5-Day Off-the-Beaten Path Itinerary through Seoul

Been to Seoul a couple of times before so I wasn’t looking to do a repeat of the traditional touristy sites. Instead, I wanted to stroll along the length and breadth of Seoul and really get to know the city just a little bit better. I haven’t managed it yet though, but I do feel I was able to crack it a teensy weensy bit. So join me as I walk you through my itinerary, and also list down thoughts on how to make this even better.

But first, let’s get the easy questions out of the way first –

Where should I stay in Seoul?

We typically stay in Myeongdong as we always allot a shopping day when in Seoul and Myeongdong is a great place to shop (not the cheapest) but certainly a wide variety of goods that’s arranged in a way that’s not particularly confusing. I’m looking at you Namdaemun.

For this stay, we opted to go with Days Hotel Wyndham Myeongdong. We booked via Agoda, which gives pretty good deals, especially when paired with credit card rebates/promos. Although, in retrospect, we should have tried an AirBnB instead since we were a big-ish group (6 total), and an AirBnB would give us a common area to hang out.

All said though, Days Hotel is pretty decent. Great location, literally 2 mins walk to the subway, and quite near to the bus routes. It’s not in the middle of Myeongdong, slightly to the edge, but near enough that we made 3 stops back to leave the stuff we shopped before popping back into the fray.

Room size wise, get the twin bed rooms (much bigger than the king/queen bed rooms). Bathroom was pretty big actually. I was pleasantly surprised. And I really like how you could unli water (the water bottles can be found on B1 at the gym). There’s also an Isaac Toast right outside in case you wake up late and want a quick breakfast (although there’s always a queue at Isaac Toast)

 

Where are the best places to shop in Seoul?

Couple of places are pretty famous for shopping, so I’ll list down my thoughts below:

• Yeongdeungpo New Town Underground Shopping Mall: It’s not very famous but swear, this was the BEST place to shop (especially for clothes and bags). Stuff were visibly cheaper vs other areas – like you saw the same coat being sold in other markets, 9 times out of 10, Yeongdeungpo was cheaper. They also had fruit markets nearby and they were sooooo cheap. Super good! We loved this the most
• Myeongdong: While definitely not as cheap, Myeongdong is a great place to shop for pasalubongs because everything is here already. Clearly catered towards tourists, here you can wholeheartedly embrace your tourist status and rest in the knowledge that everything being sold here (skincare, clothes, food etc) are all the most common items tourists want to buy and bring home
• Namdaemun Market: The wholesale market of Seoul (think Divisoria), Namdaemun is HUGE. Literally 66 hectares in floor area. If you want to do buy and sell, or if you have the patience to sift through the many many sellers to find that one good deal, this is the place to go. As for me, it was just a bit too much and I died
• Dongdaemun Malls: Dongdaemun has a ton of malls to check out – ranging from low end to ultra ultra high end. Think the whole spectrum of Divisoria. But, I don’t have much patience for malls anymore so we tried one, exited, and decided to eat instead

 

Which Korean traditional markets should we check out?

OK, so keep in mind when I went to these markets, my main purpose was really to eat, so I’ll rate them accordingly. If you want to shop at the traditional markets, then you may take my opinions with a grain of salt

• Majang Meat Market: Best place to go for Hanwoo beef Grade 1++. You buy your meat from the seller, then go to a restaurant and pay a cooking charge to grill your meat there. Think the equivalent of dampa, except you actually have to cook yourself. This is an excellent experience and definitely unique
• Mangwon Market: Less popular (or less known), all my local friends have told me (plus some Youtubers lol) that THIS is the market to be. Less touristy, but still accessible, the prices of the goods here are cheaper AND the food themselves are better (E.g. more filling, tastes better, cooked the traditional way etc etc)
• Namdaemun Market: I actually found the food here pretty good! All the street food we tried (most notably the hotteok) was amazing. So while it can be difficult to find a food stall amongst all the other paraphernalia being sold, do check out the food once you find them!
• Yeongduengpo Traditional Market: One of the oldest markets in Korea, this place is nice to check out only if you have extra time. But if you do, you can pop by on your way to the underground mall just to get a glimpse of what a legit local market looks like. It’s filled with ajummas chatting each other up and it’s pretty cute to see how everyone seems to know everybody else. Beware though, no English speakers here!
• Myeongdong: So let me preface by saying that Myeongdong is MORE EXPENSIVE. But also, there were food stalls here that I didn’t see elsewhere, such as mochi covered fruit (so yummy – actually, I saw this at Hyundai Department Store too, but it was pricier there), corn (SO good! their corn is delicious), and lobster with cheese. Interesting right? Just expect to shell out more
• Gwangjang Market: The most famous market is also the one I’d rank the lowest. It’s really touristy. I felt the prices were more expensive (but not that by a lot), and the quality of the food just wasn’t as good (comparing the hotteok we got at Namdaemun vs Gwangjang etc). Of course, there’s a lot more hype here since some stalls were featured on Netflix so expect to queue for these stalls. We did, and were left kinda disappointed. Not that it was bad? Just that it tasted like all the other stalls we had tried prior

