I’ve been threatening to start posting reports of our meals in Seoul for more than a week now. Here, finally, is the first one. I will remind you that after our week in Tokyo (meal reports from which were posted chronologically), we went to Kyoto for a few days and from there to Seoul (and from there to Delhi). I’m jumping past the Kyoto meal reports just to mix things up a bit. I’m going to post a few Seoul reports mixed in with a Delhi report or two and then I’ll go back and do the Kyoto reports. And these Seoul reports are not going to be in chronological order either. This first report, for instance, is of lunch eaten on our third day in Seoul. We had an appointment in the afternoon in Sindang-dong and got off the subway a few stops earlier to eat at one of my favourite places in Seoul: Gwangjang Market. I’ve reported at great length on meals at the market before (see here, here, here and here) and will almost certainly do so again. Yes, it’s a bit of a Seoul cliche at this point but I do love the energy of the place, and across my visits had not had a single bad meal there. I am happy to report that that streak was not broken on this visit either.

We walked through the market for a bit on arrival. It was bustling on a Saturday afternoon with most of the stands near the central crossroads fairly busy indeed. It was a hot and humid day in Seoul (the whole week was very hot and humud, it must be said) but we opted against any of the more formal restaurants with interior seating and air-conditioning. We sat down instead at the first stand that was prominently displaying the things the missus most wanted to eat (bibimbap, tteokbokki, gimbap) and that had four seats free next to each other. This stand turned out to be—as per their menu signage—the first bibimbap restaurant to have opened in Gwangjang Market. When that was, I don’t know (the woman running the place on her own was too busy for me to bother with idiot questions).

We perused the menu for the hell of it but—as I said—we already knew what we were getting when we sat down. Well, we did get bibimbap, tteokbokki and gimbap (the missus and the boys shared these) but we also got an order of the braised, boneless chicken feet (for all four of us) and a mul naengmyeon for me. Basically, if it is hot and/or humid and mul naengmyon is available, I am eating it. I can’t think of a better, more refreshing meal for hot weather (though, truth be told, I happily eat it in the winter too).

The food was all very good. Despite the one-woman show, it was dispensed to us quickly and we made pretty short work of it. There was a bit of an embarrassment at the end as I realized I did not have enough cash (the more informal stands at the market are apt to not take credit cards). Thankfully, there was an international ATM not too far from the end of the market we were nearest too and I managed to withdraw the requisite amount of cash quickly. She was very good-humoured about it: we’re obviously not the first idiot tourists she’d encountered (probably not even on that day).

After paying we walked around the market some more and I got a very refreshing chilled watermelon juice from another vendor. Their specialty is these miniature watermelons: they cut off the top, scoop out the flesh, puree it with ice, pour it back in, put the top back on as a lid with straws through it and you get at it. Great stuff.

For a quick look at the market and what we ate, launch the slideshow below. Scroll down to see what’s coming next on the food front.

I’ll have a Twin Cities restaurant report tomorrow. This will take in our usual late summer dinner at our favourite fine dining restaurant in Minnesota, Alma. Later in the week I’ll have another Seoul report and probably the first Delhi report from this summer.