Important Notice: Please note that I have stopped updating all South Korea-related content published before 2020 on this blog. You may find all updated South Korea travel content at my dedicated, new travel site here: www.thecalmchronicle.com 

The best autumn foliage venue got to be the ginkgo garden behind the queen dowager’s residence within the Gyeongbok Palace. — Insider Pheuron Tay

“One of my best place to embrace the autumn is the Gyeongbok Palace. I was taking a stroll on a weekday afternoon and accidentally found this beautiful ginkgo garden behind the Jagyeong-Jeon (자경전 慈慶殿). It was like walking into an ocean of glittering golden leaves.”

Tell us a must-do activity in Korea during autumn?
Glamping. Pack up your personal belongings, call your friends, and you can basically leave the rest of the stuff to the glamping site. Remember to prepare some Ramyeon and Army Stew ingredients and So-maek for an authentic Korean campsite experience. Read my detailed write-up about glamping here.

 

Autumn-to-do in Korea: camping. 날씨 가을가을이니까 글램핑 글램핑 가야징^^ 고미워 친구야~~ 내 생에 첫 캠핑추억을 함께 해줘서 #글램핑 #가을 #autumn #camping #campsite

A photo posted by 정가현. 정퓨니. (@pheurontay) on Oct 25, 2014 at 1:35am PDT

What are your personal must-eats during this season?
Grilled ginkgo nuts & fresh figs.

Tell us 3 interesting facts about yourself.
– Korean mistaken me as local while people at home refuse to believe I am not a foreigner.
– I own 35 lipsticks but insist on wearing the same 5 shades over and over.
– I love bright sunlight. I get cranky and depressed in a dimly lighted room.

Gyeongju has the best autumn foliage…even the small maeul (village) bus stops match the autumn atmosphere so well. — Insider Neoh

“Although most Korean will recommend hiking to enjoy autumn foliage, I enjoy the scenery at Gyeongju (경주) very much. The slow-pace life over there, the streets filled with ginkgo trees and the endless rice fields…check out the small maeul (village) bus stops! Surprisingly they match the autumn atmosphere so well. Last but not least, the historical sites and temples covered in red and yellow leaves…makes a trip down to Gyeongju worthwhile.”

Tell us a must-do activity in Korea during autumn?
Hiking. Try Seorak Mountain. Basically autumn is a great season to travel, eat, drink and sleep. Remember to take lots of photo and hashtag them like mad.

What are your personal must-eats during this season?
You should definitely try fresh Bang-eo aka Japanese Amberjack (방어회) and Gwamaegi, Korean half-dried pacific herring (과메기), they’re my favourite sashimi during autumn. If raw fish isn’t your cup of tea, try their fresh persimmon or dried persimmon.

I went paragliding at Danyang during early autumn and I was genuinely blown away by the magnificent scenery beneath me. (It was so beautiful) I could’t stop smiling to myself .– Insider Irene Siah

Video Courtesy of Irene Siah

Tell us a must-do activity in Korea during autumn?
Road tripping or PARAGLIDING. It was a great experience flying in the air, with amazing autumn foliage beneath! Definitely something you want to add to your bucket list!

What are your personal must-eats during this season?
Autumn is the season of tangerine! I just had a tangerine-grapefruit juice (감귤 자몽 주스) from U:DALLY and it tastes sooooo good! You can even bring the cute little bottle home after drinking the juice!

 Naejangsan National Park was probably my favourite… The best photo spots: the Uhwajeong Pavilion & the Maple Tunnel.– Insider Siska

All Naejangsan Photos By Siska Ariyanti.

“I suggest to skip the free shuttle bus service and walk all the way up because the route from the car park to the cable car station is amazingly beautiful. It takes about 30 mins-1 hour to reach the cable car station, depending where you park your car at.The Naejangsa itself is just so-so, but the two scenic photo spots I mentioned above are situated along the way to Naejangsa. “

Any other insider autumn foliage locations you want to share with us?
For a place within Seoul, Children’s Grand Park (서울 어린이대공원) is worth a visit. I would recommend a stroll around the park or even go for a picnic.