 

What are common pasalubong to buy in Seoul / Korea?

Tons and tons! But as for us, we loaded up on the following:

• HBAF Almonds are soo in right now. There was this 88 pack HBAF (22 flavors, 4 packs of 10g each per flavor) which was the perfect thing to give away. Also, if you aren’t sure what flavors you want to buy, there’s a huge HBAF store where you can free taste the flavors. My personal fave was the tteokboki!

• Dried fruits. I love their dried persimmon. They’re still so fleshy – actually, I’m not even sure if they’re dried dried, because it was refrigerated. But I must say, it’s terrific
• No Brand products –  I don’t know man. I entered a No Brand store and it was yummy food alert! We tried the purple sweet potato chips and they were delicious. They also had mochi ice cream. So good too. Apparently, they also have really excellent gorgonzola puffs, plum tea concentrate, chocolate covered almonds, Twix/ Snickers/ Nutella dupes etc etc. Even their red algae shampoo and conditioner is good daw!
• Instant noodles. Whenever I travel to Korea, Japan, Taiwan, I always load up on instant noodles / ramen packs. They’re just SOOO good. Def much better than our local ones
• Socks here are so cute and really reasonably priced. Think KRW 1500 per sock. We got one for our inaanak too – weirdly, kid socks are more expensive
• Daiso goodies. I know I know we have our own Daiso in the Philippines, but swear, the Daiso in Korea is way more loaded (13 floors guys!), and cheaper. Plus I think the turnover of their goods are much faster, so the item you picked up doesn’t look like it’s just accumulated dust
• Skin care: the notable ones would be cleaning oil (Madagdascar Centella Light Cleaning Oil, Neogen Carrot Deep Clear Remover Oil Pad, Skin 1004 oil cleanser), toners (Annua 77% Heartleaf Toner, Wonder Ceramide Toner, I’m from Rice Toner, Mediheal Toner Pads), Serum (Beauty of Joson Glow Serum, D’Alba First Spray Serum), Moisturizer (Aesthura), Face Masks (Mediheal masks),  Sunscreen (Tocobo, Roundlab, Dr G, Skin 1004), and even leave on conditioners (Elizavecca Collagen Coating for the hair)

 

Where can I get Korean Won to fund all my shopping?

Well, first off, you only need Korean Won for T-Money (the transport card you use to ride the metro and bus which unfortunately requires cash to load), and for the markets (when you want to buy food or stuff from the street stalls). Depending on your capacity to shop, I’d say we spent around USD 15 per person per day (although note, this was mostly for transport and some cheap food – all restaurants and commercial establishments were paid for using a credit card)

Once you have USD, just go to Myeongdong and you’ll see a ton of money exchange shops. Their rates are ridiculously good too!

 

OK with all that out of the way, let’s get to the itinerary!

