ahfang

Agree!!! My sis just back from seoul last month, complaining the food there was extremely expensive. We are earning MYR only is bout 10 times much.

mosburger

Dunno. You can get Korean noodles or Kimbap from 1500 won at restaurants, perfectly nice stews and soups for around 5000 - 7000, pork cutlet for about the same price.

Prime meats and raw fish and seafood are of course more expensive but also here sticking to "neighbourhood" restaurants results in cheaper prices. Often the high priced tourist traps are just a block away from mostly locals' places.

skchin

Stick with Chinese Korean food, it'll put you back 5000 to 7000 won per dish.

stupidhead

Being a bit (actually A LOT) picky, I like to cook my own food at home, and Home Plus/EMart make Whole Foods look like the bargain of the century. At Home Plus prices I could probably buy all my groceries at the Union Square Farmer's Market, eat only the finest grass-fed beef from Whole Foods and only drink Evian and Canadian ice wine. Oh, and cheeses and wines are insanely expensive here.

Oh, and I have yet to find goat cheese and half (actually any) the fresh herbs I had access to in NY.

Eating out is cheaper but some don-katsu or kimbap franchises are revolting. Not to mention if I saw the way Chinese food is made in Korea (well America too) I'd probably be scarred for life. And after a while, almost everything tastes the same. Nothing remarkably good. There's supposedly a lot of variety in Korean cuisine but I have yet to see it-it all tastes the same to me (note, I don't cook Korean food at home, too much time and too many dishes to wash afterwards).

Certain items cost more in Korea. Well maybe not if you include tax+tip. Pho for example costs $6.50 for a large in the US and 9,000 won in Korea. Since the portions you get in Korea are more equivalent to a small which can be had for $5.75-ish it def costs more here.

Oh, and I have to go to Costco for proper bagels (if you can even call it that). There was a bagel place on University Place in NY that had bagels for 45 cents a piece between 4pm and 7pm.

Jimgotkp

Personally, I think food in Korea is cheaper than the US... I do agree that some items are priced like no other in Korea though. A small container of ricotta cheese cost $15 each and I needed 8 of them so I decided not to buy them.

jpatokal

This thread about travellers in Korea who want to experience Korean food. Complaining about high prices for goat cheese, bagels, and fresh Western herbs in Korea is a bit like going to Sicily and complaining that it's hard to find decent ginseng chicken stew, cold buckwheat noodles and radish kimchi, and that all this local pasta stuff tastes the same.

Paella747

^ Thank you! ^ After 9 years of living in Korea, I have found the food to be one of the most diverse in terms of flavor! I can't imagine how somebody could think it all tastes the same. But to each his own.

Cold icy naemyeong noodles on a hot day doesn't taste anything like ginseng chicken samgae-tan soup on a winter evening. Cool, sweet, spicy, earthy, pungent, tangy, savory.... To me, Korean food has got it all.

And in regards to pricing, a four-dollar bibimbap in Korea goes for about fourteen bucks at my favorite restaurant in Seattle.
I don't get into the debates in this thread over which restaurants are best for whatever food. I have my favorite places in my 'hood that I'll continue to enjoy. I haven't been disappointed too many times while eating in The Land of the Morning Calm, but to say that all the food tastes the same? Perhaps you should try more dishes.....

mosburger

I remember one former Korean President on a state visit to Vietnam (I think it was Roh Moo-Hyeon who sadly passed away by his own hand) when the gentleman made some statements to domestic media.

Basically he was complaining that Vietnamese food is inedible rubbish and he was lucky to have brought Korean cup noodles to his hotel to at least have some real food to eat...

So, your joke might actually make some sense from an older Korean gents point of view.

mosburger

Is there a more Korean thing than fierce discussions over which restaurant has the best particular food?

Paella747

I hear more of my friends arguing over whose mom makes the best food (especially kimch'i...)...

imm2b

Great thread on Seoul food. I'll be staying at the Park Hyatt Seoul (995-14 Daechi 3 - dong Gangnam - gu) for a few days next month. Could any recommend a few local Korean restaurants to try in that neighborhood? Thanks!

Vidic15

Would boil down to where you are from - and not gloating but with the AUD being so strong I had a fantastic time there at the start of May.

Eating a great and good amount of Korean BBQ each night with friends proved to be highly cost effective. Likewise drinking each night too!

dsquared37

I'm not sure you're allowed one without the other.

stupidhead

Sure, if you want a bowl full of MSG and food poisoning to go with it (this goes for Chinese food anywhere). I didn't think you could get constipation and explosive diarrhea simultaneously until I had some of the stuff. (and for some reason, p.s. J food)

mosburger

I've easten a lot of (Korean) Chinese food in Seoul and elsewhere in Korea over the years and never got sick out of it. The MSG point is true and therefore it's good to ask the staff beforehand if they use it and ask not to put anything into your dishes.

Could recommend a few (Korean) Chinese restaurants in Seoul if anyone has interest. The "real" Chinese are harder to find and not always in desirable parts of the capital.