James Park's Seoul, Korea Essentials
Lots of noodles! Incredible coffee! And a grocery store that is also a ramen museum!
Hello!
It’s officially my favorite time of the year: Terry’s Chocolate Orange Season. There is NO BETTER holiday chocolate than a Terry’s Chocolate Orange. If you’ve never had one, it’s quite literally chocolate shaped like an orange (segments and all), lightly infused with the flavor of orange. You whack the “orange” against a hard surface and all the segments separate perfectly.
It’s a British chocolate that is now made in France if I recall correctly, but I am just thankful we can easily find them in America. I recently picked up a new (to me) varietal at Target — one infused with popping candy (!) It’s brilliant and so much fun. This is not sponsored by Terry’s, but if the chocolate orange overlords are somehow reading, I would absolutely LOVE if they wanted to sponsor this newsletter.
As we start to load up on holiday chocolate and cookies, I hope you had a restful (and delicious) Thanksgiving. I spent the day making recipes from my upcoming cookbook, including these pumpkins/squash stuffed with paneer biryani and given that there were zero leftovers, I think they were a certified hit.
My family is vegetarian, so in lieu of a traditional turkey, we make a totally delulu but very fun fruit turkey every year. It’s honestly my favorite tradition and i’d love to write about it for someone next year! Here is this year’s fruit turkey:
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For this week’s guide, we are going international for the first time! I spoke with James Park, who you might know as Jamesy World on the internet, about his favorite spots in Seoul! James grew up in Korea and is one the best eaters I know. He is genuinely and earnestly so excited about food in a way that few people are. James also recently wrote a very fun cookbook all about Chili Crisp (a perfect gift to give this holiday season along with your favorite bottle of chili crisp). I was supposed to go to Seoul for my 30th birthday, which I instead spent eating a Whole Foods sheet cake in my suburban childhood home thanks to the pandemic, so I am day dreaming about many of the spots on this list. If you’ve been to Seoul, would love to hear about your favorite spots in the comments. Cannot wait to get there one day soon.
JAMESY’S SEOUL ESSENTIALS
Homeplus (Gangseo location)
I love the Korean grocery store chains, especially this location of Homeplus. It is four stories! And it has a giant wall of Korean and international instant noodles in the store, from floor to ceiling, which shows the history of noodles. It’s also the best place to buy souvenirs— all my souvenirs are ramen and edible stuff.
Woo Lae Oak
The oldest pyeongyang naymeung restaurant in Seoul. It is part of the Michelin bib gourmand guide and has been open since 1946. It is a living legend and one of the best places to try North Korean food. I think this is a place you can experience a different side of Korean cuisine and is a must visit spot.
Ulmildae
Open since 1971, they also make very flavor pyeongyang naymeung. The noodles are very heavy on the buckwheat, and almost has soba noodle vibes. They also serve you the noodle cooking water to drink, which is very refreshing. I love the combination of the buckwheat noodles and the crispy mungbean pancake. The grease of the pancake goes so well with the cold buckwheat noodles.
Jingo Hoegwan
They specialize in kong guksu and the broth is so thick and smooth. Their kimchi is so good with the noodles that coats the mouth. Many people wouldn’t associate this flavor with Korean food because it is milder, but it is so savory and nutty and when you want to feel spice and heat, the freshly made kimchi cuts through it perfectly.
Namyeongdon
This is a barbecue spot that really blew my mind. They serve fermented shrimp and fermented squid and wasabi with the pork barbecue. It creates this really great crunchy yet creamy yet melty bite. Like a melty meaty ice cream haha. I was speechless.
Alkimia Seo Chon Ice Cream
This place is open later, until 11pm or so, and while they serve some food they have a very interesting gelato selection in flavors like charcoal and perilla leaf. It’s the perfect after dinner spot the you don’t want to go to a bar, but also don’t feel like going home just yet. The vibe is very cute, too. The space has lots of little objects in it. My favorite flavor is the mugwort gelato.
Picniq
This coffee chain has a great brunch menu with super fluffy soufflé pancakes but their seasonal einspanner coffee is what I really recommend here. There are so many layers! Some places use heavy cream, but I think they use egg white because the texture is nice and tight. I had a matcha einspanner and you could really taste each layer of the drink.
Mangwon Market
It’s an underrated market that is very exciting with lots of great foods options. I did a whole YouTube video on my favorite dishes including the giant fried pepper which has a fried chicken coating and is stuffed with meat.
Where to Shop
Zero Space
Near Mangwon market, there are a ton of object shops and lots of great stationary stores. This is one one of my favorites and they sell a lot of cute posters!!
Where To Stay
I love AirBnbs and stayed in a great one for solo travelers. It is infront of a big train station, too. Right in front of the subway station, perfect for solo travelers. Right in front of the E-mart, and you are right next to the Seoul equivalent of Central Park. In the center of the city, easy to get to Gangnam and Itaweon. It is an Office-tel (office and hotel), so lower floors are different businesses like hair salons. Great for a long term stay.
That’s all for this week! Please share this post with any pals that are going to Seoul or someone you’d like to go to Seoul with.
I’ll be back next week with all my favorite spots in Austin.
I always love korean dishes really mouthwatering