Myeongdong Myeongdong…
No matter how touristy it is, those who love to shop still feel compelled visit Myeongdong for its cosmetic stores waiting to earn your buck!
Foodies can’t escape from this shopping district as well… Because it is filled with Korean restaurants, cat cafes and STREET FOOD.
This itinerary covers my day of eating and shopping at Myeongdong – from day to night. 1 day is enough to make the most out of your wallet and satisfy your growling bellies.
*For cafehoppers and fashionistas, be sure to visit Garosugil (the hippest shopping belt) for a unique experience unlike anywhere in Seoul!
**Follow @bunnymunchies on Instagram for more honest travel and food reviews!
1-DAY FOOD ITINERARY AT MYEONGDONG STREETS
#1 MYEONGDONG KYOJA 명동교자 – BREAKFAST, BRUNCH, LUNCH
Mandu, Gyoza or 饺子?
Whatever it is, dumplings – especially Pork and Chive – are one of my favourite Chinese food of all time. While searching for the top restaurants in Seoul, this store kept popping up on blogs and TripAdvisor.
Like me, you might think it’s merely one of those restaurants that are overrated. But when I noticed how its skin of its dumplings seem to be translucent in pictures – you know it’s gonna be good.
Navigating to the restaurant is quite straightforward if you follow the directions below.
TIPS
- Just remember to look out for this dark brown-coloured shopfront!
- I would advise visiting when it opens at 10.30am for brunch so you have ample time for shopping later and beat the lunch crowd!
Picture Credit
The restaurant had steady streams of people entering and leaving, and their menu is pretty simple, featuring four dishes – that’s how confident they are.
Full menu can be found here. I found out they have an English website. Hurray!
While you’re there and wondering where the utensils are, don’t be “blur” like me! They are all kept in a secret drawer underneath the table top. I felt like a fool when asking the busy waitresses who were reluctant to entertain us.
We ordered the famous Mandu Dumplings [10 000 won, SGD11.60] and Kalguksu [8000 won, SGD$9.60] to share between two of us, and when they arrived, we immediately regretted our decision.
The Mandu came in ten and each was the size of a golfball! *jaw drops*
Taste: 4/5
Nevermind about the size. The bigger the better, ain’t it? Hehe.
I’m quite particular about my dumplings and don’t like them to be too doughy. For this, I was pleased with the thin silky translucent skin that didn’t not require much effort to bite through. The filling, though, did not live up to my expectations. I was hoping for more vegetables than meat like a traditional Chinese dumpling but it was the exact reverse.
I guess Koreans are truly meat lovers!
What made my dumpling experience really stand out was Myeongdong Kyoja’s accompanying sauce that was their signature.
All tables had Soy Sauce, White Vinegar (instead of Black that I’m accustomed to for my Chinese dumplings alongside with thinly sliced ginger), as well as the Soy Bean Marinade (pictured above) that I’m very much in love with.
Dipped in the thick salty marinade that contained thin cuts of young pepper, the dumplings tasted much more flavourful! I found myself slathering them with the marinade while my company looked at me wide-eyed.
Can I bring one jar back to Singapore, please?
We also had a bowl of Kalguksu [8000 won, SGD$9.60] that several food bloggers highly recommended, but we were extremely underwhelmed.
Taste: 2/5
Kalguksu is a bowl of handmade chopped noodles boiled in chicken broth, which is supposedly something like our Singaporean version of ‘ban mian’. I’m not a big fan of ban mian, but my company was; she commented that it was too soggy for her liking – to the extent of not finishing it!
I guess that was how bad it was; the noodles were soft and seemed like they were overcooked. Not springy at all. We only sipped the rather bland chicken soup and that was about it. The pyramid pork dumplings were also average, very similar to the Chinese wantons and their kimchi was the spiciest we’ve had. I’m not sure what the bloggers were raving about. Hmm…
Out of these the two, the Mandu wins hands down and would be something I would have again.