• Day 0: Touchdown to Seoul (airport transfer + check in to hotel)
• Day 1: North of River, East Side of Seoul >> Seoul City Wall + Dongdaemun + Majang Meat Market
• Day 2: South of River, West of Seoul >> Yeouido Hanggang Park + Yeongdeungpo Market + Mangwon Market
• Day 3: North of River, Center North of Seoul >> Ikseondong + Museum Kimchikan + Insadong + Gwangjang Market
• Day 4: North of River, Center of Seoul >> Shopping Day at Namdaemun and Myeongdong
• Day 5: South of River, Very East of Seoul >> Gangnam

 

Day 0: Touchdown Seoul

First night in – thankfully we got airport transfer and it was so convenient! We discovered Naver Map which was crazy useful – it’s like Waze and Google Maps combined BUT better! It tells you every time there’s a speeding camera coming up and can even help you access the security cameras to see where the disruptions are! Actually, Google Maps doesn’t work at all for Korea, as South Korea didn’t want their satellites to work here since they’re worried North Korea will use it for targetting missiles etc. Instead, Naver Map is THE map and swear it’s the best. It’s just hard to search for places with their English names, so I usually type it in Google Maps first, then copy paste the Korean name or address and paste onto Naver Map instead. If it’s a tourist site, typically it should be the search result that comes out on top (with the most reviews). Otherwise, I’ll kind of compare the placement of the location vs where Google Maps says it should be.

Also, Naver Map can show you the INSIDES of the building, as in literally you can check where the buildings connect to each other. So cool! Plus, this allows you to know which train car to get on, as it’s the one nearer to the exit you want etc etc

Anyway, enough Naver Map fangirling – first meal of the in Korea was at Myth Jokbal (Myeongdong) – delicious jokbal.

• Got the jokbal – pig trotters cooked with soy sauce and spice, and guys, this was so tender and juicy and just bursting with collagen. Think crispy pata but better! We got both the original and the garlic. Personally loved the garlic way way more because it was sweet! Ugh so good. Was so impressed because there’s no greasy feel at all, and the pork just tastes so fresh and clean and light. Hits the spot!
• Bossam naman is thinly sliced pork shoulder that’s boiled in spices. Also good but not as flavorful, so I liberally used the gochujang-esque sauce
• On top of this, the restaurant also gave us sides: salad (sarap ng vinaigrette!), kimchi (omggg so legit and sooooo tart and good!), this bouncy thing that was just so springy in texture, pulled noodles cooked in kimchi soup

Overall, a damn good meal. Also perfect coz it’s one of the few restos that close late in Myeongdong
Pro tip: cheaper if you buy a coupon from Klook beforehand! Plus saves you the long queue!

 

Day 1: North of River, East Side of Seou

When searching where to eat breakfast, I wanted to eat somewhere atypical – not one of those chains – but a small cozy store. Happy to have stumbled upon Wonder Bread!

They have a delightful selection of breads to choose from (all baked in small batches) and every single one so delicious! We got the following:
❤️ Pork sausage. Mozzarella cheese. Garlic sauce. Cheddar cheese
❤️ Chestnut pastry
❤️ Cream cheese. Cranberry. Walnut
❤️ Custard cream. Croissant
❤️ Red Bean. Chestnut
❤️ Dried figs. Pistachios. Chestnuts

Note that the bread flavors change daily depending on what ingredients they have available. You can also watch them make the bread too! Overall super nice cozy bakery, with a small section where you can munch on your bread and drink coffee post-purchase

Then we set off for Ihwa Mural Village. This village doesn’t have as much murals now as the residents got quite irritated by all the tourists (although this was also what saved this area from government redevelopment!)

From here, the Seoul City Walk was just a hop and a skip away. Nice views overlooking Seoul, and it’s really a nice juxtaposition of the old (walls and palace/entryway) and new (City of Seoul).

Unfortunately, it started raining so we dashed off to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Beuatiful architecture by world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid.

Unfortunately, after a vigorous (jk it was very chill though rainy) hike through the Ihwa Mural Village and Seoul City Wall, I was sooo ready for a hearty and warm lunch. So off we went in search of good good.

Enter Dak Hanmari (whole chicken soup) – a dish only found in Korea, where literally one whole young chicken (which accounts for its crazy tenderness) is slowly boiled in a soup with potato and leeks.