If you have time to travel out of Seoul, I would recommend Jeonju (전주). You can have a foodie tour yet at the same time, enjoy the beautiful autumn foliage this city has to offer. Check out Jeonju Hyanggyo Confucian School, their ginkgo trees are at least 200-300 years old, therefore creating a picturesque view.

What is your personal must-eat during this season?
Danpatjuk, the sweet red bean soup (단팥죽) at “The Second Best in Seoul” (서울서 둘째로 잘 하는집), Samcheong-dong.

 

Coming back for this~ Danpatjuk (단팥죽) Not a fan of red bean porridge honestly but this one is an exception. ? #둘째로잘하는집 #thesecondbestinseol #danpatjuk #seoulfoodie #seoulfoods #koreandessert #koreanfoods #foodstagram #먹스타그램 #단팥죽 #삼천동 #삼천동맛집 #samcheondong #redbeanporridge #redbean

A photo posted by Siska Ariyanti (@seara3112) on Nov 17, 2016 at 5:11am PST

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I do have a particular tteokguk restaurant in mind to introduce here. The Jaha Son-Mandoo tucked away in Buamdong is where I always head to for a bowl of hearty, comforting Korean rice cake and dumpling soup, aka the Tteok Mandoo-guk 떡만두국. Not only the restaurant serves this “New-Year-Must-Have”, it is also famed for its delicious dumplings as well!

The restaurant is located in Buam-Dong 부암동, a mountainside neighbourhood located just a short bus ride away from Gyeongbok Palace station. Buam-Dong has developed into a popular neighbourhood for culture living in recent years.

Visitors can find indie Cafes, traditional tea houses, galleries, local boutiques and mat-jibs (Restaurant made famous by word of mouth or online reviews by serving delicious food, Mat (맛) meaning taste; whereas jib (집) means house, Mat-jib = Restaurant that is famous of their delicious offerings) here at Buam-dong. I have covered some of the eateries and cafes in Buam-Dong in my earlier entries, feel free to check them out here.

Korean dumplings are called Mandoo. The dumpling skin for Korean mandoo is thinner, smoother and chewier in texture, compared to its cousins from China and Taiwan. It is really difficult to tell which one is better, but I would say Korean makes their mandoo with light seasoning and less fatty meat. Hence, it is a healthier choice.

We ordered Pyunsoo (Beef Mandoo), Steamed Mandoo, Vegetarian Mandoo and a Mandoo Riceball Soup on our recent visit.

Kimchi is served right after we placed our order. One thing I always look forward to at every Korean Mat-jibs is their house kimchi. And Jaha Son- Mandoo’s Kimchi certainly did not disappoint. Their version of house kimchi is in a beautiful fiery red. It is crunchy but not too spicy, sweetened perfectly making it the best condiment for the dumplings and soup.

The steamed dumplings 찐만두 (KRW 5,500) are the basics in a dumpling restaurant. It is filled with cabbage, pork and some glass noodles. The cabbage brought out the sweetness in the lightly seasoned pork, make it a delightful dish. As big as lady’s fist, these steamed dumplings are quite filling for a small eater.

Not a fan of meat? The restaurant got you covered with their delicious vegetarian dumplings 엄나무순 만두 (KRW 6,500). These beautiful veggie parcels are filled up with tofu, mushrooms, cucumbers and other vegetables. I love the crisp of the cucumber in this vegan dumplings, making the dish light and delicate.

Here comes my favourite dish, the Pyunsoo Dumplings 편수 (KRW 5,500). These beef square packets are wrapped in paper-thin dumpling skin, with mushroom and cucumber as side ingredients.

For those who aren’t familiar with Korean dumplings, you might find cucumber a weird ingredient. However, the refreshing smell of the cucumber helps in eliminating greasiness, make it an excellent combination for any meat-based mandoo in Korea. In this particular dish, the cucumber brought out the sweetness of the beef while lightens the beefy smell. A must-eat in the restaurant.

