Food and Drink


Fish Market courtesy of itsmeitisss by itsmeitisss, on Flickr

There is a great diversity of foods available in Seoul and something to suit every palate from Vegetarian, Spicy foods and of course a choice of Western food which is more freely available in Hotels as well as the COEX, Asia’s largest shopping mall.

The area around The Parnas GIC has Asia's largest shopping mall - COEX. You WILL get lost in there! The food court in the Hyundai department store is superb - some really good food cooked fresh and not expensive. If you like your garlic there is a good restaurant in the area called Mad for Garlic. Steak is good there also, and they have a variety of different garlic based sauces. The Garlic ice cream is also worth sampling.

The food dishes are mostly freshly prepared, in fact sometimes in front of your very eyes and for those who have travelled to the Far East this is the common denominator in general terms. Those of you going go to the fish market can grab fresh sushimi and sushi. Dak Galbi (sizzling beef) is also good. The cost of a meal at a take away stand, and which are considered locally to be more considered as snacks, varies from 1000 –3000 Won.

While there’s a tantalizing restaurant every few metres throughout the entire city, it’s street food carts and tents that fill all the open spaces. Walking through Seoul is like having to walk through a slot canyon of culinary goodies all calling your name.

A few posters have been in contact to say that the street vendor or local food stalls are excellent and very good value...don't just eat at the 'nicer' locations...do try some of the street food...it is very good as well...just different 'eye candy'

EDIT: It is unfortunate that many foreigners still associated Dog meat with Korean food...Simply rubbish, the variety and scope of food is staggering and you will find fantastic food here. Dog is not common anymore at all in Korea and you don't need to be worried about it showing up on your menu...If you do wish to try it you must look very hard to find it at all in Seoul. Apparently you will need to ask for a place serving 'bosintang'.

Useful information/links

An excellent resource for the Vegetarian in Korea

Official Visit Korea Site section on Food

http://koreanfood.about.com/

http://www.girlandtheworld.org/a-gui...orean-cuisine/

For those that want to take Britian with them when they go…you could grab a meal here:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaur...ole-Seoul.html

Food blogs

www.seouleats.com

http://migrationology.com/2012/05/ko...d-seoul-guide/

Food Journal from Zen Kimchi

Drink

If you like good coffee, Koreans love their coffee and there are several branches of Cafe Pascucci which make very good proper cappuccino. Tap water is also considered safe and passed the UN standards for drinking water but many still buy branded bottled water. Be aware that the take away stands sell bottled water and it is usually sourced from ……..tap water!

Many convenience stores are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. There will almost certainly be one in your area. The main chains are 7-Eleven, Family Mart, Ministop and Buy the way and GS25. You can get some hot food in most and even get hot water to put in instant noodles and a place to sit and eat them as well. Alcohol is available at the convenience stores and sold 24/7.

Wine is generally quite expensive in Korea because it is treated as a luxury. Hite and Cass are the two most popular brands of beer although draught beers such as OB is a good choice. Another piece of cultural information is that in Korean tradition it is considered unlucky to pour your own beer when you are provided large bottles if you go to a Bulgogi restaurant.

Useful links including traditional drinks (alcoholic and non- alcoholic ones) some of which are aphrodisiacs and arguably more importantly, hangover cures!!

Useful link which goes into more detail on favourite drinks

Okay, its a CNN site but it really does have useful info on traditional drinks