1. Ddeokbokki (Korean Spicy Rice Cakes)

Ddeokbokki is a popular Korean street snack made from soft rice cake, fish cake and sweet red chili sauce. It is commonly found at street snack stalls, eateries and restaurants – and they taste rather similar in terms of the rice cake. What is special about the ddeokbokki at Express Bus Terminal station is that unlike the usual thick chilli paste it is cooked in, their ddeokbokki is served in a more liquid flowy sauce – like a soup broth.

2. Samgyupsal (Grilled Pork Belly BBQ)

Samgyupsal consist of thick slices of seasoned or unseasoned pork belly meat, grilled over a hot plate or metal grill. The various seasoning gives you that extra variety.

3. Dakgalbi (Pan Fried Chicken)

Dakgalbi is a Korean dish originated from Chuncheon, Gangwon province. It is a gochujang (chilli pepper paste) marinated diced chicken, stir-fried together with sliced cabbage, sweet potato, scallions, onions, perilla leaves, and ddeok (rice cake) together on a hot plate.

4. Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken Soup)

Even though it is a hot dish, Samgyetang is still considered a popular food for summer. Koreans have a saying called ‘yi yeol chi yeol’ (이열치열) which loosely translates as ‘to fight the heat, you must fight it with more heat as well’. By eating this extremely nutritious dish, it is said to replenish the lost internal heat in the body, giving an energy boost. Samgyetang is made from a whole young chicken stuffed with glutinous rice and boiled in a broth of Korean ginseng, dried seeded jujube fruits, garlic, ginger and various herbs and condiments. The broth is satisfyingly rich with the slight bitterness of ginseng and medicinal herbs.

5. Soft-Serve Ice Cream

The best stall for soft serve ice cream is probably Softree. There are many stores selling soft-serve ice cream, especially in areas with a younger crowd like Hongdae and Sinchon, but softree remains one of the most popular picks among locals. My favorite flavour is definitely the honeycomb milk ice cream (they also call it honey chip ice cream). There are many knockoffs as well, like Sweetruck and Milkybee which I’ve tried too – they are pretty decent.

However, Softree’s soft serve just seems to be smoother and lusciously creamier than others. Honey chip ice cream costs 4,500 won.

6. Patbingsu (Red Bean Shaved Ice)

Patbingsu is a Korean shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings such as chopped fruit, condensed milk, fruit syrup, and red bean paste. It is easily available in cafes, fast food joints and even in bubble tea stores in Seoul. Homilpat, located near Ehwa Woman’s University is popular amongst locals and tourists. Their shaved ice made from frozen milk is delicately fine and delicious, it makes Singapore’s Ice Kachang look bad. The Tteok 떡 (the white rice cake) topping is so sweet and chewy, 2 cubes is hardly enough. Prices ranges from 5,000 won to 8,000 won. If you are not a fan of milk, you could try Nokcha Bingsu 녹차 팥빙수 (Green tea shaved ice) instead which is equally delightful, if not even tastier.

7. Budae Jjigae

Budae Jigae was rapidly popularized after the Korean War, where people had little to eat and protein was scarce. People made this stew from leftover spam (luncheon meat) and sausages from the army camp rations, then cooked it in traditional chili paste soup broth and thus the moniker for army stew came about. The soup is a delicious thick broth with the taste of cheese and is a wonderful amalgamation of Korean and Western influences.

You’ll typically find these ingredients inside the stew: ramyeon, spam, sausages, rice cakes, vegetables, and sliced cheese. The ingredients in army stew will differ slightly among restaurants, some adding macaroni and baked beans too. I’ve tried army stew in one of the Korean restaurants where they added baked beans, but that kind of spoilt the taste for me. Thankfully, the other restaurants I visited did not add baked beans to their stew.

8. Chi-maek (Fried Chicken and Beer)

South Koreans love their chicken. What is South Korea without its famed chicken-maekju combination that was widely popularized all over Asia due to its depiction in the famous K-drama – You Who Came From The Stars 별에서 온 그대.

I would recommend half a portion of crispy chicken and half of yangnyeom (spicy seasoned sauce) chicken. The seasoned chicken is drizzled in garlic, tomato and a whole lot secret ingredients that differs in each fried chicken restaurant. The owners of Thunder Chicken are an old couple, and were really, really friendly. You will hardly see any foreigners in this particular fried chicken outlet but fear not. Just point to the menu and smile politely, I’m sure they will be more than happy to serve you. I sat at the back alley, enjoying the night breeze and watching Korean kids playing – I think, that is the best way to enjoy Seoul as it is. Thunder Chicken was a film site of popular 2013 Korean television series, I Can Hear Your Voice (너의 목소리가 들려).

Credit to Ang Che Wan via http://sethlui.com/must-eat-food-seoul-korea/