Lastly, is the hallmark dish for the new year: Tteok Mandoo Guk 떡 만두국  – Dumpling rice ball soup (KRW 12,000). Instead of using the usual Garaetteok in their soup, the restaurant uses Joraengi Tteok. Having Joraengi Tteok soup on the first day of the year symbolises good luck all year round because the 3-cm-long white rice cake, which is in the shape of a silkworm, is a symbol of good fortune in Korea.

Jaha Son-Mandoo makes fancy rice cake soup by adding coloured dumplings to the dish – literally a feast for the eyes! It is also a very filling dish, also a great dish to warm up your body in the winter.

So have you taken your rice cake soup today? Congratulations if you had your tteok-guk, because you’re a year wiser! Now you can go around asking your Korean friends if they had their rice cake soup by asking:

Tteok-guk mogo-sso yo? 떡국 먹었어요?
Have you taken your rice cake soup today?

Writer’s Note: Jaha Son-Mandoo is a great place for a hearty and delicious bowl of rice cake dumpling soup and fresh handmade dumplings. Each and every piece of dumpling is painstakingly folded and wrapped daily. If you are looking for a vegan-friendly restaurant in Seoul, this is a great place. For an elaborate meal, order dumplings Jeongol (casseroles). Remember to explore the area after the meal and have a good cup of coffee before leaving Buamdong.

Contact Details:

Jaha Son-Mandoo 자하손만두
245-2 Buam-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
서울 종로구 부암동 245-2
Tel :+82 2-379-2648
Operating Hours: 11 am-930 pm

Directions:

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Club Espresso is located in Buam-dong, one of the relatively-less-crowded-but-getting-popular-neighborhood (ugh!) in Seoul that offers high concentrations of quality food and coffee. Surrounded by impressive galleries, hidden restaurants, traditional teahouses and studios for many South Korean homegrown designers, Buam-dong makes a family and couple friendly location for a weekend outing.

I especially love the warmth of the wooden interior. It was a building made of red bricks, with rustic wooden furniture decorating the space. I love the wooden tables and chairs by the windows and the huge counter where visitors can sample different blends and single origin coffees before purchasing one that fits their taste and liking. The menu consists of three categories: drip coffee, single-origin espresso, and espresso variations, each category offer at least 5 different beans/beverages.

Up on the second floor of the café was a huge roasting area. Connecting the roasting room was a corridor, filled up with cupboards exhibiting a rich collection of barista tools and accessories any coffee fanatic would love spending hours exploring. I could vividly remember how delighted I was every time I swing open the wooden door and found the delicious smell of the coffee emanating from the bar.

Affogato (above). My personal favourite from Club Espresso. Creamy vanilla ice cream with two shots of vicious, dark espresso poured over. The chopped dark chocolate added a rich depth to the black intoxicating bitters. I love savouring these hot/cold, sweet/intense goodies –the most satisfying simple pleasure in life.

Iced Chocolano (below), another Club Espresso speciality coffee. It is a combination of rich chocolate, a luscious espresso shot and creamy whipped cream. Although we ordered the iced version, the drink was extremely potent — worth your daily calorie quota (once in a while!).

Club Espresso has been the place I constantly return to whenever I am in the area. I adored the tastefully decorated interior and personally felt it is what made the place stands out from the thousands of cafés out there. However, during my latest visit, I found the place has undergone some major renovations. They cleared all the woody interiors on the first floor and turned it into spacious, industrial settings. Obviously, they have remodelled the cafe into a trading friendly environment for coffee beans/ gadget buyers. Visitors may still take their coffee break at level two, which now serves as a seating hall.

All coffee including the eat-in orders is now served in takeaway cups. The espresso is still intact. My girlfriend and I had two servings each that afternoon. I am glad the coffee is of the same old good quality, but the experience of drinking my coffee from the impeccably presented, nicely warmed coffee cup and from a disposable coffee cup is just incomparable.

