@chocolatesuze The best prawn burger #seongsu #seoul #korea #koreafood #burger ♬ original sound – ChocolateSuze

I hadn’t planned on eating burgers while in Seoul but one lunch I was out exploring the Seongsu area and while looking at Naver Maps I happened to see a pic of a prawn burger so up some random stairs I went.

I have no self restraint and upgraded the wasabi shrimp burger so the pattie is double in size and it did not disappoint! The pattie was absolutely stuffed with both minced and whole prawns and it was just so damn juicy. I loved the kick of the wasabi mayo sauce too.

The presentation of the butter garlic fries is insane, the sauce had the consistency of the centres of devilled eggs, very thick and rich but, like a lot of food in Korea, the sauce was sadly on the sweet side. The crinkle cut fries had a light cheese dusting and honestly eating them without the sauce was great by itself.

@chocolatesuze The viral fried chicken #kyochonpilbang #seoul #korea #itaewon #koreanfriedchicken #koreanfood ♬ original sound – ChocolateSuze

One thing Korea has absolutely nailed is Korean fried chicken and a must visit is Kyochon Pilbang in Itaewon where the non-descript entrance had us walking past a few times before we spotted a giant paintbrush that you have to pull to enter.

Walk through paint brush filled lobby and into the main dining room where there’s a paintbrush feature swirling in mysterious smoke and is meant to symbolize how much care the restaurant puts into each brush stroke of sauce.

To test this we have ordered the signature chicken platter which comes with different sauces we can paint onto the chicken. I love this concept because I hate how sometimes the sauce can be too overpowering or just too much of it which makes the chicken soggy before I’m ready to eat The chicken was incredible, super juicy and tender and with the most earth shatteringly crisp skin. I loved the honey butter sauce the most for that sweet and salty kick followed by the spicy chilli which had a decent level of burning. And of course what is a meal of fried chicken without some beer to wash it all down.

@chocolatesuze Incredible quality Hanwoo beef #majangmeatmarket #seoul #korea #kbbq ♬ original sound – ChocolateSuze

Another day another market and today’s adventure was at Majang Meat Market which is the largest meat market in Korea! I’d had Hanwoo beef previously and wasn’t super impressed by it so on our second last day in Korea JY and I rugged up for the cold and ventured out.
Each stall at the market will have meat displayed at the front with prices clearly labelled, majority are beef but there were a few selling pork. All up we bought nearly a kilo of meat for around $150. Goods secured we asked a vendor for their recommendation on which restaurant to go to and he led the way upstairs. For around S10pp you get the use of the charcoal grill and then another S5 if you want sauces and banchan and there’s a touch screen if you want to order any additional items like drinks, mushrooms or ramyun. The meat is definitely high quality with the perfect amount of marbling and has ruined me for all other kbbqs because this is now the standard I will be wanting.

We had also gotten some pork jowl which was super fatty and may have accidentally set alight so defs learn from us and cook at a lower temp. Highly recommend getting the abalone as well, we grilled them in a foil tin with a lot of butter and it was incredible. Another highlight were the slabs of cheese, grilled to melty perfection and of course ramyun to end the meal.

@chocolatesuze The abalone was insane #noryangjin #noryangjinfishmarket #seoul #koreanseafood #korea ♬ original sound – ChocolateSuze

I love visiting markets whenever I’m travelling and the Noryangin Fish Market in Seoul was high on my bucket list. I booked a tour on Klook for $180 AUD per person which is defs on the pricey side but I was worried we wouldn’t be able to communicate with vendors when purchasing seafood. Honestly next time I would chance it and use a translator app, yes the vendors do get a little pushy and try to direct you to buy from their stall but just walk faster or embrace the hustle. Our tour guide took our group quickly through the market before stopping at her preferred stall when she purchased a variety of seafood and then we were led upstairs to a restaurant who would cook our bounty.

All the seafood was of course super fresh, the raw fish sashimi plate had olive flounder, red snapper and amberjack which I loved eating on perilla leaves.

I tried a super small piece of the live octopus but probably wouldn’t eat again, I loved the perfectly cooked clams and scallops and the abalone in particular were incredibly tender.
A plate of simply grilled salmon belly with a sprinkle of salt was beautifully fatty and the restaurant used the bones and offcuts in a spicy soup with hand torn noodles. Last but not least was the abalone congee which was so deeply flavourful and rich and dessert was fresh pineapple and a pineapple sorbet.