Mapo Naru House 마포나룻집 (South Korea, Seoul)

Cold Noodles (Naengmyeon) 냉면 5,500 KRW (S$6.80)

Mapo Naru House 마포나룻집 is a popular restaurant located in Hongdae for several reasons. It serves a variety of Korean food (e.g. Naengmyeon (Cold noodles) and Dakbokkeum (spicy braised chicken). Dakbokkeum and other Jjigae (Korean stew)/Jeongol (Korean casserole or stew)) which goes well with a variety of Makgeolli (alcoholic beverage) from different regions. Also, it is opened till the wee hours of the mornings till 7am on some days, catering to those who want to hang out after partying or clubbing. In terms of pricing, the food here is affordable.

It is hard to miss this restaurant. The restaurant name is spelled out clearly in Korean.

The restaurant has two levels. The first level seemed to have a small seating capacity. Hence, we went up to the second level. The second level was surprisingly huge! There was a mixture of outdoor and indoor seats. The outdoor seatinglooks so romantic, like dining in a garden. But as the weather was warm (or if you are not comfortable sitting on the floor), we decided to stay indoors.

This is one of the areas for indoor seating.

It offers a view of the exterior.

The interior restaurant looks antique and rustic with wooden furnishing. There were even paper with menu printed and it seems to be slightly burnt to make them look old.

It provided a contrast compared to the menu displayed outside the restaurant entrance at level 1.

These are complimentary side dishes that were served.

Steamed Pork Dumplings (Gogi Mandu) 고기만두 4,500 KRW (S$5.60)

The Steamed Pork Dumplings (Gogi Mandu) 고기만두 4,500 KRW (S$5.60) was relatively value for money compared to other restaurants. However, the outer skin was a tad too thick. Fortunately, the interior which consisted of pork meat and vegetables was tasty.

Cold Noodles (Naengmyeon) 냉면 5,500 KRW (S$6.80)

The main reason why I visited this restaurant was for its signature Cold Noodles (Naengmyeon) 냉면 5,500 KRW (S$6.80).  This was my first time trying this. It consisted of buckwheat noodles served in cold beef broth with cucumbers. Although it looked plain, dull and unappetising, it was surprisingly tasty, and cold and refreshing. The texture of the noodles was smooth and chewy.

Rice Topped with Raw Crabs Marinated in Soy Sauce (Ganjang Gejang Bibimbap) 비빔밥 간장게장 7,500 KRW (S$9.40)

We also ordered a Rice Topped with Raw Crabs Marinated in Soy Sauce (Ganjang Gejang Bibimbap) 비빔밥 간장게장 7,500 KRW (S$9.40) for sharing. This was the most interesting dish, the raw crab looks do different compared to how it looks when it is cooked.

Rice Topped with Raw Crabs Marinated in Soy Sauce (Ganjang Gejang Bibimbap) 비빔밥 간장게장 7,500 KRW (S$9.40)

Give all the ingredients a good mix. This tasted surprisingly good. The raw/fishy taste of the crab was not distinct and there was a complexity of sweetness and saltiness to the dish. Towards the end however, it got a little too salty.

It was not easy finding this restaurant. We walked from Hongik University station (subway line 2) and it took a good 30 minutes walk to reach this restaurant. Along the way, we stopped by at the Tourist Information (Red Star in above photo) to check for directions. We also stopped by to purchase finger food and had a quick look at some of the clothes in the shops. The restaurant is circled in red at the left hand side of the photo. More directions are appended below.

Mapo Naru House 마포나룻집 (South Korea, Seoul)

364-19 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu

Seoul, South Korea 

서울 마포구 서교동 364-19번지 

Tel: +82-2-337-5515

Opening Hours: Mon 11.30am - 10pm

                         Tue to Fri 1130am - 7am

                         Sat 1130am to 3am
Directions: From Hongik University station (subway line 2) Exit 9, turn left into the street right next to KFC and turn right after you pass Coffee Bean into the main street of Hongdae. Keep going straight, you will see the Tourist Information Counter. Cross the road and take the street between Tonymoly cosmetic store and Seven Eleven (aka Eoulmadang-ro). Keep walking straight (past 1  more junction).  You will find Mapo Naru House on your left.

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Tosokchon Samgyetang Restaurant 토속촌土俗村 (South Korea, Seoul)

Black Chicken Stew with Ginseng (Ogolgye Samgyetang) 22,000 KRW (S$27.50)

Tosokchon Samgyetang Restaurant 토속촌土俗村 is a well known restaurant in Seoul known for their signature Ginseng Chicken Soup (Samgyetang). It is popular with both tourist and locals. I have visited this restaurant a number of times in the past with my Korean friends when I was studying in Seoul. I still remember then they told me that the then President (now Late President Roh Moo-hyun) frequently visit this restaurant. This was the best Ginseng Chicken Soup (Samgyetang) I had during my stay in Korea. I would always recommend friends visiting Seoul to visit this restaurant.