Doing away with the coffee cups is no doubt an economical and wiser business strategy, but something has gone missing. Substituting the finely chopped chocolate for chocolate fudge was another small disappointment after the renovation. I can’t help but miss the good old days. When I returned home that day, I scrolled down my Facebook timeline and found the photos I took on the very first time I visited the café with YJ and Mr Nice (It was in 2010!). I am glad the memories still echo in the time when things change very quickly.

Writer’s Note:  A café that impresses its visitors with the consistent good extractions in EACH cup of the espresso. They undoubtedly brew the best espresso in town, but I prefer the old Club Espresso, the red brick cottage that provides more than just a good cup of coffee.

Contact Details:

Club Espresso 클럽 에스프레소
서울시 종로구 부암동 257-1
257-1 Buam-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Tel. +82-02-764-8719

Directions:

1. Coming out from Gyeongbok Palace Station (경복궁역) Exit No. 3, walk straight about 100 meters until you reach the 2nd  bus stop. (check the  board, it should indicate buses number 1020, 7022, 7212.)
2. Board any of the 3 buses above (1020, 7022, 7212) and alight at Buam-Dong Community Service Centre 부암동주민센터 [read: Bu-am-dong Ju-min Sen-toh]. The bus journey is roughly about 10 mins. a total 6 stops (including destination stop) before alighting.
3. After alighting from the bus, try to locate this particular cafe, by walking towards the direction your bus had come from.
4. You’ll see this particular building below after 30-40 seconds of walking towards the direction where you came from before alighting from the bus.

5. That’s your destination! Enjoy your good cup of coffee!

A hanok (한옥) is a traditional Korean housing. Many of these traditional houses are former homes of powerful aristocrats, noblemen, and high-ranking government officials. These hanok houses, which are usually found surrounding the palace are now preserved and transformed into guesthouses, restaurant, gallery or cafe.

I reckon hanok with an elegant mix of tradition and modern would be nice for anyone looking for a place to be pampered. Hence here are the top three recommended luxurious hanok stays in Seoul. Price per night might not come cheap. However, judging from the pictures and the positive reviews from their guests, I would say the experience is one-of-a-kind. I have yet to try them out personally, but these are definitely on my list if I were to book a room for myself.

Chiwoonjung 취운정

A jewel of contemporary and traditional hanok architecture, Chiwoonjung is top of my list so far. Marketed as a boutique hotel, Chiwoonjung offers its visitors a glimpse of past without compromising the convenience of modern living. The lavishly renovated bathroom with a wooden tub is perfect for a relaxing soak. It is located up on a hill, providing its guest an exclusive and spectacular view of the beautiful rooftops of Bukchon Hanok Village! For some of you who do not know yet, this place was previously the home of the former South Korean president Lee Myung Bak!
KRW 327,000-1,100,000 per suite per night. For bookings and information, check here.

Rakkojae 락고재

An old Korean traditional house with a rich history of 130 years, Rakkojae is a perfect example of a harmonious mixture of Korean architecture and nature. Renovated by South Korean’s Human National Treasure — Master carpenter Young Jin Chung, the hanok itself is a remarkable piece of art. The private garden with pine trees and bamboo, together with the 130-year-old hanok facade in the background created an unpretentious, tranquil atmosphere. Rooms are equipped with jade stone ondol floor, even yellow mud sauna facility is available. Guests will be able to enjoy various cultural immersion programs including traditional tea ceremony, trying on royal costumes or joining a Kimchi making class.
KRW 250,000-450.000 per room per night. For more information about Rakkojae, check here.

Cheongsongjae 청송재 . 능소헌

A reborn of modern adaptations to old architecture, Cheongsongjae is the place one should check out if you are interested in modern hanok interior design. It remains as a private residence of the renowned architect for various generations. Cheongsongjae is a model of two hanoks combined into one. Visitors will be living in one of the hanok while the owner and his family staying the other. The living room, kitchen, and other common areas are shared — I would say it is a unique experience since it is a rare opportunity for a foreigner to stay under one roof with a Korean family!
KRW 495,000 per night. For booking information, check here.