• Most of the locals add kimchi to this to make kimchi soup, but personally I found the chicken broth sooo good on its own already. It was so clean tasting and flavorful. No wonder Koreans have such nice skin, they eat so much collagen 🤣
• Anyway, aside from the soup, the chicken itself was so wonderfully tender. It was such a joy to eat.
• We also ordered rice cakes and noodles, which we cooked in the leftover soup! You know, I’m not a fan of rice cakes in the Philippines as they’re so dense and blah tasting. But, these were great! Lovely QQ texture – I found myself reaching for one more every few mins

From here, we returned to Dongdaemun to commence shopping. Alas we found the Dongdaemun malls didn’t really match what we were looking for. Also be careful because a ton of places in Seoul are closed on Mondays so just make sure to check before you go

From here, we went to Majang Meat Market

• Make sure to get here BY 6:30PM as these markets close quite early. When we got there, we were greeted by a whole row of meat market sellers all selling Hanwoo Beef Grade 1++ (equivalent to Japan wagyu) for KRW 17,000 per 100g. Pro tip: haggle for more freebies and discounts (some sellers offer to take out the butal – example, it’s supposed to cost KRW 156,000, they’ll say just pay KRW 150,000). Then round out your meal with pork shoulder (waaay cheaper at KRW 2800 per 100g). So for reference, our family of six got ~900g of Hanwoo Beef + 360g of Pork Shoulder + freebies (4 pcs of beef sashimi, 4 small trays of pork samgyupsal) and we were pretty full after.
• Tbh, all the sellers sell Hanwoo Beef Grade 1++ and the pricing is pretty consistent, so the main difference would be the cut of meat they’ve put together. We got several cuts – chuck tail, rib eye etc. Unfortunately I can’t differentiate amongst the cuts because we cooked them all together, so I can tell you there were 2 cuts I waaay preferred but I don’t know what they were haha

• After buying your meats, head on over to the 3rd floor of the building. There are multiple restaurants to choose from but we just entered the one right by the meat seller we bought from. There’s a cooking charge ranging from KRW 4,000 to 8,000, depending on the banchan they serve. The one we chose was priced at KRW 7,000, but we decided to just go for it coz we were there already. Also, the server was super nice as he taught us how to best cook the meat (e.g. in what order). start with the hanwoo beef first (expensive cut first), followed by the pork shoulder (good meat but if you cook it first, the pork fat flavor will overpower the beef taste), then the beef strips (cooked over foil), and lastly the beef sashimi!

Afterwards, we went back to Myeongdong but what meal is complete without dessert? Hello Sulbing – the pre-eminent bingsu chain in Seoul! I was a bit sad actually because I was looking forward to the melon and mango bingsu – but apparently that’s their summer menu. Huhu ohwell, ended up getting their strawberry and black sesame special, both of which were delicious but nothing amazing I’d say. The mochi was GREAT though!

 

Day 2: South of River, West of Seoul

Late start coz I was up till 3AM the night before working. So while I was waking up, my husband went over to Isaac Toast to buy us breakfast. Thankfully this was located right outside our hotel. Convenient right?

• We got the Bulgogi Special and Ham and Cheese. Actually we were more impressed by the speed and efficiency of the workers in making the sandwich. In terms of the actual food, the toast itself was soft and buttery, the filling was generous although the meat tasted like processed meat lol, but the real star was the sauce which was sweet and kind of honey-like. Of the two flavors, I’d say the bulgogi special was better

From here, we made our way to Yeouido Hanggang Park. I wanted to bike along Han River, but we couldn’t find the bike rental lol.

Dreams dashed. Initial plan was also to buy and cook ramen from 7-11, but again we couldn’t find the 7-11. Super fail. Ohwell, thankfully, cherry blossoms were starting to bud so we just snapped away instead

Next up was Yeongdeungpo Traditional Market ~so local none could speak English! Ianted to check out a traditional market and Yeongdeungpo is said to be one of the oldest in Seoul! True to form, it was filled with ajummas and felt very very local. No tourist in sight!

Only downside was nothing was in English, so we couldn’t really order anything

• So when in doubt, look for a place with photos and we always invariably end up at a noodle place (always the safest option)
• The nice ajumma menu had 3 options – which were really just variations of the same thing > handcut noodles, mandu dumplings, rice cake and egg
• Guys, the mandu dumplings here were the best of the trip thus far. The dumpling skin was super thin and it was bursting with meat. Sarap sarap!!

