Myeong-Dong Archives

In BBQ

Yeong Yang Center (영양센터): Chicken Time in Myongdong

December 4, 2013

Yeongyang Center is a restaurant in MyeongDong known for their crispy roast chicken and samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup). It opened in 1960 and it has been roasting chickens for over 50 years.

It is a very popular place for local and tourists for yummy chicken.

Kimchi radish and pickled radishes came to the table. A definite must when having chicken.

Tongdak Gui (Grilled chicken) is very crunchy on the outside and isn’t very oily at all. The meat is still very tender. So good!

Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) has a boiled chicken stuffed with rice and ginseng. This dish was boiling hot and very delicious. You can add a bit of salt to add more flavour. Yum!

The chicken was very tender! No complaints. The bones and meat just fall apart.

Overall, we had a great experience here. M and I shared the two dishes and we got incredibly full. So full that it was hard to walk after.

We Rate Yeong Yang Center:

Address:
52, Myeongdong 2-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (Chungmuro 1-ga)
서울특별시 중구 명동2길 52 (충무로1가)

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=52,+Myeongdong+2-gil,+Jung-gu,+Seoul&t=m&hnear=52+Myeongdong+2-gil,+Jung-gu,+Seoul,+South+Korea+(25-32+Chungmuro+1(il)-ga)&z=14″]

In Myeong-Dong

Street Food in Seoul: Namdaemun Market and Myeong Dong

September 1, 2012

I had a day to check out Myeong-Dong and Namdaemun Market to get some shopping done and eat some yummy street food. After going to these 2 places, I just kept coming back to buy more stuff.

Namdaemun is a traditional market close to the Great South Gate. I wanted to see the gate but unfortunately it was under restoration so I wasn’t able to get a look at it. Nonetheless, Namdaemun market was still awesome since it’s the oldest and largest market in Korea. It dates back all the way to 1414, so it definitely has a lot of history.

You can only access the area of the area by walking as the street isn’t built to accommodate cars. It’s open rain or shine and will still attract a crowd of people. There are lots to see and lots to buy. I was able to haggle for some traditional Korean folk masks.

There are lots of streets in Namdaemun Market, so be sure to have a map because I got lost and ended up somewhere else.

Besides shopping, they are known for the abundance of street food. They have some very creative items like sausages wrapped in fried fish paste.

You can even find Sikhye, a rice beverage for 1,000 won, which is equivalent to $1 CDN.

There is also freshly made dumplings too. This particular stand was very famous because a lot of notable celebrities have visited, plus it’s been showcased on several TV shows.

I also saw some outdoor BBQ stands. You can pick whatever items you want to put into your pot.

A few blocks away is Myeong-Dong, a popular shopping district with affordable retail stores like adidas, Forever 21, Uniqlo, and several cosmetic stores. The area dates back all the way to the Joseon Dynasty as a residential area, but overtime, it became a major commercial and financial district.

I was told by a few friend to do all my shopping here. There were not wrong at all! I bought a lot of cheap face masks, a ton of earrings, clothes, and a few souvenirs.

They also have street food too. The one place I tried was a stand selling twirly fried potatoes. In Vancouver, we have something similar, but we call it hurricane potatoes because of the shape.

The potato is deep-fried and sprinkled with cheese. I actually didn’t like the amount of flavouring they put into it. It was too cheesy for my liking.

It was a very very long snack. It was so long that I could only take a vertical picture of it. I was kinda afraid I would accidentally stab someone in the face with this, so I stood on the side of the street eating this.

There were lots of other types of street food around, but I wasn’t feeling in the mood for a lot of food.

If you are looking for good cheap shopping and street food, definitely check out these 2 areas in Seoul – Namdaemun Market and Myeong-dong!

In Four Beakers

Well-bring Rice Cafe: Korean Porridge in Seoul, Korea

August 16, 2012

Well-being Rice Cafe in Myeong-Dong is located right below Miss Lee cafe. Kirby and I came here for an early lunch before eating Sannakji (raw octopus). I have always loved Chinese congee, so I really wanted to try Korean porridge. The exterior of the restaurant looked very appealing and had pretty pictures. As a traveller, that’s kinda what appeals to me…I know… it’s quite horrible.

The interior was brightly lit and had a good amount of seats. When we arrived, it was empty, but it soon filled up.

Everything is self-serve, so you need to grab your own water.

Vegetable Dolsot BiBimbap (6,500 won = $6.50 CDN) was very delicious! It is served in a hot stone bowl and comes with seaweed soup, and 2 side dishes.

You just mix all the items together in the bowl. It’s very healthy and yummy.

The side dishes were good, but the cup of prune juice was kinda disgusting.

Beef Mushroom Porridge (8,000 won = $8 CDN) comes in a huge portion with 3 side dishes, prune juice and cold soup.