Myeongdong Kyoja 명동교자 (明洞餃子)
29, Myeongdong 10-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 중구 명동10길 29 (명동2가)
Opening Hours: 10.30 – 9.30pm Daily
Website
Directions:
- Main Branch
Myeongdong Station (Seoul Subway Line 4), Exit 8.
Upon exiting the station, turn left onto Myeongdong 10-gil Road.
Go straight about 150m to arrive at Myeongdong Kyoja (명동교자) on the right.
- Myeongdong Kyoja Branch No. 1
From Myeongdong Station (Exit 8), turn left onto Myeongdong 10-gil Road.
Go straight about 280m to arrive at the restaurant on the left.
#2 MUKSHIDONNA 먹쉬돈나 / MUKSHI MYEONGDONG먹쉬명동 – DINNER
*IMPORTANT NOTE*
The branch of Mukshidonna at Myeongdong is called Mukshi Myeongdong. They have updated their restaurant name recently (I don’t know why) and pictures/name provided on TripAdvisor are different. Please refer to the directions and SBS logo posted below.
I believe that all trips to Korea needs to have Army Stew somewhere in the itinerary, or else it would be such a waste!
Personally, my obsession for Army Stews was first conceived while I was studying in Brisbane. It was a winter warmer for me, and I felt that it so shiok when eaten during a cold night when temperatures dipped below 10 degrees Celsius; I would come out of the restaurant feeling so rejuvenated. This is also exactly why I don’t eat them in Singapore! It is hard to enjoy it when our climate is so humid and warm, and costs SGD40 to 50 for a pot. That is expensive.
I initially wanted to visit Mukshidonna’s main branch situated at Samcheong-dong after my visit to Bukchon Village. Unfortunately, it raining cats and dogs and the foodie – drenched from head to toe – had to give it up and visit the Myeongdong branch on another day.
To be honest, the route here wasn’t easy and I had to rely on TripAdvisor’s map and match the Korean characters word-for-word with every restaurant’s sign. With some help from the waitresses of the opposite Chinese restaurant, we managed to find it! They clarified with me that the restaurant’s name is called Mukshi Myeongdong – rather than “Donna”.
For further directions, it is located on the same alley as Angel-In-Us Coffee, and on the second level of a nondescript building. Diners like these could be seen eating hot pot against the glass windows when you look up.
Restaurant sign at the lift lobby.
Our reward finally came when we made our orders with the Chinese menu given to us. We saw every table savouring one hot pot and we couldn’t wait to have them!
We were told that the army stew had to be shared by at least two. I met up with my friends so there were three of us, and we had to pay 6500 won, SGD7.50 EACH and select 3 ingredients from the menu.
So we went with their Army Stew with Cheese and Seafood [19600 won, SGD22.70]!
You can also have additional toppings at 1000 won, but we were satisfied with what we had because intend to have 2 more parts to our dinner!
Here it is!! Our Army Stew with Tteokbokki, Sausages, Ramyeon, Prawns, Squid, Mussels and CHEESE!
LOOK AT ITS SIZE FOR SGD22.70! HOW WORTH IT IS THAT?!
Taste: 4/5
I was concerned that cheese would make our stew too gelat, but oh it was the highlight of the army stew. It matched the spicy broth flawlessly. I was hoping that the broth would be more flavourful, rather than the flat out spicy.
Nevertheless, the seafood was quite fresh and ramyeon was delightfully al dente. Some downsides I have to mention include the dull ambience (bad for food photography), lack of air-conditioning and BANCHAN!
Mukshi Myeongdong was the first restaurant that did not serve those yummy mini side dishes I was looking forward to have. No kimchi, no life.
Oh well, it is definitely value-for-money when it comes to price!
Mukshi Myeongdong 먹쉬명동
*12, Myeongdong 3-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 100-021, South Korea
02-754-0405
Directions: Next door to Angel-in-us Coffee & opposite an eatery selling Chinese food.