A ~10 minute walk after, we had arrived at Yeongdeungpo area. OMG my favorite part of the trip was here because we chanced upon a fruit market (actually the best time to buy fruits is late afternoon to early evening since closing time means they’re trying to sell as much inventory as possible so they’re all heavily discounted already.) We bought strawberries here (KRW 11,000 for 1kg huge ass super ripe strawberries), as well as shine muscat grapes (imagine KRW 2,000 for 1kg huhu! Saan ka pa?), plus Korean pears, and dried persimmons. Hay happy eater here.

Now it was time for Yeongdeungpo Underground Shopping Mall. Super good time here because there were such great deals! We bought winter coats (scored KRW 10,000 jackets for Josh and Papa on clearance!) and many more.

Finally, dinner at Mangwon Market. Everyone said the food at Mangwon was better – more local therefore better value for money (more bang for buck) and better taste. Unfortunately, we arrived near closing time (gosh they close so early) so I don’t think we got the most optimal experience since a lot of stalls were already closed and those that were open weren’t cooking fresh anymore. As a consolation though, stalls gave us freebies coz they were already closing so they were rushing to sell as many as possible 🤣

My favorites here were: fish cake (super yum and the soup was 💯), red bean and glutinous rice donut (omg went back for seconds for this one!), chili pepper dynamite (their chilis are HUGE, and super generous in their meat filling), makgeolli ice candy (delish! Faint trace of alcohol but ultimately v refreshing)

 

Day 3: North of River, Center North of Seoul

It’s café day! This was what I was most excited about because I love food and café hopping. Plus, Korea has really cornered this whole aesthetic market. Got to Ikseondong and was appalled because there were lines for everything. So pro tip: come early, and map out which cafes you want to go to already. In case the line is long (I’m looking at you Mil Toast), move to the next one on your list

Cafes we hit up:

• Cheongsudang (beautiful aesthetic, food is ayt lang)

🌸 Yakgwa Set: a deep fried honey cookie – yakgwa is a traditional Korean snack. Been seeing it at the markets but wasn’t sure it’d be good. Took a chance here since they provided an assortment of flavors. It’s interesting? Pretty to look at, but sticks to my teeth when I eat it which I don’t super like
🌸 Original Souffle Castella: oozing, not bad! Love the crusty parts the most, but I generally prefer my castella fluffier
🌸 Strawberry Fromage Cake: pretty to look at but in essence, it’s a chiffon cake 🤣
🌸 Pumpkin Sikhye: a traditional Korean drink that’s said to be good for relieving greasy food and upset stomachs. Interesting taste? Would not order this as a priority but not bad
🌸 Egg Drop Coffee: tastes like Vietnamese egg drop coffee

But really what you go here for is its Instagrammable interiors! It’s BEAUTIFUL. These Koreans really know how to design and brand 💯

• Soha Salt Pond (their salt bread is GOLD – ang sarap!)

Tbh wasn’t sure what this store was selling but the queue was long so we figured it was worth lining up for 🤣

Super worth it guys! They sell salt breads which are SO GOOD. They’re salt rising bread leavened by naturally occurring wild bacteria rather than by yeast. I thought all salt breads were just good, but after Soha, I tried salt bread elsewhere and Soha’s was just so much better 💯

Of the four flavors we tried: soha salted bread (original), truffle, and leek cream cheese… hands down, the leak cream cheese was THE best. The balance of flavors was just the thing I was looking for

The truffle smelt excellent and tasted good too. But the original was actually very good in its simplicity

We also got matcha chocolate croissant and it was good. But the star here is really the salt bread so get those!

• Woo’Z Café (nice chill rooftop, garlic cheese bread and melon pan were delish)

After lounging around in a very Instagrammable café that also made me feel like it’s a sin to speak too loud (coz the ambiance is just too soothing – very Zenlike), I decided I wanted a more laidback setting for the next one. Enter Woo’Z Café. It’s a 3-storey café building, with its own rooftop chill spot. I chose several breads to try from, and my favorite was the garlic cheese bread (this was SO good. I totally get the hype now) as well as the melon bread (always love that crust and the melon filling was delicious). My husband quite liked the red bean + butter combo on a baguette too, but this was just ayt for me.