Facade

Facade

Tosokchon Samgyetang Restaurant is located near Gyeongbokgung Station (subway line 3). I have read and heard that there could be queues at the restaurant at times. Luckily for us, there was no queue that day. In fact, I have never queued here before in all my past visits =D .

Tosokchon Samgyetang Restaurant has a large seating capacity. They have got several large rooms with floor seating

And some with chairs. They also have private rooms available for groups of 5 to 10 subjected to availability.

Menu

Menu

The menu and prices are now stated in both Korean and English Languages.

Complimentary drink and ginseng alcohol (in smaller cups). Some would drink the ginseng alcohol straight from the cup while some would pour the ginseng alcohol into their bowl of ginseng chicken.

Complimentary Kimchi and Radish

Complimentary Kimchi and Radish.

Chicken Stew with Ginseng (Samgyetang) 삼계탕 15,000 KRW (S$18.75)

This is the signature Chicken Stew with Ginseng (Samgyetang) 삼계탕 15,000 KRW (S$18.75) which majority of the people would order. This is a dish that we always order whenever we visit this restaurant in the past. For this trip, my partner ordered this. This is a must try! It was served pipping hot in a hot stone.

Chicken Stew with Ginseng (Samgyetang) 삼계탕 15,000 KRW (S$18.75)

The Chicken Stew with Ginseng consisted of a whole chicken (young free range chicken) stuffed with glutinous rice and a whole ginseng, topped with spring onions, black sesame seeds, pine nuts and sunflower seeds. The other ingredients include korea date, gingko nuts, ginseng, garlic as well as medical herbs and grains.

The white milky broth, slightly sweet with ginseng flavour was delicious. I would always finish every single bit in this bowl including drinking all the broth! (see photo at the end of the post).

Wild Ginseng Cultured Roots 6,000 KRW (S$7.50)

As I do not know when I will come back to Seoul, my curiosity resulted in me ordering the Wild Ginseng Cultured Roots 6,000 KRW (S$7.50). What a waste of money.. (at least to me)..

Black Chicken Stew with Ginseng (Ogolgye Samgyetang) 22,000 KRW (S$27.50)
with Wild Ginseng Cultured Roots 6,000 KRW (S$7.50)

I ordered the Black Chicken Stew with Ginseng (Ogolgye Samgyetang) 22,000 KRW (S$27.50). This is considered the premium version of the white chicken as it is more nutritious. In addition, it contains lots of antioxidants. This is also the reason why when you visit herbal soup stalls, nearly every stall would sell herbal black chicken soup.

Black Chicken Stew with Ginseng (Ogolgye Samgyetang) 22,000 KRW (S$27.50)
with Wild Ginseng Cultured Roots 6,000 KRW (S$7.50)

The Back Chicken skin and bone are black and its fresh is normally dark grey in colour. I added the Wild Ginseng Cultured Roots into the bowl to make it 'super premium' HAHA. The silly decisions I make  when I am overseas tsk tsk...

Black Chicken Stew with Ginseng (Ogolgye Samgyetang) 22,000 KRW (S$27.50)
with Wild Ginseng Cultured Roots 6,000 KRW (S$7.50)

The glutinous rice and a whole ginseng was stuffed into the Black Chicken. In terms of taste, you would likely not detect any difference between the black and white chicken. Personally, I find the black chicken more tender.

Interesting toilet signage.

Picture from previous stay in Korea

As mentioned earlier, I would always polish off all the whole bowl! Every drop of the soup would be drank and even the bones would be 'sparkling clean'. Yes, this is how much I love this! =D

Tosokchon Samgyetang Restaurant 토속촌土俗村 (South Korea, Seoul)

Seoul-si, Jongno-gu, Chebu-dong 85-1 대한민국 서울특별시 종로구 체부동 85-1

Tel: +82-2-737-7444

Opening Hours: Daily 10am - 10pm

Directions: From Gyeongbokgung Station (subway line 3) Exit 2, walk straight. After walking about 160 meters you will see GS (GS is a convenience store, similar to our 7-11). Take a left turn and walk in, you will see the restaurant on your left.

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Mabongnim Halmeoni Tteokbokki (South Korea, Seoul)

An insta video

Tteokbokki Set For Two 11,000 KRW (S$13.75)

Mabongnim Halmeoni Tteokbokki 마복림할머니떡볶이 is a well known eatery popular for its Tteokbokki  떡볶이. Tteokbokki is a popular street snack in Korea consisting of soft and chewy rice cakes in a combination of sweet and spicy fermented sauce (Gochujang).

Mabongnim Halmeoni Tteokbokki is located next to the arched sign that states“Sindangdong Tteokbokki Town".