*Address taken from TripAdvisor, as Google Address leads to the Samcheong-dong main branch.
#3 O’SULLOC TEA HOUSE – THERE IS ALWAYS SPACE FOR DESSERTS!
Rejoice, matcha lovers! This cafe is meant for all of us!
O’sulloc is a franchise in Seoul that specialises in green tea and offers an array of desserts, light bites and beverages.
With four branches in Myeongdong, Apgujeong, Insadong and Daehango, I found Myeongdong to be the most convenient to locate with surrounding landmarks like Starbucks, McDonald’s and Daiso.
If you’re just interested in their matcha soft serves or have no time to sit down, you can get your matcha fix from the kiosk outside as well.
The interior seems rather traditional with the wooden furniture and partitions at first glance. However, when juxtaposed with neutral, earthy concrete floors and brick walls, the Japanese decor became modernised and had the chill atmosphere.
There were also couches for you to laze around, so it’s a very conducive place for… napping. It didn’t help when they provide free Wifi and soothing music because we were reluctant to leave!
Due the menu being really extensive and the cafe having dim lights, pictures that I’ve taken were blurry. Thankfully, full menu and prices can be found online here.
Unlike others, I wasn’t going for their Tea Garden Set Menu, which comprised of Green Tea Pesto Sandwich, Green Tea Pound Cake, Scone and Green Tea Milk Jam and Green Tea Ice Cream. It costs 18000 won – almost SGD21 and my intensive review research indicated that some things were a miss, including their Green Tea Scones, Roll Cake, Pound Cake and Green Tea Latte.
What a pity because they looked drool-worthy from the display.
I tried more lesser known desserts like the Green Tea Ice Flakes [14000 won, SGD16.20] since I adore bingsu so much, Green Tea Cheese Tiramisu [5000 won, SGD5.80], Fresh Green Tea Hallabong [6500 won, SGD7.50] and Green Tea Latte [5500 won, SGD6.40].
It was a matcha frenzy!
Don’t worry, these were shared amongst 4 – even though we already had dinner. #ThereIsAlwaysSpaceForMATCHADesserts
Taste-wise, what won our hearts over were the Green Tea Hallabong and Green Tea Cheese Tiramisu.
Their beverages left quite a deep impression on me – both good and bad. The Green Tea Hallabong, an ice blended drink derived from Hallabong – sweet Jeju variety of Mandarin orange, was a refreshing burst of flavour for the summer!
I liked the stark contrast between the sweet citrusy juice and slight bitterness from the green tea.
On the other hand, green tea fans would be disappointed with their Green Tea Latte. It was overly milky and the mandatory green tea hint was not found; it tasted more like a watery mixture of milk, and half a teaspoon of green tea powder.
My friends who have visited O’sulloc previously also agreed, so please avoid ordering it! I heard that their iced version is better.
Taste: 4.5/5
Similar to other reviewers’ thoughts, the Green Tea Cheese Tiramisu was the only cake worth going for.
I had my own reservations, thinking that it would be overly thick and creamy, but thankfully it wasn’t! Instead, the cream cheese was incredibly light and it had a thick layer matcha powder on top, which made a huge difference to our palate; green tea lovers would appreciate this very much.
While there was no graham crumble at the base, the layer of green tea chiffen cake worked. Nonetheless, I felt that it could have a thicker and firmer texture. One idea would be substituting it with a crunchy layer of green tea/ hojicha grounded nut base that would be a fun dimension.
Green Tea flavoured bingsu are one of my favourite desserts; I have tried over 6 renditions from Bukchon Bingsu (Seoul), Hanbing (Hong Kong), Passiontree (Brisbane), Bingo Jung (Singapore), Caffebene (Singapore), and O’ma Spoon (Singapore).
Taste: 3.75/5
Positive signs stemming from O’sulloc’s were the pronounced Green tea flavour, and the fresh azuki and moist beans. My company commented that the ice flakes were quite rough, but I didn’t mind them.
