Budongsan, boshintang, what's the difference?
|
Fast Food Restaurants Coffee Shops, chains Dining Restaurants, chains Dining Restaurants, proprietorships National cuisines Vegetarian restaurants |
If you want to eat out and eat non-Korean food, there is a great number of places you can go. In fact, there are so many that you could eat at a different one every night.
Those who do like Korean food will find restaurants on every street, a fair number are open 24/7. For those who don't like Korean food or just want a change, your options may be more limited. Aside from fast food chains (and many of them close early), most restaurants don't stay open past 10:00PM. And since your teaching job means working until 9:00PM on worknights, you may only get to eat out on weekends and holidays.
A note of caution about eating out:
Some may think I am unfair to and bigoted towards Koreans, biased towards western restaurants, but the reality is if you want western standards of hygiene by the cooks, you have to eat in western restaurants. Western chains maintain the standards of cleanliness Canadians are used to.
Stand near the kitchen door of many Korean restaurants and you will see what I mean: the staff will be cutting vegetables outside on the ground, or the cooks are smoking both outside and inside the kitchen, and even when cooking. Do you really want to eat someone's cigarette ashes?
Another caveat about eating Korean food:
If a Korean restaurant is in a back alley, there is a reason. The farther away from the main streets they are, the lower the quality of cleanliness and ingredients. You have been warned.
Yet another caveat, one that will really piss off fans of Korea:
Because of laws in Korea, the only foreigners who can work in restaurants are the owners, their families, or special chefs who come in with work visas. Otherwise, only Koreans work as chefs and waiters. I mention this because of the Korean culture, mentioned in Part 9: Stick It Out. Koreans eat the exact same things as each other, with no uniqueness or individuality.
If you want something different or cooked a specific way, many Koreans waiters and cooks will balk at the idea. Many times, even in western restaurants, special orders will be ignored, or in worst cases, the food is served how the cook likes it, not how the customer asked for it.
|
1. Burger King 2. Popeye's 3. McDonald's 4. KFC 5. Lotteria |
Here is a list of fast food places you are undoubtedly familiar with. If you're sick of rice and kimchi breakfasts and can't look at another roll of kimbap, these places will save your life. (A little comfort food never hurt anyone.) Another good reason to eat at fast food in Korea is they are the only restaurants with absolute bans on smoking.
- Hamburger and Hot Dog joints
Like every other country, Rotten Ron's can be found. (Strangely, there are no Wendy's to be found in Korea yet they are everywhere in the Philippines....) Most places, especially those in Jong-no and Itaewon, have staff who speak English or at least understand basic English phrases ("No salt"). One thing that fast food restaurants offer that's unique to Korea is free refills of your coke or other soft drinks.
- Burger King
- McDonald's
- Hardee's / Carl Jr.'s
I mention them because many exist in Seoul, but a number have closed in the past year. I hope the chain isn't leaving, it makes a change from the other two.
- Steff's Hotdogs
- Lotteria
Lotteria (a hybrid word made from Lotte corporation and cafeteria) is a Korean fast food chain. The food is generally quite awful and the portions are small. I only eat there when I have absolutely no choice about where to go. You will probably only try it or go back for the sake of variety.
- Burger King
- Pizza and Spaghetti (or poor imitations of it)
Koreans have some mighty strange ideas about toppings for pizza: Corn. Potato. Peas. Chili sauce on top. Chili sauce instead of tomato paste. Pickles as a side dish.
If you have no taste buds, there are "pizza and pasta" delivery places all over Korea. If you want one that tastes familiar, then stick to these I list below:
- Pizza Hut
They almost always have an English/Korean/Japanese menu you can look at and point to things without speaking a word of Korean. Also, most Pizza Huts have salad bars. The variety of fixings isn't big as you might expect and you might get bored of it quickly, but the quality is good.
- Spaghettia
Several stores of this chain can be found around Seoul. The pasta isn't bad though they are fixated on giving you pickles. (I especially like their Salmon�, a pink salmon in cream sauce.)
The size of their tables and the size of their meals are just big enough for two people and no more, if you know what I am getting at....
- Sbarro's
Like Hardee's mentioned above, some of these restaurants have closed in the past year. The pizza is fairly good, and their chicken and vegetable platters make a nice change from standard fast food fare.
- Mr. Pizza
This is a Japanese owned and run chain of restaurants. The Japanese have the same strange tastes for toppings as Koreans do, but this chain makes good pizzas.
- Domino's
Some people love Domino's, but I wouldn't take it for free. To each his own.
If you do like Domino's, it tastes much the same as back in Canada, and their outlets are readily found around Seoul.
- Pizza Hut
- Chicken and fat
Korea has many chicken eateries and takeaways. All serve chicken the same way: skin on, and boiled in fat. If you like it that way, tuck in.