Overall, a nice chill place to hang especially with a beautiful rooftop view of Ikseondong. It’s really nice how this is such a chic place, but they’ve tried their best to maintain the “old” exterior styles. Although, I have heard that gentrification is quite a problem here, with residents being forced out by people with money (who do pay them of course), then the actual structures being damaged internally by shoddy renovations etc etc. Anyway, modern ills and hopefully something the government can address?

• Seoul Coffee (very pretty but I don’t get the hype of these ang butter bread)

Very old 1950s coffee house vibes – it’s a hanok style minimalist coffee that was already in Ikseondong before this became the IT place to be. They’re famous for their good coffee (obviously) but also their ang butter bread (a sliced block of butter and red bean paste stuffed in the bread). Their bread comes in two flavors: squid ink (black-colored) and milk.

To be honest, nothing overly spectacular – I’ve had ang butter bread multiple times while at Korea and it was always yum! I must say, these Koreans know how to bake bread. It’s always so fresh and so good!!! Of the two flavors, I’ve heard people say the squid ink is better for that added flavor, but… it tasted the same to me! Haha But the squid ink one had cheese and butter, while the milk flavor was all butter. Try both if you have the stomach space for it!

• Cheese Industry (v innovative! I liked the brie cheesecake – though not the best I’ve had, I appreciate the ingenuity in coming up with it)

Cheese cheese cheese! Nothing can beat Sapporo cheese, but what I love about Korea is their innovation. Here we tried the following:
🧀 Brie Cheesecake (shaped just like brie – complete with a cheese cloth): This was SO GOOD. I love brie and this really captured the flavor, while incorporating the fluffiness I like in a cheese cake
🧀 Maple Burrata Pastry: Hmmm a bit of a letdown. I like my burrata OOZING out but this one didn’t. Not sure if it was because of the cold? But overall, a decent pastry
🧀 Cream Cheese Patry: Interesting but nothing spectacular

 

After all that eating, it was time to get our brains working. It was time to go to Museum Kimchikan to learn how to make kimchi.

Actually this is such a good business because for the price – we paid around PHP 5,000 (booked online beforehand). They literally just mass prep the ingredients and you just mix them all together. It’s a very cute activity but def pricey. Although, we did get to bring home our own kimchi (with a nice Tupperware) haha! We shall taste test mine and Josh’s one month from now to see whose tastes better. The sad part is we still can’t make kimchi at home because we were taught using Napa cabbage and obviously Philippines only has Chinese cabbage which requires a different salting period pffttttt

Next up, it was time for… SOME MORE BINGSU haha.

Was walking along the streets of Insadong and saw this random advert for a dried persimmon and jujube bingsu (at Maru Jayeonsik Kimbap) and I was SOLD. Searched for the store and eagerly ordered said bingsu plus a red bean & mochi bingsu. Overall, interesting mix of flavors. I looove persimmon talaga!

Chill walking along the streets of Insadong. I thought there would be more to shop here, but it’s just some cutesy stuff, quite impractical but cute to look at. My parents had their caricature made here digitally, which was cute. Although surprisingly, it took 20mins to draw too! I had thought digital caricature would be faster)

Finally, we had dinner at Gwangjang Market which was just oh-kay. I didn’t realize Gwangjang Market (sans food) closes by 6PM, so by the time we got there, it was just food. This market is ultra-famous and practically everyone goes here (by everyone, I mean tourists). But locals have told us that they never go Gwangjang – overpriced and you don’t get much bang for buck. Essentially, a tourist trap.

Ohwell, we figured, what’s there to lose. Everyone goes here! But hmmm, to be honest, I wasn’t impressed nga with the food offerings! We had the following:

