Road Meals
When in Asia, vacationers need road meals. Seoul has good road meals, however don’t count on what you’d discover in Southeast Asia. Road meals in Korea primarily acts as a snack and late night time starch filler for an alcohol-laden abdomen. Most carts serve the identical precise factor. There are variations, however these are in areas that cater to vacationers and faculty college students.
Tteokbokki
Don’t name it “topoki!” That was some hare-brained scheme concocted by a authorities company ten years in the past. They’re chewy rice desserts in a spicy sauce. I personally suppose the stuff on the road is sweeter as a result of it’s extra suited to youngsters. Tteokbokki in bricks-and-mortars, like Jaws Meals and Mimine (pictured above), are typically higher. Spicier and extra savory.
Odeng/Eomuk
Fish desserts on sticks soaking in MSG-saturated broth. Simply go and seize a stick, brush on a couple of joyful dabs of sauce with the comb Bob Ross model, eat, and pay. The proprietor counts the variety of sticks you’ve got left over.
Scorching Ba
Or Scorching Bar? It’s fish dough formed into logs on sticks and deep fried like a corn canine. In reality, they arrive with sizzling canine and different elements in them. That’s certainly one of my favourite road meals.
Twigim
Fried stuff. Often candy potatoes, shrimp, sesame leaves. It’s like tempura however heavier.
Soondae
The correct romanization is sundae, however I don’t need you to confuse this with ice cream. They’re blood and glass noodle sausages. The standard model makes use of rice as a substitute of noodles, however the road model makes use of the glass ones, giving them a bouncy texture. It’s served with pig liver and offal. What I love to do is make Kim-Tteok-Quickly. Combine the Twigim and Soondae along with Tteokbokki sauce. It’s what Harold and Kumar would crave in the event that they lived in Korea.
Hotteok
Fried dough filled with brown sugar, nuts, and different goodies. They’re scrumptious and make nice hand heaters. They emerge in excessive numbers throughout winter.
Bungeobbang
Candy desserts filled with candy crimson bean or custard. One other nice hand hotter and fairly good.
Gyeranbbang
Actually, “egg bread.” Candy pancake batter cooked in a cup like a muffin with an egg cracked inside. Candy and savory. Protein and carbs. It’s the breakfast you by no means knew you wanted.
The place to eat Seoul Road Meals
You may get it most anyplace. Listed here are some areas which have a novel contact.
Myeong-dong
It’s one of many few instances I’ll say Myeong-dong has higher meals. The road meals scene there may be aggressive. However Myeong-dong is like Instances Sq. in New York. There are extra vacationers than locals. It’s right here that you simply’ll discover the Frankenstein creations, like lobster with cheese. The Twister Potato was born right here, in addition to many road meals staples and flashes within the pans.
Insa-dong
It’s one other touristy space. Right here you’ll discover the well-known Insa-dong Hotteok, which places a little bit of cornmeal in its dough, giving it an excellent crunchy texture. Different highlights are the fire-grilled hen on a stick and my beloved egg breads. Insa-dong’s road meals scene took a nasty hit from each COVID-19’s tourism dearth and the relentless bulldozing to make means for bland buying malls.
Hongdae
Carts with the fundamentals camp exterior Hongik College Station, exit 9. Additional down, previous the buskers, you will discover what I name Loopy Road Meals Alley. It’s a collection of stalls which can be at all times rotating with new road meals concepts. It’s like a market analysis lab throwing every part in opposition to the wall to see what sticks.
Noryangjin Cup Rice Street 컵밥거리
Now that is meals that’s meant to be eaten like a meal. These stands cater to younger adults learning for skilled exams. The cram faculties to assist them put together for these profession exams congregate right here. Cup Rice Street sprouted as a bunch of carts to feed these poor hungry younger professionals-to-be.
Right here’s a map of all of the locations I’ve talked about.