So far, I only came across these three hanok stays in Seoul with a luxurious touch. I will continue to work on the list if I discover more. If you have any place to recommend, please let me know ; D

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This picture was taken at Buam-dong this spring. It is certainly a place with a nice blend of humanity and tradition. Hidden in the mountain trails are various galleries, cafes and restaurants with different characteristics, certainly a neighborhood worth exploring. One of the more generally known cafes here in Buam-dong is Cafe Sanmootoonge, which I blogged about some time ago.

I believe most Seoulites will keep one or two “secret restaurant lists” in mind, for that impromptu visitor, a loved one’s visit, or that important date that we might eventually encounter during our stay here. One of my secret weapons for entertaining my friends and family to Seoul is this restaurant hidden in the lush greeneries of Buam-dong, the 소소한 풍경 [read: Sosohan Poong-gyeong]. A restaurant located in a cosy mansion in the mountain, this is perhaps where you might want to check out if you are looking for a place to dine in, especially in the daytime at least in my opinion!

To be frank, I wasn’t aware of how beautiful the restaurant would look like in the day. I had always dined in during dinner time! However, I managed to find some nicely taken pictures of the restaurant on these Naver blogs. (Kudos to these Naver bloggers!) The restaurant has a beautiful outdoor terrace for their guests to dine outdoor from spring to autumn.

And so my friends and I visited the place in the early winter. The restaurant offers Fusion Korean dishes and meals are served  plated, and divided into courses. They have 3 lunch course categories, with price ranging from KRW14,000/ 18,000/ 23,000 per person; and 3 Dinner courses ranging from KRW19,000/ 25,000/35,000. A simple decode here: course A for both lunch and dinner are the basics, B and C come with various add-ons. The higher price you pay, the more dishes, and of course the more premium ingredients you get.

We selected Course A, the Basics for our dinner. Two of us had smoked duck as main, and the other opted for the grilled 3-layered pork.

Pumpkin Porridge the Korean way. The porridge was to a very smooth, soup-like texture. Not too sweet, not too bland, bits of almond flakes add a little crumbly texture.

Dinner napkin nicely embroidered with the restaurant name.

The salad with orange dressing sprinkled with assorted nuts. Well, it tastes just like… salad. Nothing special to brag about.

More pictures while waiting for the next dish to arrive.

The assorted pancakes. This gorgeous dish is looking appetising on the table. It comes with 3 rolled pancakes and a few pieces of veggies pancakes. The flour pancake roll with kimchi fillings was good.

Some pickles which go well with the vegetable pancakes.

And then the arrival of the side dishes and the salt grilled shrimp. Frankly speaking, I was very disappointed with the shrimp. Perhaps for its poor size and the tough, rubbery texture. Worse of all, it comes with a very fishy smell.

Other side dishes. In case you are unaware, all side dishes are refillable.

And so here comes our main dishes, the oriental smoked duck and the grilled 3 layered pork. The duck meat was soft and succulent, with a very, very mild medicinal herb aftertaste. An interesting dish and I find it especially palatable if you pair the duck with the pickled chillies or pickled leaves, together with some rice. Grilled 3-layered pork was soft and juicy, with slight crispiness at the skin.

I prefer the pork over the smoked duck. As the marinate of the latter was a tad too salty and overpowering. The pork was, however, a good one. Oozing with succulent fat, it was grilled to a beautiful moist, tender texture. Certainly the best dish of the night.

Brown rice and the complimentary bean paste soup.

Dessert was a cube of Korean-styled jelly,  a little pathetic but no complaint, as we didn’t pay more for a more sumptuous dinner that night.

Nighttime at the restaurant. The atmosphere was slightly different from the daytime. Personally, I prefer to visit the place in the daytime.

