Food Intelligence

I have to admit, while I was planning my trip to Seoul, I was thinking to myself, “what is there to eat in Seoul?”  I obviously forgot about the old college days at Sam Hawk, eating Bulgogi and Hamul Pajeon, and the older childhood days eating Chao Ma Mian.  And when I finally arrived in Seoul I realized there was so much more.

One of the disadvantages of staying at the W Walkerhill (there aren’t that many) is that it is not close to any malls or local eats.  To make up for it, there is a shuttle that takes you to two major subway stops: Gangbyeon (green line) and Gwangnaru (purple line).  I slept in the morning after I arrived and was starving by about 11am, so I took the shuttle over to Gangbyeon, where there is a Techno Mart, which includes about five floors of consumer electronics, a Lotte Mart supermarket, some other clothing shops, and a food court.  I found this food court after eating at Lotteria, a fast food McDonald’s clone, because that was the first place I saw.  The bulgogi burger was definitely a treat, though, and I recommend the Tandoori chicken burger if you happen to be near one in Japan.  

Anyway, I decided to return to the food court in the evening and stopped at a stall that had food on display, which turned out to be the right choice: the lady sat me down and waited for me to order, and I was waiting for a menu, which, I guess they don’t have, so she pulled me back to the food display and I pointed at the noodle soup above.  She probably said something like, “are you sure, it’s going to be painful”, and I agreed to it.  

It was a refreshing pain.  Everything about the Jjamppong (thanks, Wikipedia) was amazing.  Despite the spicyness, I could still clearly taste all the vegetables and seafood – which, if you were eating more typical spicy noodles like this, you would only feel the burn since your taste buds have been taken out of commission.  I finished it down to the last spoonful of soup (to my mother’s dismay, I always leave the last spoonful of soup in the bowl, because all the leftover spices and junk are there!).

Since that bowl of soup, I am now addicted to Shim Ramyun and Neoguri, both of which are available in our local supermarket (bonus!).  I used to wonder why/how my old college roommate, Gary, could eat that stuff all the time and still be alive.  I now know.

There were some other good eats at the food court, all for your typical food court prices: very cheap.  And as with all food courts, it’s easier to eat solo, but it’s just as easy to bring a family.

Last taste: 13 November 2008.

Location: Techno Mart Food Court, Just Outside Gangbyeon Station (Green Line #214), Seoul, Korea.