• KRW 10 and KRW 500 coin pancake filled with cheese and custard cream respectively: The pancake itself was yum (good batter), the cheese filling was oozing (I like this one actually), but the custard cream was weird (more like jelly vs cream!)
• Fried chicken: OK naman! It was good but not wow. Just chicken fried right
• Seafood and Pork Jeon (Pancake): This stall was featured in Netflix haha! But I found it underwhelming. Alam mo, it’s super malaman talaga, super filling. But I guess I’m not a huge fan of fried food so my main takeaway was eck oily and filling
• Hotteok: I actually liked this but then I had it again at Namdaemun the next day and it was SO MUCH BETTER!!!
• Twisted donut: Yummyyy! Sarap ng mga donuts nila
• Mandu Dumplings: Ayt lang. The one at Yeongdeungpo was way better. This one’s skin was thicker
• Japchae: Very meh. Kulang sa sahog at lasa
• Kalguksu w/ dumplings and banquet noodles: Also featured v heavily on Netflix! Also ayt for me. I had 3 kalguksu dishes in Korea and they all taste pretty much the same to me. Like it’s good and warming, but I wouldn’t go to this stall just to try it

Overall, an OK market. It’s best feature is that it’s very tourist friendly since all their signages and menus have English translations! Haha!

Then just when I thought my foodie adventure was over, a random restaurant along Gwangjang Market’s Raw Food Alley waved me in and asked if I wanted to try yukhoe (raw beef) and the answer to that is a resounding YES.

Been wanting to try this for the longest time because it’s legit one of my fave dishes to order when in a Korean restaurant. Unfortunately, most of my family doesn’t really like raw beef, and I was feeling embarrassed if our party of 6 entered the restaurant and I only order one dish. Thankfully, since it was already quite late (read: off-peak hours), the owner graciously agreed to serve us. I ended up ordering one yukhoe and a yukhoe bibimbap. It’s so good! The beef’s so fresh, not chewy (possibly because of its cut, always a concern when eating raw beef), and pairs beautifully with egg yolk and pears for that slice of sweetness.

 

Day 4: North of River, Center of Seoul

Namdaemun Market is said to be THE market to go to because it’s huge! Imagine, 66 hectares of floor area. Kakahilo. Actually, kakahilo talaga. When we got there, I wanted to go home LOL. There were just too many options. Thankfully, while my family shopped, I ate. The food here is actually pretty good. Like everything we tried was good.

Some of my absolute faves here were the: fried bao (super thin skin, amazingly flavorful meat filling w/ glass noodles), hotteok (made the traditional way, it was SO MUCH BETTER than what we had at Gwangjang the night before), braised cutlass fish (this is what’s famous in Namdaemun because this dish originated here – the sauce is super good, but ugh this fish has too many bones), abalone porridge (super warming and v flavorful), and finally…. SOY MARINATED CRAB!

Guys, I’ve been looking for soy marinated crab for what seems like ages on this trip. I’ve seen it in the markets but couldn’t figure out how to eat it standing up. So finally finally, on our last market run, I knew I had to try it now or never (on this trip). And this is it! SARAP! It tastes like the soy marinated egg that Josh makes actually – combo of the soy sauce (similar) and the oozing out meat (who knew crab meat was slimy when raw??). Overall, great eats! Happy I got to try!

Then we were off to the streets of Myeongdong! You’d think one whole day of shopping is too long, but surprise surprise, we legit shopped until night time. What did we shop for? I have no idea haha. All I know is, our luggages were bursting after! Check out my pasalubong section above to get a glimpse of our haul.

And of course, lots of food stall eating along the way. I love this mochi wrapped fruits treat. Plus the corn, yummy!

In between the shopping, we fueled up at Gangnam Myeonok

• This is actually a chain restaurant with the original branch originating in Gangnam. But you know it’s good because it can sustain a chain, and damn, it was AMAZING. They only have a limited menu and I ordered EVERYTHING ON IT haha!
• So the best bet for me are these Beef Short Ribs – they are fall off the bone tender, and tastes soooo good. The sauce is the best. Get some rice and mix it in and you’ll be in beefy heaven.
• I also got the beef short ribs soup – the soup was like beef broth brought to life, and the beef itself was crazy tender too.
• Then of course, these mandu dumplings – SO HUGE, so filling. Very good as well!
• And lastly, nangmyeon (essentially cold noodles) – also a Korean dish fave of mine. I got both the Korean beef nangmyeon and the spicy nangmyeon. Both were delicious. I love how the thin noodles are so springy and the soup + veggies so refreshing (especially when you add a dab of mustard to it!)