If you’re wondering how does the place look like during the day, here are some of the pictures I found online. This series of pictures are from various local online publications, Naver blogs and firstsoju.com.

There is a big private room at the corner of the mansion, adorned with coloured cushions and matchy drawings that were carefully selected by the owner. An inviting space to spend an afternoon with a group of friends.

Level 1 can be converted into a terrace dining area in spring, summer and autumn. The natural sunlight lit up the space, giving off a fresh, warm and homey atmosphere, a tastefully renovated space perfect for a restaurant that provides family-style Korean fusion dining.

Writer’s Note: An interesting place with a good dining atmosphere, but with hits and misses on the food. I think it could be the course that we had opted for. The overall online review for their Lunch Course A (which does not include the shrimp) is good though. I like their main, the 3-layered pork, the pancakes and their side dishes. Since their Caprese salad and spicy eggplant soup received good feedback, if you decided to come here, I’d recommend you to choose Course C, or if you’re really on a budget, get their Course A during Lunchtime. Dinner Course A is a little tricky. I would rather add another KRW 6,000 to upgrade to Course B which comes with a better menu without the shrimp.

Contact Details:

소소한 풍경 Sosohan Poonggyeong 
Jahamun-ro, 70 gil-75, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Phone: 02-395 5035
Operation Time:  12 noon – 9pm.

Korean Version of address: 서울시 종로구 자하문로 40길 75 (부암동)

Directions:

1. Coming out from Gyeongbok Palace Station (경복궁역) Exit No. 3, walk straight about 100 meters until you reach the 2nd  bus stop. (check the electronic board, it should indicate buses number 1020, 7022, 7212.) 2. Board any of the 3 buses above (1020, 7022, 7212) and alight at Buam-Dong Community Service Centre 부암동주민센터 [read: Bu-am-dong Ju-min Sen-to]. The bus journey is roughly about 10 mins. a total 6 stops (including destination stop) before alighting. 3. After alighting from the bus, try to locate this particular cafe.

4. This particular cafe, Espresso Club is one of my favourite in Seoul. Visit them if you want some serious coffee retreat. Will write about it in future post. To visit Sanmotoonge Cafe, take the route beside Espresso Club, stay left and keep walking.

5. Then you will reach a 3-level tall white building at the road fork (check picture below).  Choose the left hand trail (the blue arrow). You’ll see a mansion right after the 3-level white building. That’s the restaurant.

What people sell and what their daily staple consists of, what people eat in different seasons, and how some of the vendors would suggest to their customer’s dinner menu for the day as they purchase their groceries away are truly inspiring. These trivial events never fail to entertain the 7-year-old me back then.

The markets in Korea certainly have their unique character and personality. Especially for this particular one, the Tong-in Market (통인시장) — a 73 years old market established during the Japanese occupation period at Seocheon (서촌), aka the Gyeongbok Palace area. The old-school fonts on the meat stall, the typical red neon lights… are all super nostalgic.

The market was first established as a marketplace for Japanese residents in 1941. The situation changed after the Korean war, stalls were taken up by Korean vendors. However, business wasn’t great until their Community Center introduced the Dosirak (도시락) “Cafe”, and the business began to revive. To date, Tong-in Market has over 70 stores, with most of them in the lunchbox/food business.

One of the most interesting activities here is to buy your own Dosirak using traditional coins. Basically, you’ll go to the market’s customer service centre, and look for the signage “Dosirak Cafe”. Let the person in charge know that you’re here for the Dosirak, and that you’d like to exchange modern Korean cash for the traditional yeopjeon (coins).

Once you exchange your coins, you’ll be given an empty tray and you can just walk down the alley to load up your tray with the food available in the stores! Somehow the business concept reminds me of economical rice at home. Or shall we call it an interactive chap cai png? Anyway, sounds fun, isn’t it?

