Seoul Food: Banchan, Bibimbap, and Beyond

Our day will start in a busy alley filled with restaurants serving a classic chicken and noodle dish that draws on a variety of regional flavors. We’ll savor this iconic dish at the very restaurant that pioneered it, a family-run spot helmed by the same woman for 40 years. From there, we’ll work our way through the heart of Seoul, stopping for traditional cookies and sweets, before having a second lunch of grilled beef and bibimbap at an old school bbq joint. At a nearby locals-only indoor market, we’ll work our way through the countless stalls, stopping to taste some signature banchan – flavorful side dishes served with rice – and gimbap, Korea’s homegrown “sushi” roll. Diving deeper into the backstreets, we’ll stop into another alley restaurant for the umami-rich bossam – steamed pork belly, oysters, and kimchi all wrapped up in a fresh cabbage leaf. For a “lighter” bite, we’ll visit a local bakery that serves a beloved version of a Korean fusion sensation known as “salt bread” – a buttery pastry that is like the love child of a croissant, baguette, and fluffy dinner roll.

 
Along the way, we’ll visit local institutions, including a cozy record shop and a wholesaler of traditional outfits known as hanbok, to get a sense of Korean culture, both new and old. To end our time together and prepare you for a night out on the town, we’ll join the locals for an al fresco happy hour at one of the area’s numerous pojangmacha, open-air “tent bars,” where soju – Korea’s national spirit – is downed along with a plethora of savory bar snacks.