewy and soft texture. Also the stew has quite a lot of chicken. Also the CHICKEN is so MOIST and TENDER! It’s often I find the chicken in seoul to be way to dry and tough… but the chicken they use here is a perfect combination of lean meat and fat that you end up sucking all the meat off each bone…

The building spiciness usually calls for soju and beer – and although I am a bonafide ‘wine-whale’, there’s something about spicy Korean food that matches beautifully with soju and cold beer. Maybe it’s the old man inside me that craves these releases of spicy no-bullshit 아저씨 food w/ soju… Personally I blame my dad for  raising his daughter to be his drinking buddy.

Anyways – this is my favourite find recently! And despite the copious bottles of soju/beer all of us were really refereshed the next day. I think the supposed super ‘health benefits’ of garlic must’ve helped….

So for those of you daring enough to venture into the back alleys of Seoul –this is definitely the place for you!

And on that note this is the end of my entry! I’m not sure who read these anymore.. but I think I’m on a roll with going to these grungy/off-the-beaten-path Korean restaurants.. if you have any recommendations or would like suggestions just let me know… (or if you also like hunting down sketchy but ridiculously yummy korean food- let’s go together cause sometimes venturing out into dark alleys alone can be a lil scary at night)

Okawa Sushi

오가와 (おがわ) - Okawa Sushi

B1F 서울특별시 종로구 당주동 5 (새문안로5길 19)

5 Dangju-dong,

Jongno-gu, Seoul, SOUTH KOREA

google map// naver map

+822 735 1001

Lunch: 11 AM or 1 PM

Dinner: 6:00PM or 8:00PM

(Always call to reserve) 

Lunch Set: 40,000 WON 

Dinner Set: 60,000 WON 

Drinks: Beer, Sake, Soju etc. (we went for sake - which came in a big glass! I thin it was around 5,000won - 7,000won) 

This tiny place is literally 5 min walk from my house that I wish that it was cheap enough to be my 'go to sushi place' but sadly a little too price-y for me to be a regular... However, I've completely stopped eating crap sushi (whether for lunch or dinner) just so that once in a while when the occasion comes along to impress someone with lunch/dinner... I immediately take the initiative to make the booking before it gets full.

I'm sure there will are couple (not plenty) of other places in Seoul where you can find just as high quality (and maybe MAYBE even better) sushi... but definitely not a this price level! You are fed with so much sushi (good sushi that is) that you leave the restaurant not regretting a single WON you have just spent on the meal. It is truly a bargain for the quality and most of all (my favourite actually) the overall atmosphere and experience... It's just one of those few restaurants you can truly have a 'special' and 'intimate' dinner with friends or family without having to worry about whether you are wearing the right clothes, with the right people, holding your utensils correctly or not.. And most of all not be hurried to finish your food at a ridiculous rate and move to the next destination!

In other words it's simply DIVINE! 

The set lunch starts with porridge, small portion of salad and miso soup and as you watch in absolute awe (I never stop being impressed) your chef begins preparing your lunch right in front of you.

How can you NOT get excited when there's this happening?

He lays each sushi one at a time carefully explaining each dish and how it was prepared and how it should be eaten.

I always ask if I can have close-to-nothing rice as I realize many times that there is absolutely no way for me to finish the whole lunch set otherwise... (and i'd rather give up the rice to eat MORE sushi)

We also ordered glasses of sake for each of us and it was actually really nice and went well with the cold sushi. We had initially thought that it was flower petals floating on top of the sake but we quickly realised that they were dried fish fins that gave the sake the slightest fishy-flavour, which surprisingly was not ghastly or weird!

My brother was impressed :P

After what feels like an endless servings of so many different types of fish (you start loosing track of how many you ate!) Final serving of warm udon that I personally find so so delicious and wish that I had a bigger stomach to finish.... and then voila~ you are done! 

I keep on finding myself returning to this same place over and over again despite my usual habit of never settling on one restaurant.. I know whenever I go and whoever I go with.. the experience will as marvellous (if not better) than last time... and that in a fast paced and rapidly changing city like Seoul is something that should be cherished.

Paragliding in Korea

Paragliding in Danyang

PRICE: 80,000 WON (with 20% discount we got through meet-up --> Paragliding in Korea)
               +20,000 WON if you want to video the flight

PLACE: Danyang, Korea (2-3 hour drive away from Seoul - you get picked up if at sports-complex if you go with Meet-up and then it's 25,000 WON for the drive both ways. If not there's a direct bus from East Seoul Bus Terminal to Danyang at 13,000 WON per ride )



It kind of just happened really.

One day I was kinda tired and disappointed at myself for spending weekends after weekends just eating lunches and dinners with friends rather than going out and really exploring or "doing something" as I had promised my self  I would once I get to Korea.

Feeling rather blue about how dull my life had become, I was scrolling through 'meet up' suggestions when I stumbled across "Paragliding in Korea" and signed myself up +1 (just in case I could get ANYONE to tag along).

I had expected my brother to want to tag along but he said he was busy/broke that weekend... but as soon as I had asked my coworker she immediately responded with "YES - it's on my bucket list of things to get done!"

So.. off we went - luckily on the clearest day - with just enough wind to fly my ass up up up into the sky.

The meet-up group! There was a lot more people (around 13 in total I think) so we had to split the group into two so that one could go explore the cave first (photos in the end).

The view on top of the hill/mountain was gorgeous - but it did fail to impress the swiss guy... way to be a mountain snob (although the alps.. kinda does make any mountain seem puny and unimpressive..)

We got our own pilots that would fly with us and proceeded to gear up in sky-suits to brace ourselves for the chilly wind. The ridiculous number of seat belts that were attached to the suit did comfort me... as there were no way I was going to 'fall off' with these many shackles... Plus the pilot reassured me that he had been doing this for over 15 years and he's still alive! Yay!

All ready to go! 

 

It was FANTASTIC!  Unlike Bungee jumping or sky-diving, which were filled with such adrenaline pumping and heart stopping adrenaline ride... This was just so calm and soothing flying through the air as if I was literally a bird. The view as well as the cold wind were so liberating and refreshing.... it really made me understand how some people are so obsessed with the notion of flying. It is truly an experience that you don't forget...

We were lucky enough to have a long ride of around 15 min. I've been told it really depends on the wind and on the day. The pilot also did some crazy swirls and what he called "vikings" towards the end that made me kind of dizzy but also dying of laughing out of sheer childish joy! Was GREAT! :D

As part of our trip we also did get to go explore a cave called Gosu Cave (고수 동굴) which was nearby. I had never been inside a cave like this one... and although some parts of it was rather 'gothic' an freaky looking, it was definitely an interesting walk inside (plus only 4,000 WON entrance).
If you do end up going to Danyang for paragliding it's definitely worth the quick trip into the cave (although it does get rather humid/hot in there!) 

 I'm not quite sure how i'm going to top paragliding in the near future... but i'm sure i'll find something as interesting if not entirely different to paragliding to 'sparkle' my seemingly 'mundane' life as a 20 something year old working in Korea.

:)