On our first day, we took the subway to Myeongdong late in the afternoon, which was two stops away.
Myeongdong is a large shopping area which consists of shops in every corner of the many alleys inside. Every turn looks different so we were probably walking around the same area a couple of times before we realized it. There are several same stores throughout each stretch, and this especially applies to the beauty stores like Innisfree, Tony Moly, Etude House and so on. It was the holiday season so the place was flooded with locals and tourists.
We had a free and easy day so we just walked into any eatery we thought was interesting. We stumbled into this Tteokbokki place called Red Sun (Myeongdong), which has a certification letter stating it is one of the Top 100 restaurants in Seoul.
Tteokbokki (Korean: 떡볶이, Korean pronunciation: [t͈ʌk̚.p͈o.k͈i]; also known as teokbokki, ddeokbokki, topokki, and dukboki)[1][2] is a popular Korean food made from soft rice cake, fish cake, and the sweet red chili sauce called gochujang. [wikipedia]
It is on the first floor, and you will see this sign and the menu next to the entrance downstairs.
Also for any Muslim readers, this place is allegedly halal! :)
We ordered the sausage and ham one
It came in a huge pot placed on the portable gas stove. Inside were tteokbokki, eggs, ham, sausages, mushrooms, vegetables, ramyeon and buckwheat noodles.
All we had to do was let it simmer and stir it well
It was pretty full-house that evening!
It also came with the dumplings which were delicious
Also, I totally underestimated Koreans and their take on spiciness. You can choose the spicy level you want from Mild, Medium to Hot, and we chose the Medium which turned out to be waaaayyy too spicy for us :(
After walking more around Myeongdong, we went back to Dongdaemun and because I wanted some smooth Korean beer, we went for... beer and chicken!
The Koreans love their chicken and beer. There were so many ahjussis having their beer and chicken while talking really loudly (read: drunk).
We went to BBQ Chicken & Beer which was just a block away from our apartment. It is the building next to Lotte Fit In outside the Dongdaemun History & Culture Park.
After you exit from the station, turn around and go the other way and walk straight, then take the first left and you won't miss it.
Such smooth draft Hite beer!!!!!!
Our beer and chicken. The chicken was way too much for the two of us, especially after our tteokbokki meal...
And that was Day 1 of my Christmas Eve in Seoul! Xx
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