Celebrating Korea’s Street Foods in Seoul

The Food Scene on the Streets

The streets of Seoul are places you’d like to be to experience South Korean vibrancy and urbane chic. And we’re not just delving into its facets of commerce and entertainment, but Seoul’s food scene is just as alive. The city is a foodie haven – swanky avenues lined with tantalizing restaurants, bars and clubs. But be prepared to be wowed when you find food carts and tents of culinary delights in the city’s open spaces.

This must be the other side of Seoul – free, unpretentious and where all things food go down. You can be excessively hungry with all your senses taking everything in. Seoul’s street foods are best eaten standing up. Food on sticks and toothpicks are commonplace. Most everyone is in a rush but not too hurried to savor great snacks. Yes, snacks . But that depends on how hungry you are.

Gimbap is beloved of South Korean foods; moist and soft rice wrapped in seaweed with pickled veggies and a slice of egg. Jjinmandu dumplings, deep fried, sliced with scissors, piled with sliced cabbage and drenched in tomato chili sauce and teriyaki sauce are just heavenly. Twigim are Korean deep fried vegetables – greasy, crunchy and very tasty; go well with beers. One of the best sellers in the trendy shopping district of Myeondong is the Potato Tornado, potato swirl spread throughout a long stick, deep-fried and MSG and cheese-seasoned.

Popular and Common Street Food in Korea

The Korean Hot dog is not an actual hot-dog, but a corn-dog. The Korean Potato Hotdog has a thick layer of diced potato bits all around it. Or it’s sister version of Tornado Potato-Wrapped Hot dog, this time it’s the potato swirl around the hot dog. Both versions are definitely not for the health conscious, but they’re delicious. Hotteock are like Korean samosas, crunchy on the outside. Then there’s octopus and squid, their fried and dried tentacles, some are smoked, sticking out of tall paper cups. The Soondae is not for everyone, but these sliced blood sausages also have sticky rice or transparent noodles and are very spongy. Spicy Rice Cake, tteokbokki, are spicy and sweet smouldering rice cakes.

If you’re on the safe, sweeter side, you’ll like giant cream puffs, cracker breads, and Chapssaltteok, which are soft mochi rice balls with sweet red beans. Also, note that many Korean snacks are fish-shaped, made with pancake batter, two pieces are molded together while inside is sweet red bean paste. Before anything else, try Korean ice cream, really good. In Myeongdong, get a cone and they’ll put atop it a foot-high ice cream. Life is good in Seoul!

Finding Seoul Food in Bellevue

Step into Seoul Hot Pot, your Bellevue Korean restaurant and discover what it’s like being in Seoul. We generally serve popular Korean selections for lunch or dinner that you’ll find in Seoul’s amazing restaurants.

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