Food & Drink in South Korea - What to Try?

[SmokeBreak]

Seek out a well regarded fried chicken place.
As a Kentucky boy, Korean Fried Chicken is some of my favorite.

Korean fried chicken, what a great suggestion! I hadn't considered that but it makes total sense. As a fried chicken lover myself, I'm really looking forward to trying the Korean version now. Thanks for adding that to my list of foods to explore - it sounds delicious. I'll be on the lookout for a top rated fried chicken place while I'm there.

 

[Zamora]

I'm rather fond of Korean rice cakes, they're nothing like American rice cakes.

 

[Egg Shen]

I just wanna know what chicken on a stick costs these days. 20-25 years ago they were $1 from any given street vendor. Even if you drank away all your money you could rummage your pockets for a few singles and be fed. It was so good.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I was there in 1992. I was supposed to take a job teaching there, but circumstances out of my control prevented me from being able to take the job. But a friend of mine did, so I went to visit him after he had been there for a year. We decided that we wanted to try dog, and we had a hard time finding somewhere that sold it. At that time, it was falling out of fashion, but there was one place on the other side of Seoul that served it. We packed a bag and rode our bikes across the country, Seoul pretty much is the entire country.

It was very good, but not outstanding. I kind of expected it to taste more doggish. Ha ha.
Also, despite the cult classic "Faces of Death" no one there served fresh monkey brains... but we did look.

I'm an animal lover, but in a different way. I support preserving animals... but, only because one day, I'd like to know what a spotted owl tastes like.

 

[Egg Shen]

I was told that dog eating was more of a rural thing than city cuisine

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I was told that dog eating was more of a rural thing than city cuisine

Yes, most likely. but, we wanted someone to prepare it for us. I didn't exactly want to come home with a Cocker Spaniel for a weird horror movie DIY meal, ha ha.

I have a story about a friend and I buying a goat to butcher, and getting home with what became a long term pet, ha ha.

 

[Egg Shen]

Yes, most likely. but, we wanted someone to prepare it for us. I didn't exactly want to come home with a Cocker Spaniel for a weird horror movie DIY meal, ha ha.

I have a story about a friend and I buying a goat to butcher, and getting home with what became a long term pet, ha ha.

I’d try it, but never encountered dog meat. I wonder if a particular breed is desirable or if any old mutt will do.

It would be tough for me to kill a goat, the look in their eyes clearly indicates sentience and they have personality. I would get into making goat cheese and kefir if I had one.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I’d try it, but never encountered dog meat. I wonder if a particular breed is desirable or if any old mutt will do.

We were told that the breeds that the restaurant used were Chows... which I have always thought was ironic, considering it's name.

. I would get into making goat cheese and kefir if I had one.

That is harder than you'd think with a Billy, ha ha. But, Jackstraw was a beloved but asshole pet for us for about 12 years. You just had to be careful and not turn your back on him, ha ha.

 

[Egg Shen]

We were told that the breeds that the restaurant used were Chows... which I have always thought was ironic, considering it's name.


That is harder than you'd think with a Billy, ha ha. But, Jackstraw was a beloved but asshole pet for us for about 12 years. You just had to be careful and not turn your back on him, ha ha.

Hah yeah if it’s a male I guess there’s none of that going on.

Back to Korean food: Bugogi is their beef bbq and is decent and widely available. Yakimandoo (sp?) are little pork filled dumplings and they’re pretty tasty.

 

[SmokeBreak]

I was just in Busan a few months ago, Mom's Touch is a good fried chicken chain there. This place was my favorite though:View attachment 271854
Lol. Also their family restaurants were really good, as well as their sushi. And the steak houses. I ate a LOT haha, explore and you wont go hungry.

Haha thanks for the recommendation! Family restaurants and sushi are definitely on my list too. Sounds like from your experience there's no shortage of delicious options everywhere. I can't wait to do plenty of exploring and eat my way through the country!

 

[SmokeBreak]

Looks like you're set for the food element.
So I'll add something about the drinks.

There are several domestic beers available here. None of which I like, still haven't got used to them after 8 years. But certainly try them all, but I find they leave a weird after taste. Makju, pronounced Mekchoo. Eating chicken and drinking beer, ChiMek.

Soju, is of course extremely popular, just be careful, it'll knock yer socks off. This can be bought in any grocery stores and bars and restaurants. The quality can vary, from a couple of bucks for a bottle to 20 bucks a bottle (KW2000 ~ KW20,000). The cheap stuff is made predominantly from chemicals, the more expensive stuff is distilled from rice and is usually stronger and a much higher quality.
A favourite thing to do is to mix a shot of Soju with a glass of beer, thereby calling it "So-Mek".

Bokbunja, is very drinkable. It's made from raspberries and other berries, quite sweet but delicious.

Makgeoli, is a fermented rice wine. Very refreshing in the summer time. You'll need to gently up-turn the bottle to allow for the sedimentation, don't shake it, it'll go everywhere, as its very lively.

Try everything at least once.
As an aside regarding food, dog restaurants do exist. We used to run a hiking club where I am located and we would often times end up walking past the occasional dog farm.
I have never eaten dog, nor do I have any notion of eating dog, but each to their own.

BTW, I've only been to Seoul a couple times and have no idea about where or what to do. I'm located way down south on an island just off the mainland, called Geoje.
Enjoy!

Thanks so much for the food and drink recommendations, especially pointing out some of the local beers and soju - definitely want to try the real local stuff. Makgeoli sounds really refreshing too.

And what an interesting tip about dog restaurants, I had no idea! I'm definitely more of a meat eater so I may just observe if I come across one. Thanks also for the invite down to Geoje, hope to make it south someday to check out your part of the country as well.