A very satisfying meal indeed. Perfect to shore up the strength needed to resume shopping along Myeongdong. – delicious beef short ribs and nangmyeon (cold noodles)

Then it was back to shopping, and finally chicken & beer midnight snack at Oppadak.

Dare I say it? I thought it was better than BHC because it’s oven fried! You get all that crunchy goodness and tender meat, without the unhealthy deep frying oil and shiz. No words. Perfect these chicken. We got crispy baked chicken, and fried chicken in galbi sauce and they were just amazingly tender on the inside, crispy on the outside, and seasoned so well.

Of course, chicken and beer night wouldn’t be complete without alcohol! We tried all local draft beers – sangsang pale ale, apple cider (deceptively sweet but this had the highest alcohol content), myeongdong welzen, and banana makgeolli (I can never drink original makgeolli again now that I’ve tasted this banana wonder. Yummyyy). But sorryy, I didn’t take a pic of the alcohol na. It was ATTACK MODE

 

Day 5: South of River, Very East of Seoul

Originally we were supposed to bike along Seokchon Lake, picnic and bask beneath the cherry blossoms. Unfortunately, I was rudely awakened by a public safety alert informing us that there were hazardous dust particulates in the air (from China & Mongolia apparently), so spending time outdoors was highly discouraged.

On to Plan B: hello Gangnam!

First order of business is to eat! Eat what? Egg drop sandwiches from Eggslut and Eggdrop

Between the two, I preferred Egglust. It’s not as mainstream as Isaac’s Toast and Eggdrop, but this one kept popping up too! We got La Vibe, Smokey Pulled Pork w/ Jack Daniels Sauce, Double Cheese Beef Burger with Farm Free Egg ~ tbh, it tasted like burgers hahaha! I barely tasted the eggs. So in terms of eggdrop sandwich rating, it’s a fail 🤣 But as a burger, it’s excellent. Delicious bread, great filling ~bacon, egg, cheese, beef etc. Yummy sauce too!

As for Eggdrop, now THIS is an eggdrop sandwich! We got Bacon Double Cheese, American Ham and Cheese, Bacon French Toast, and Teriyaki BBQ

These were what I expected from an eggdrop sandwich, but actually of the three: Isaac Toast, Eggslut and Eggdrop – this was my least fave, though still good. I think it was because of the sauce they used – too much mayonnaise I think. And true to an eggdrop sandwich, the filling only reaches a certain point, then it’s all bread na 😢

Afterwards, we visited Starfield Library – it’s literally a library full of books. So amazing how Koreans make everything into a tourist attraction, pero punta din naman tayo haha

Then we walked a few minutes to the Gangnam Statue was up next – Gangnam Style really put Gangnam on the map. To this day, I don’t understand what the hype was all about (1st to breach 1M views), but I must admit the tune is damn catchy!

Next stop: Bongeunsa Temple in order to catch a glimpse of the Buddha. But in the end, we got too lazy, so we only ended up on the first level hehe. Didn’t see the Buddha but I did see Gwan-Yin-Ma

Finally, our last sitdown meal in Seoul was at Choegoya Spicy Stir Fried Chicken. Was in Gangnam and I really wanted to eat Korean food but everything here was so international 😢 Thankfully the information lady was super helpful, and gave us this dakgalbi restaurant recommendation

When we got there, we thought the restaurant was closed coz there was no one! Thankfully there was a Korean group that arrived a few minutes after and they entered, so we just followed them in. Wow, Koreans are so efficient talaga. The whole restaurant is managed by one person only – waiter, cook, all rolled into one

We got the spicy dakgalbi with cheese and another nangmyeun. Ayy saboroso!

From here, we made our way back to the hotel where we would be picked up by the airport transfer. But in case you travel light, you can actually leave your luggages at COEX Exhibit Center (They have these luggage storage, but not sure if big ones can fit), then just take the Airport Bus direct from there.)

Then it was off to the airport, goodbye Seoul! (but not just yet, coz PAL plane was delayed 3.5hrs Zzzzz)

But before signing off, here’s a photo of my favorite part to this entire Seoul trip – their delicious fruits! Mwah!

 

Other places to check out

• Nami Island
• Everland (Amusement Park)
• Lotte World (Amusement Park)
• Busan
• Jeju