It is the restaurant on the left with the photo of the elderly Mabongnim. Mabongnim Halmeoni Tteokbokki was opened in 1953 by Mabongnim. It was so popular that other food establishments joined in and opened along the same stretch selling Tteokbokki. Eventually, the street became known as “Teokbokki Street”.

With its popularity, the elderly Mabongnim had been interviewed by the media.

The interior is simple. No fanciful chairs or tables. Its just wooden tables and stools. Aprons are hung along the sides for customers to wear as the sauce could splatter onto customers clothes.

Set Menu

This is the menu for ordering the Tteokbokki Set. The prices range according to the number of persons in the group. Since there was only two of us, we ordered the 2 person Tteokbokki Set which cost 11,000 KRW (S$13.75)

Menu for additional add ons

For additional add ons, there was a separate menu (for them) displayed on the wall:
Tteokbokki (Rice Cakes) 떡볶이 - 2,500 KRW
Fishcake 오뎅사리 - 2,500 KRW
Jjolmyeon (Korean Noodles) 쫄면사리 - 1,000 KRW
Ramyeon (Ramen / Instant Noodle) 라면사리 1,500 KRW
Mandu (Dumpling) 만두사리 1,000 KRW
Egg 계란사리  - 500 KRW
Beverage 음 료 수 - 1,500 KRW
Ice Cream 아이스크림 - 1,000 KRW

Tteokbokki Set For Two 11,000 KRW (S$13.75) with additional Ramen 1,500 KRW (S$1.90)

This was the Tteokbokki Set For Two 11,000 KRW (S$13.75). Did you noticed the difference between this photo and the first?

Yes, we added an additional Ramen for 1,500 KRW (S$1.90)!

The Tteokbokki Set came in a shallow pan with rice cakes, boiled eggs, instant noodles, dumplings, jjolmyeon, fish cakes, vegetables, seasoning and gochujang sauce.

Give it a good boil, let it simmer and Voilà, its ready! Do keep stirring the pan every now and then to prevent the ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

The sweet and spicy sauce was unique and does not taste like other Tteokbokki sauce in the streets. Towards the end of the meal, the sauce became more and more spicy. Despite that, the ingredients paired off so well with the sauce that we kept going for more!

We particularly like the noodles. Once the noodles were soft, they absorbed the sweet and spicy sauce and was just so addictive. The dumplings were unique as the sauce penetrated into the potatoes in it and it was like their own korean version of our local curry puffs.

Pickles

Complimentary Pickles were given. Before the meal, I saw no need for this. But during the meal, when the spiciness kicked in, this countered the spiciness and was so refreshing!

This is the Tteokbokki Style Budae jjigae! We both loved this. 

Mabongnim Halmeoni Tteokbokki 마복림할머니떡볶이 (South Korea, Seoul)
5, Dasan-ro 35-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 
서울특별시 중구 다산로35길 5 (신당동)
Tel: +82-2-2232-8930
Opening Hours: Mon to Fri 7am - 1am
                           Sat to Sun 7am - 2am
                           Closed 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month
Directions: From Sindang Station (subway line 2 or 6) Exit 8, turn left and walk along Toegye-ro 45-gil road. Along this road, there is a fire station at your right. Continue walking about 100 meters, you will see the arched sign “Sindangdong Tteokbokki Town”. The restaurant with the picture of the elderly Mabongnim is at the left hand side of this arched sign. 

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Biya 비야 (South Korea, Seoul)

A instavideo of the food we had at Biya 비야.

Budae jjigae 부대찌개

Biya 비야 is a korean restaurant that specialises in Army Stew (Budae jjigae) 부대찌개.

Budae jjigae when translated, literally means "Army Stew". It was named this way as this dish originated during the Korean War. Back then, the Americans who assisted in the war brought their own food such as spam (canned meat), baked beans, sausages and hot dogs which was not introduced in Korea before. As the Koreans were facing a food shortage, they cooked a spicy stew which consisted of kimchi and gochujang (red chili paste) and mixed the American's surplus food into the stew. This was how the Army Stew / Budae jjigae came about. Today, this dish is popular among the locals and tourist. 

This restaurant is located at Anam. It is 5 minutes walk away from exit 2 of Anam 안암 (subway line 6) station, along the same street as Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu 등촌 샤부 칼국수 and Coffee Bean. Students studying at Korea University would likely have heard of this restaurant as this is the same route where one can get to Korea University's hostel and CJ international house!

Compared to eight years ago, Biya 비야 has opened a new outlet. Which means that they now have two outlets along the same street! I still remember during the good old days, Biya was always full of students as the Army Stew was delicious and cheap.

We visited the new outlet as it was nearer to Anam station. It is easy to spot the outlet with its black and white exterior.