It was really delicious and it’s really different from Chinese congee. It definitely something you must have!

The 3 side dishes were good too and it was a nice addition to the meal.

Overall, the meal was very good and I would definitely come here again! Order the porridge! the downside is that the service was a bit slow.

We Rate Well-Being Rice Cafe:

Address:
199-1 Euljiro 2(i)-ga (27 Myeongdong 3-gil)
Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

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In Dessert

Miss Lee Cafe: Featured on ‘We Got Married’

August 15, 2012

Miss Lee Cafe has several locations around Korea. Kirby and I were in Myeong-Dong and stumbled upon this location. I was a very rainy day, so we decided to chill out here before finding more food. Miss Lee Cafe specializes in boxed lunches, drinks and desserts.

Miss Lee Cafe was made famous by Korean reality show – We Got Married featuring Yonghwa from CN Blue and Seohyun from SNSD.

What makes this cafe very unique are the hundred and hundreds of love messages scattered throughout the restaurant. It’s a very popular place for couples to dine at during dates. Also, for all the fan-girls that come here because “we got married” featured this cafe.

You can grab a pen, a paper, and a twist tie to create your note. It can be about your friends, loved ones, or whoever.

Here is a shot of a few of them. I have no idea what they say, but I think it must be about love.

This location has a few floors and it’s also self-serve. You order at the counter, grab an electronic device and wait for it to buzz. Once it buzzes, you can walk back to the counter to pick up your order.

Five Taste Sherbert has canned pineapple, cherry tomatoes, kiwis, banana, almonds, peanuts, raisins, and canned peaches over ice. Looks pretty, tastes horrible! Do Koreans not have a variety of fruit? or does this cafe just suck that badly?

The combinations of nuts and fruit did not blend well together, nor were they very fresh. Kirby and I had a very hard time trying to finish this item.

Once the fruits were devoured, this is what was underneath. Gross ice and tomato tasting water.

It also came with some snacks on the side. They tasted very stale. I usually don’t notice stale snacks, but this was VERY stale.

The overall quality in their items are very poor and I would never ever return. The concept is very cool, but with all the cafes in Korea, you can skip this place.

Words of Wisdom:

Just don’t eat here…go inside and take a few pictures and leave
Food is very very terrible

We Rate Miss Lee Cafe:

Address:
Jung-gu, Seoul 199-1 Euljiro 2

Website:

http://www.missleecafe.com/

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In Four Beakers

Minimani: Eating Raw Octopus (Sannakji) in Seoul, Korea

August 14, 2012

Minimani is a restaurant in Myeong-Dong that specializes in grilled meats. Kirby and I met up to venture out to find some raw octopus to eat. We were passing by and saw they had a tank of live octopus, so we were sure they would sell sannakji!

Since it is a BBQ restaurant, all tables do have gas stoves on top. Depending on what you order here, you may or may not need it.

Since we were here only for the raw octopus, we had our side dishes (banchan) on the grill instead.

We were given diced up cabbage with a mayo sauce and kimchi.

Sannakji was on the menu! Yeah! It looks much better in video format since you can see it squirm. The texture was slimy and yes, the octopus does attach to your tongue, inside of your mouth, and teeth. You just need to chew the octopus several times until you are certain the suction cups aren’t working anymore.

If you have had takowasa before at a Japanese restaurant, it’s like that but not spicy and more alive.

Here is the video above! The octopus is alive! In a sense it is dead, but the nerves are still twitching and squirming.

We were given a mixture of sesame oil, salt and pepper to drip the octopus into. It complimented to raw taste quite nicely.

Here is video proof that I ate it. Its really was fun and tasted good! If you are ever in Korea, give it a try! Have you had Sannakji before?

We Rate Minimani:

Address:
199-44, Euljiro2-ga, Jung-gu,, Seoul, South Korea

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In Food for Thought

32cm Twist Ice Cream Cone in Myeong-Dong, Seoul

August 10, 2012

Wandering around Myeong-Dong in the middle of a monsoon was not a smart idea, you get really soaked from the rain even if you have an umbrella. It’s a great area to find face masks, dirt cheap jewelry and awesome food. In the middle of Myeong-Dong, there is an area with a small ice cream stand under the Matching Mole pub. They have a tall 32 cm ice cream for 2,000 won ($2 CDN).

I passed by it with Kirsty and I had to go back later in the evening to have a snack.

Chocolate and Strawberry Twist Cone was definitely cool! It wasn’t too sweet and the flavours blended well together. What sucked about it was that the cone was kinda stale. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it because I’ve never had anything like it!

Overall, if I was to get a 32cm ice cream cone, I would still do it even if the cone is stale. I get excited by new things too easily. There are various locations in Seoul where you can find this. The price can also differ too.

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