The bad was dry texture of the pound cake that resonated with other reviews; I cannot comprehend why they would even produce something like that for their customers! I’d be better off eating a Pandan chiffon cake from Bangawan Solo. That is how bad it was.
Moreover, something was amiss while having this dessert halfway, as there was still half the amount of ice shavings left that had no ingredients to pair it with. It was quite wasteful, to be honest. Maybe they could add nuts, mochi or slices of fruits? Because the price does not really justify the bingsu.
My all-time favourite Green tea bingsu would still be the first ever bingsu I tried from Passiontree at Brisbane, Australia. It only costs only AUD14.90 with many more toppings!
Overall, the cafe seems like a pleasant place to wind down and relax after a day’s of shopping; it has a whole lot more appeal than Starbucks for its spacious seatings and free Wifi. The green tea desserts, however, need to step up because they were not up to the standards that I experienced at Kyoto’s Tsujiri.
Bunny Recommends: Green Tea Hallabong, Green Tea Cheese Tiramisu
O’sulloc Tea House, Myeong-dong Branch 오설록티하우스 – 명동점
12, Myeongdong 7-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 중구 명동7길 12 (명동1가)
+82-2-774-5460
Opening Hours:
9am – 10:30pm (Sun – Thurs),
9am – 11pm (Fri – Sat)
Directions: Exit from Exit 6 Myeong-dong Station of Seoul Subway Line No. 4, turn left, and go straight for 370m. Go past the alley in between the Myeongdong Theatre (left) and Daiso (right), O’Sulloc will be after McDonald’s.
#4 KOREAN STREET FOOD – IF YOU STILL HAVE STOMACH SPACE!
Korea is also known for its street food, and they are everywhere in Myeongdong. If you can’t make it to Nandaemun or Dongdaemun, Myeongdong should be enough to at least savour most of them.
While most stalls pop up at night, certain stalls are open during the day! Here are some quick snaps of the variety that I took, and reviews for the ones I had.
Grilled Seafood, Fishcakes, Tteokbokki
Tall ice creams seen all over Instagram
Roasted Chestnuts, Corn
Freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
Fresh Fruit Jellies that remind me of Taiwan
Seafood Skewers
Milky Bee Ice Cream – Hand sculpted Rose!
MYEONGDONG STREET FOOD REVIEW
STRAWBERRY MOCHI (DDALGI-MOCHI)
This is a Japanese-style rice cake filled with fresh strawberry and red bean custard. I spotted a few times while walking around the Myeongdong shopping belt at night and was intrigued how the owners were making them on the spot.
Taste: 3/5
Still, it still can’t be matched to Japan’s warabi-mochi. We felt that the mochi texture was too thick and wasn’t as smooth as the ones I had at Japan.
Come on Koreans, you can do better! Straw berry was juicy though.
GRILLED CHEESE SCALLOP
My best friend back in Singapore recommended me the Grilled Cheese Scallop, which was sold by one of the most eye-catching stalls due to the torching process. She raved about it when she had it during her trip in December. #DatCheese
Taste: 1/5
I like grilled scallops, but I wondered if it would taste good with cheese. It costed me 12 000 won [SGD14] and took about 8 to 10 minutes to prepare, which was a bummer.
However, the wait wasn’t worth it! The scallop wasn’t fresh and I had no idea that it came with corn. Corn with scallop… Not a good combination.
There goes my 14 bucks! Please do not waste your money on this if you dislike corn!
GRILLED OCTOPUS & DRIED OCTOPUS SNACK
Taste: 2/5
Another fad on the streets of Myeongdong.
I thought nothing could go wrong with squid when it’s on the grill. It was nice of the ajumma helping to chop the whole squid into smaller pieces, but I did not enjoy the tough texture of the body. The tentacles were still fine.
Also got their Dried Octopus Snack, which turned out to be the worst I had. Very rubbery. I’m very puzzled about how something so fresh could be so horrible.