We were the first customers at the restaurant as we went there early (at around 530pm) for dinner. We were there so early as we planned to sleep early and wake up at 3am to proceed to Gwanghwamun Square 광화문광장 where the World Cup Match between Russia and South Korea would be telecast (more about this at the end of the post).

Menu

The menu

Pickles

Hash Browns

Complimentary Pickles and Hash Browns (Tater Tots) with ketchup and honey mustard. Both are refillable.

The Hash Browns were disappointing as they were cold. =( .  In the past, there were served warm and we would polish this off quickly and ask for more. Maybe we were too early, but still that is not an excuse to serve these cold.

Naturally, we ordered the Army Stew (Budae jjigae) 부대찌개 and added Instant Noodle (Ramyeon) 라면 to it.

Army Stew (Budae jjigae) 부대찌개

This is how it would look like when served. Food such as kimchi, spam (canned meat), baked beans, hot dogs, ricecakes, onions, spring onions and cheese are added into the broth. Let it boil and simmer for a while and you are ready to enjoy it! This is not the best and in fact, personally, I feel that the standard has dropped. Its not as good as before. But we just had to go back and visit this place to reminisce the past!

As mentioned earlier, we got up at 3am and proceed to Gwanghwamun Square 광화문광장. The atmosphere there was electrifying. We got there before 4am and the place was already filled to the brim with people! While waiting for the match to start, it was like a concert event. At around 6am, Jaseuk and Haha came over and joined in the pre match 'concert'. I was told that the whole event was already scaled down due to the South Korean Sewol ferry disaster. The scoreline for the match was Russia 1 - South Korea 1.

It was an amazing experience. Some videos and picture below.

Jaseuk's VJ in running man.

Biya 비야 (South Korea, Seoul)
Directions: From Anam Station (subway line 6) Exit 2, turn back and walk down the street. Go straight about 110m, the restaurant is on your right at the small intersection.

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Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu 등촌 샤부 칼국수 (South Korea, Seoul)

A instavideo of the food at Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu 등촌 샤부 칼국수.

Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu 등촌 샤부 칼국수 is a restaurant chain that specialises in Shabu Shabu and Kalguksu. We visited Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu at Anam for around five times since we first got to know of the restaurant eight years ago when we enrolled in Korea University's Student Exchange Programme (SEP). #yesiamoldandiknowit

I had previously heard from friends that the restaurant had closed down. But thanks to a instagram user by the name of "Nicolettelovesyou", I manage to find out that it was still open and pin point its exact location! Thanks Nicolettelovesyou! 

The restaurant is less than 3 minutes walk from exit 2 of Anam 안암 (subway line 6) station. This is also the same station and same route where one can get to Korea University's hostel and CJ international house!

Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu is located at level 2 of this building which is opposite Coffee Bean.

You can either take the lift or climb the stairs to the second level.

Once you enter the restaurant, you would need to take off your shoes..

The restaurant only offers floor seating. Hence, wear something comfortable.

"Menu"

You will not receive any menu. Instead, the food items and prices are in Korean and listed on the walls.

 I highlighted two of the food items in blue and red. The one in blue is a set which cost 7,000 KRW (per pax) and essentially includes vegetables & mushrooms (in hotpot) + noodles/udon + rice with spring onions and egg.

The one in red (i.e. Beoseot Shabu Kalguksu) cost 9,500 KRW (per pax) and food wise it is the same as the blue one except it also includes shabu shabu; shabu shabu + spicy vegetables & mushrooms (in hotpot) + Kalguksu + rice with spring onions and egg.

We always order the set which I highlighted in red! Can't do without meat =) 

Free flow of side dish; kimchi and radish.

Soon after ordering the dishes are served.

Shabu Shaub (beef slices)

Kalguksu

The pot contains the signature spicy vegetable and mushroom hotpot.

Cover the pot up and let it boil away.

After 5 minutes you are ready to enjoy the hotpot with the Shabu Shabu beef slices and Kalguksu! Totally love this! The taste of this hotpot together with all the ingredients is a match made in heaven. The Kalguksu was smooth and soft while the beef slices tasted so fresh.

If you thought this was the best part, you are going to be blown away next!

After finishing the ingredients in the pot, and the beef slices and kalguku, there would still be some soup (essence of all the ingredients left). The staff would then proceed to fry the rice (with egg and spring onions) (remember the first photo in this post?) together with the soup that is left.

Tada!! The end result is this; special fried rice!  Amazingly delicious, this is a MUST TRY! #dontsaybojio

Taste wise, the food here still taste the same after eight years! Service was equally good too! This is a must visit if you are in Seoul (Korea).

Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu 등촌 샤부 칼국수 (South Korea, Seoul)
Address 서울 성북구 안암동5가 101-17
Tel: +82-2-929-5538
Directions: From Anam Station (subway line 6) Exit 2, turn back and walk down the street. Go straight about 60m, the restaurant is at the second level on your left(opposite Coffee Bean).
Website

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