South Korea 2022: Tantanmen & Korean BBQ
day 9
We didn’t have many plans to see certain sights but we did have places that we wanted to eat at and visit. There were a couple of food spots we needed to stop by in Myeongdong, so we went back in this area. I feel like there are so many shops in this area and so, so many side streets you can never see it all. But our first stop was a ramen shop - Menten [305 Samil-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea]. We got there around lunch time and there was a bit of a line already formed. The shop is pretty small in size - there was only space for 8 seats and the kitchen in the back. I think we waited about 30 minutes and we finally got seated. You order though a machine which made it relatively easy.
This place is on the Michelin guide for Seoul which maybe my sister told me but I didn’t remember until I just searched it on Google (lol). Like I said earlier, all the noodles are made by one man the chef and one other person, who was the server. The shop only sells 2 items the tantan men, which is what I ordered, and a shoyu based ramen.
I decided to get the tantan men because I’ve only really ever gotten ramen at ramen shops. My mom and sister got the same thing as well. The tantan men of course had its ground meat, some bamboo shoots, a ramen egg, and it was topped off with green onions. The broth was a bit thick, a little spicy - it was quite rich and umami-y. It was quite tasty! I wish I got to taste the shoyu ramen - to be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of tantan men - I feel like I might have liked that better. This one was still good though and I do recommend it. I think everyone in the shop at the time we were in there had also ordered the tantan men. Giving this place an 8/10, recommend stopping by.
After we finished, we did a bit of walking and browsing as you do. There wasn’t anything we were specifically looking for though. We walked into another The Coffee Bean in this area for drinks and a rest.
I got an iced americano just to get some caffeine in my system - I don’t know if I’ve already mentioned these [I’m writing these posts in random times, so I can’t remember] but Koreans LOVE their americanos (lol) you will see the main go to drink is an americano - probably 1 for caffeine but 2 because its literally 0 calories. Also, if you order drinks to go, you should be going - don’t sit down in the store with your to-go cups. I’m not sure if its literally written in law (honestly, I feel like it might be) but its for environmental reasons. Anyway, the second drink we got was a jeju orange soda drink. The americano was as you can expect - espresso mixed with water flavour… (as that’s exactly what it is). There was quite a bit of ice in there as you can see, so I suggest you drink it pretty fast or it gets watered down quite fast. The jeju orange soda was tasty! It was sweet, tart and bubbly - a great drink for a hot day (except it was kind of cold this day).
The first couple of times we’ve come to Myeongdong, I kept seeing this oreo churro and I sort of wanted it but I never actually went to go buy one. Then, anytime we came back/passed by this area, I kept telling myself to look out for it because I wanted to try one. But of course, when you really want something, the world never gives it to you… THAT WAS UNTIL THIS DAY. I FINALLY found it. I think it was because it was late afternoon and on a “weekend” - I call Friday a kind of like weekend day. These street stalls in Myeongdong, from what I remember, don’t have a set place. I feel like its first come first serve. So a truck you find at one corner on one day might not be at the same place or even there at all the next day. So… if you want something get it that day (lol). I think this oreo churro was like 8000 won (so like $8) which was sort of expensive... and they gave you the white oreo cream on the side... I originally thought it would be like pumped in the middle or something but nope - you have to squeeze it on yourself. It was pretty tasty but for $8?? That’s quite expensive in my opinion. Great for a one time buy sure but you can get 2 regular just as tasty original churros from McDonalds for the same price. I highly recommend you get McDonalds’ churros, they’re good!
There’s a pretty big A Land in one of the side/smaller department store in Myeongdong. Inside here is also a tax return machine - it doesn’t do every brand of tax return though but doesn’t hurt to try and so you don’t have less to do at the airport AND more spending money while you are in, in Korea. A Land sells like a curation of different brands - I ended up buying this varsity/jersey jacket and there was only one size that was perfect for me left. We were walking around the area because there was a Korean BBQ place we wanted to stop at - our first and only Korean BBQ for this trip.
This KBBQ place Wangbijib Myeongdong Main Store, I believe they have 2 branches in this area. We were one of the first groups in for that day. I feel like you can eat comfortably for about $20 per person - you won’t be completely stuffed but you should be satisfied. You could totally spend much more if you wanted to be stuffed. It also depends on the type and cut of meat you are ordering - of course some are more expensive.
With your order, they come out with a bunch of side dishes: kimchi, radish kimchi, bean sprouts, green onion salad, potato salad, lettuce for wrapping, some mushrooms for grilling, and a side salad and rice for each person. For KBBQ here, the servers help you grill, cut and portion the meat for each person. Sometimes I felt like umm is someone coming or… should I just do stuff by myself? Someone ends up coming - so you don’t have to worry about cooking for yourself (lol).
I know there’s a fan in the middle of every grill but I will say, don’t wear anything that you are planning to wear again without washing (you know things can be worn again without washing and if you don’t have a washing machine or the time…) because your clothes will have the smell of meat the next day (lol). That goes for any BBQ meal honestly and even hotpot. After we finished up, it was time to head home.
That was pretty much it for this day - quite slow and chill. So, until the next one
-Thomas