So this is how we start our Dosirak picking journey: After going through the entrance to the market, walk straight down until you see the community centre (above picture) on your right. It is located in the middle of the market. Go straight up to the 2nd floor, where you’ll find people busy eating their dosirak. Locate the cashier room, where you can purchase the coins and the empty tray, then come back down to the street to start your food hunting adventure!

Some little rules and regulations before we start:

1) With KRW 5000 You’ll be given 10 coins. Food price varies from one to two coins downstairs at the market. Check the price with the vendors.

2) Not all of the vendors on the street are in the dosirak project. Look out for stores with the signage “通 도시락 cafe” only. However, you can use cash to purchase any food you like, even if the vendors are not included in the project. Likewise, if you run out of token coins, you can still purchase the food with cash.

3) After purchasing the food, you can go back to the community centre to enjoy your meal. Do note that the vendors downstairs do not sell white rice, but you can purchase white rice from the community centre. If you really need to have rice, remember to save up to 2 coins, or pay KRW 1000 per serving.

You can choose from a variety of food available from the usual banchan (Korean traditional side dishes), salads, and different kinds of kimchi, to the rare dishes like tteok galbi (grilled beef patty stuffed with rice cakes), or bulgogi. If you’re wondering what to order, here’s the list of popular dosirak dishes people are ordering:

– Ddeok galbi (Grilled beef patty stuffed with rice cakes)

– Mandoo (Steamed meat dumplings)

– Gaeran-mari (Tamago/ rolled omelette)

– Japchae (Stirfry glass noodle)

-bulgogi (grill marinated beef)

– Kimchi Dwaeji galbi jjim (Stirfry Kimchi pork)

– Gi-reum deokbokki (oil fry rice cake)

How a typical dosirak vendor stall looks like. Isn’t it very similar to our economical rice? Talking about that I start to miss those lunch hours at Maxwell market. Anyway, the food here is prepared fresh daily and menus vary depending on what’s available in the season.

This is the signboard I was talking about that you should lookout. Stores with this signage accept your coins.

One extremely popular dish among Koreans is this stir fry rice cake (Gireum deokbokki 기름 떡볶이). The rice cake is stir-fried with some chilli powder and brown sugar mixture, one of the more special rice cake dishes in Korea I would say, as you don’t get it elsewhere except in Tong-in Market.

Our lunch box of the day after spending the 10 coins! For your information, my friend and I did not set aside 2 coins for the rice and soup as I was cutting down carbs intake and she just don’t feel like having rice. But let me mind you, KRW 5000 worth of side dishes are VERY filling as well. I could hardly move after stuffing everything down my throat.

As for the stir-fry rice cakes, it is more like a been-there-done-that kind of dish since it is known to be a speciality in Tong-in Market. The texture of the rice cake is chewier and since it is a stir fry dish, it is more to the greasy side. Best eaten hot. Other than that, not much else to brag about the rice cakes.

My Verdict: From a traveller’s point of view, it is a unique experience to dine at Dosirak cafe as you get to purchase your meal directly at a traditional market. I have been there twice and so far everything I picked tastes nice. Since the dishes are prepared fresh daily, it is a healthier alternative if you are looking for a lighter diet. To be honest, to get a balanced diet in KRW 5000 while not having the quantity compromised, I think it is an excellent find, especially around the Gyeongbok Palace area. If you are travelling on a budget or would like a yummy palette loaded with homemade goodies, this is a wise choice.

Contact Details:

Tong-in Market Dosirak Cafe
Seoul Jongro-gu Tongin-dong 10-3
Korean version of the address: 서울 종로구 통인동 10-3번지

Operating Time:

Monday-Saturday, 11am-5pm. Coins exchange until 430pm.

How to Get There:

1. Take the subway to Gyeongbok Palace Station (Line 3) and exit through Exit No.2
2. Walk straight for about 10 minutes. You’ll need to cross one major street to reach the destination.
3. After crossing that street, continue to walk straight and take note of a covered entrance to Tong-in Market on your left-hand side.
4. Get into the market and continue to walk down the only alley of the market and you’ll find the community centre somewhere in the middle of the alley.