My trip to Seoul introduced me to so many new foods and flavors! I feel like with any city-destination trip, food is part of the itinerary. So let me introduce you to Seoul through my trail of plates and platters.
Breakfast & Brunch
Our first meal in Korea was classic breakfast sandwiches while picnicking in Yeouido Park. Two pieces of buttery sugary bread stuffed with fluffy eggs, bacon, cheese, and sirachup. I was looking forward to this sandwich after trying a similar one at Egg Flip. Egg Flip is a Korean-style breakfast spot in the Minneapolis Skyways. Their adorable branding, milk toast, and fluffy eggs captures the Korean breakfast sandwich experience without leaving the Twin Cities.
Day two’s breakfast was shared pumpkin and red bean bungeo-ppang (붕어빵), similar to Japan’s taiyaki bread. The pumpkin flavor was quite earthy. It was not a pumpkin pie filling like I imagined (that was an American assumption) but it still gave some fun seasonality. And red bean bungeo-ppang was a delicious, classic flavor.
Our last brunch spot was Standard Bread in the Gangnam District. This was a bougie area of Seoul and the breakfast did not disappoint. It was an elevated cafeteria-style bakery where the mouth-watering smells wafted out the door. We got milk bread, crème brûlée French toast, Earl Grey tea jam, mushroom soup, and fancy lattes. The French toast was balanced even though the crème brûlée flavor made me think it would be too rich. What I miss most from this breakfast was the Earl Grey tea jam. This recipe might replicate it so you can try it from home while you wait for more travel points to accrue.
Cafe Culture
Koreans have mastered the art of cafes. They are cute, often with a theme, and the drinks and snacks make them a perfect place to yap. We tried two cafes with opposite aesthetics.
First, we visited, Mont Blanc Som Ikseon in Ikseon Dong. Ikseon Dong is a village of traditional houses converted into cafes and shops. The mini tables and peaceful pond were a lovely setting for coffee and cake.
On the last day, we visited Nudake Cafe in Seongsu-dong. This cafe had a completely different vibe, with moody lighting, dark desserts, and artful lattes. I’m trying to think of examples that feel like these cafes in Minneapolis but maybe the coffee shops I go to don’t have enough Korean influences. Plus cafés in Korea have to stand out more to appeal to café hoppers.
Café hopping is a popular activity where you hit multiple cafés in one outing. Because of this, rather than going for the local neighborhood vibe like American coffee shops, Korean cafés are over-the-top cute or themed. For example, I found Rachel레이첼 on YouTube who has 14 different cafe hopping videos from her time living in Seoul.
This has inspired me to do some cafe hopping in NE Minneapolis as upon further inspection, I’ve only visited 50% of the coffee shops in my own neighborhood! Cafe hopping blog post coming soon.❤️
Mangwon Traditional Market
Hotteok is one of my favorite snacks we had in Seoul. It is a crispy pancake-like bread stuffed with seeds. There were also Mango Smoothie stands everywhere which were a nice alternative to getting a coffee. Two awesome snacks for shopping.
Lunch and Dinner
Hongdae-licious
Hongdae is a trendy area of Seoul with lots of fun nightlight and delicious food. Besides having one of the best meals of my life at Git Tteul KBBQ, we also had fun at a Karaoke booth, an elevator themed photo booth, watching buskers, and enjoying boba tea.
Git Tteul is known for amazing Korean barbecue and of course, soju highballs. Each bite of pork had 8+ different sides and sauces to curate a perfect bite each time. Needless to say I need to find a good KBBQ place in MPLS.
Ikseon Atteut 익선애뜻
The delicious meals did not stop in Hongdae. Lunch in Ikseon Dong was at Ikseon Atteut 익선애뜻. The room was dappled in natural light and peaceful zen garden displays surrounded each table. We had the cheesy corn kimchi pancake and pork soybean paste Ssambap.
Dakgalbi
This skillet of cheesy corn, chicken, potato, and rice cakes was a perfect meal after waiting in line for the cable car to Namsan Tower. It’s something that would be totally easy to recreate at home too.
Seongsu Spicy Rib Stew 성수매은갈비찜
My last dinner in Seoul was this spicy rib stew. It was so cozy and filling. Each bite of rib could be wrapped in the sesame/perilla leaf tortilla. This stew was heated at the table which ensured each bite was just as hot as the last.
Salty to Leave
And of course, the trip would not have been complete without Jayeondo Sogeumppang (Salt Bread). This bread was like a combination of the best croissant you’ve ever had plus the best dinner roll you’ve ever had. It was so buttery, warm, and melt-in-your mouth. I miss it and was sad that it was our last stop of the trip.
Seoul in Minnesota
Thankfully, there is more Korean influence in Minneapolis food scene, even just in the past few months. Tous les Jours, an French-Asian bakery opened in Richfield last year and a new location opened in Maple Grove just last month. I tried the location in Richfield with my friend and it was lovely. Cafeteria style, with glowing cases of pastries; matcha croissants, red bean buns, and green tea cloud cakes definitely helped my craving for Korean bread.
And Minari just opened two weeks ago in my neighborhood, NE Minneapolis! The Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine was not lying when they called Minari,
“Casually elegant, red-lit, sexy, and cool.”
It was the perfect spot for date night. Grant and I tried the Gwangyang style bulgogi, lamb jajangmyeon, and the shrimp fennel fried wontons for late night dim sum. The food is served family style and the dim sum options come around on carts from table to table. The cocktail menu was also exciting with many fusion options. We tried the Sunchang with mezcal and kumquat soju.
I would recommend going with a group of 4+ so you can try more things but the intimate booths were perfect for a date night as well. Overall 5/5 food, drink, and hospitality.
Conclusion
After writing the second installment of my Tokyo/Seoul food tour series, I’ve realized, food blogging is easy when the food is delicious. God I miss Seoul but I’m glad to have a few tastes of it in the cosmopolitan metropolis of Minneapolis. The city has so much music, food, culture to entertain me until I can use our international airport to go off on my next adventure. Read more about my Tokyo/Seoul trip here.
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