Seoul - Day 3, Part 2

Walking around the palace grounds made me hungry! So I ducked into a random spot for a big bowl of bibimbop. I had to regain energy, after all, to walk around some more!

Bibimbop with four banchans (side dishes)

After eating, I headed towards an outdoor market, one that was geared for locals. There were people everywhere, buying groceries on this sunny Sunday. Everything from seafood and vegetables to the very famous fresh Korean ginseng was on sale.

I couldn't identify most of these items!

Dried fish is a huge part of the Korean diet. Look at the options!

Local fresh ginseng. Koreans regularly cook with these.

Look at the selection of dried red dates!

Although I did not buy anything, it was really fun to be surrounded by the unique sights and smells of a wet market. There really isn't anything else like it in the world!

It was a complete contrast then, to leave the market and take a 10 minute train to one of the busiest shopping neighborhoods in Seoul: Myeongdong. They are like two completely different worlds! The amount of shops were amazing; South Korea is a true bastion of commercialism. This is a shopping mecca, with a huge selection and fairly low prices. No wonder tourism has been steadily increasing to this country!

Busy Myeongdong side street (because honestly, the
main street was too crazy to take a picture in!)

Some of the street food available in Myeongdong

Alas, I am mostly a window shopper, and only bought a cheap $5 ring and some lip balm. All the walking got me hungry again, so when I spied my absolute favorite Korean snack on sale, I snagged one to munch on.

Hotteok is a kind of pancake or doughnut made with glutinous rice flour, and filled with a brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. The dough is then either fried or griddled, until the insides melt into a tasty goo. There are a few places with savory versions, but I've always just enjoyed the sweet ones.

Griddled to perfection; the outer layer is slightly crispy, but very chewy
when you bite into it.

My preference is for the griddled version, which is WAY less greasy. The hotteok only costs about a dollar, and is placed into a cup for easy transport. You have to be careful when taking that first bite; the innards are sometimes molten hot! But wow, it is so yummy. The dough is chewier than a regular doughnut, and how can anything with cinnamon sugar be bad?!

Insides of a hotteok. This one also had some pumpkin seeds in the
filling, which added a great nuttiness.

I've had this snack before in New York, but because it is so fresh here, there really is no comparison. I kind of wish I could eat like a dozen of these before leaving!