- Popeye's Chicken
I fights to's the finish 'cause I eats me...chicken. Overly fatty, this is the most popular chicken fast food place in Korea. Because of the Korean preference for all things spicy, even the most "mild" thing on the menu is hot.
- KFC
Yes, they are in Korea.
Yes, their grease smells as awful as it ever did.
- Popeye's Chicken
- Sandwiches and subs
Sandwich shops of many varieties can be found, both big chains and "mom and pop" operations. I hate to quote a campaign slogan, but it's a change from hamburgers.
- Quiznos
I have seen a grand total of one Quiznos in Seoul (200m south of Gangnam station), but it's worth noting. I love their subs.
- Subway
Subway here is the same quality (a subjective word) as back in Canada. I preferred Mr. Sub, but Subway is an option when you're sick of hamburgers.
- Tantalus
I don't know the origin of this chain, but it's not bad. You do have to be concerned about how they make your sandwich or cook meat. Because Koreans often make meals how they like it and not how the customer asked for it, you sometimes end up with instant death from pepper and jalape�os.
- Sandwich & Coffee
A chain of sit-down lunch diners, this chain makes fairly good sandwiches, although they could stand to cut back on the mayonnaise.
- Joe's Sandwiches
Another chain of sandwich and coffee shops unique to Korea. They are okay, but you can make better sandwiches at home.
- Quiznos
- Desserts and other junk food
I would kill you for a Tim Horton's doughnut right now.
- Dunkin Donuts
Pukin' Donuts is the (ahem!) "best" doughnut chain in Korea. (Damn Americans can't even spell the word right!) You will find them everywhere.
- Winchell's Doughnuts
There are outlets in Shinchon and Hong-dae, but I have not seen them elsewhere.
- Baskin Robbins
- Dunkin Donuts
Coffee Shops, chains
Getting your order right can be difficult and the prices
are high, but the coffee is good. The cakes and pastries
sold are as good as those in Canadian bakeries.
These shops make decent coffee and sell a few snacks for
munching on. Except for the store near Gwanghwamun, the
service and quality are good at all their shops. (The
owner at Gwanghwamun doesn't care about getting orders right.
I was once given the wrong coffee and he expected me to pay
for a new one rather than fix his mistake....)
Their chain shops are everywhere in Korea. I'm not a fan,
but if you are the quality is the same as you will get in Canada.
Dining Restaurants, chains
Excellent food (I love their Mudslides),
and in 2003 started to ban smoking from their restaurants.
Some still allow it at the bar, but a few are now completely
smokeless.
There is only one Seoul-based Chili's to my knowledge, near
Lotteworld in Gangnam.
Skylark is a Korean owned chain of western-style restaurants.
The food is quite decent and the prices are reasonable. Think
of it as a lower cost White Spot with a colder menu.
They opened in Seoul during 2003. I haven't tried it.
The Outhouse is everywhere in Korea and lives down
to its name: overpriced, gristly meat, and always served
burnt or raw. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
There are many outlets of this chain throughout Seoul. You
will notice the parking lots are always empty, which should
tell you something about the quality. I'm told it is quite
awful. (How they stay in business, I have no idea.)
Dining Restaurants, proprietorships
If they got rid of the smoking, I would go here regularly.
The food is excellent, the service is great, and it's a
great place to socialize on the weekends.
I have never been there, but I've heard it's good.
|
There are a few restaurants that specialize solely vegetarian meals. I am not a veggie (like Star Trek has "trekkies") so I have not actively looked for others. Those listed I found by accident or without much effort. There may be others, so dig around and you might get lucky.
Try some of the Thai, Indian and islamic restaurants listed above. Many of them have 100% vegetarian dishes that I have tried myself and liked.
I would advise people check the ingredients before ordering vegetarian meals, even in vegetarian restaurants. Most Koreans I have encountered do not consider animal fats and broths to be meat products. French fries at most fast food places are cooked in animal fat, not vegetable or soy oils.
- Pulhyanggi
According to my copy of the 2002 Korean yellow pages, this is a chain of vegetarian restaurants. In all, four are listed with their locations given below. I will try to find out if they still exist.
- Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu
- 190-12 Changchung 2-ga, Jung-gu
- 726-54 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu (a separate listing from the other)
- 632-2 Shinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu
- Other proprietorships
My 2002 phone book also lists these vegetarian restaurants. Whether they still exist, I do not know, but it is easier to remove them than to add them later.
- Sanjang
Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu - Sanchae
Togok-dong, Gangnam-gu - Changdokdae
823-12 Yoksam-dong, Gangnam - Myonginga
196-6 Kwanhun-dong, Jongno - Shigolsaenghwal
16-1 Non-hyun-dong, Gangnam
- Sanjang
Back to the previous page
Back to the front page