Is it the quality of their squid?
DEEP FRIED POTATO RINGS
I SAVED THE BEST FOR THE LAST.
I don’t usually get deep fried food, but my company wanted to try this. This store served enticing potato snacks ranging from fries to tempura! They also sell this popular Honey Butter Potato Chips (not pictured) was all the rage last year.
Taste: 5/5
WOAH. These Potato Rings tasted EXACTLY like a packaged potato chip, but freshly made with the real texture of potatoes! I just couldn’t stop eating it – despite telling myself numerous times that I would get a sore throat subsequently and ruin the rest of my trip.
Nonetheless, the chips were SO addictive that I was still thinking about it after having one skewer. I wanted to go back for it after shopping, but sadly, I wasn’t able to retrace my footsteps back to the stall.
This was definitely my biggest regret when leaving Seoul.
#YOLO #TheSoreThroatIsWorthIt
SHOPPING AT MYEONGDONG
The Myeongdong district is full of shops and malls like Shinsegae, Hyundai and Lotte Department Stores, but I’ll just show you where I’ve been to during my trip!
#1 MYEONGDONG STREETS – CLOTHING, ACCESSORIES
It is a no-brainer to shop at Myeongdong streets when the night falls. Besides being known for their street food, there are quite some steals on the main belt like t-shirts, caps, baby clothing, sunglasses, glasses (I got mine for SGD15) etcetera.
Be sure to explore small alleys and underground subway shops that also sell trendy Korean clothing and shoes that are pretty comfy!
Tried and tested.
#2 A LAND, AMERICAN APPAREL – MEN & WOMEN CLOTHING, ACCESSORIES
Even though I’ve already been to the Garosu-gil outlet, I still had to visit the Myeongdong branch to see what they offered because almost every Korean walking past me was carrying their iconic paper bag!
I also spotted an American Apparel next door, but it was way out of budget where women’s tops start from SGD40.
Myeongdong’s A Land has 5 levels – one more than Garosu-gil’s and it has additional vintage, used clothing and stationery lines. Unlike the one at Garosu-gil, their 3.3 FIELD TRIP brand is located at the basement, but has a limited variety I feel.
And for the men, hurray! There is an “A Land M” dedicated just for you – just opposite of A Land, and it has 3 levels consisting of street, casual and formal wear.
Those who are interested in designer clothing and street fashion should check it out!
A Land
30, Myeongdong 6-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 중구 명동6길 30 (명동2가)
Opening Hours: 10.30am -10.30pm Daily
#3 LOTTE DEPARTMENT STORE
Composed of 14 stories (yes 14!), the Lotte Department Store at Myeongdong is the leading department store in Korea and the branch at Myeongdong is its main store; there are a total of 8 in the entire city of Seoul!
The department store boasts a variety of luxury brands, fashion apparel, jewellery, cosmetics, fashion accessories, household goods, duty free shopping, consumer electronics, and many more. Those still in their 20s would be interested in shopping at the Young Plaza (over 120 fashion brands catering), while the exclusive shopping mall Avenuel would be more suitable for taitais, as it contains high end brands like Mulberry, Moschino, YSL, Louis Vuitton and Chanel.
I went straight to the women clothing section and gosh, it was HUGE. I reckon one day here is not enough if you want full-fledged shopping. Then again, you might go bankrupt because the things here are not cheap at all.
#4 LOTTE DEPARTMENT BASEMENT
Lotte has a similar concept to Japan, where there is a food court and supermarket on the basement floor. As we all know, Koreans are famous for their ramyeon, sesame sauce, gojuchang, tidbits, Makgeolli etcetera and they can be found here!
I highly recommend going to Lotte’s supermarket to fulfil your long shopping list meant for your friends and family members. However, be prepared to squeeze with the rest of the world’s tourists because the alleys are narrow.
Korean condiments, spices, tidbits, international snacks
These are only one-third of their groceries
Cute melons (chamoe) unique to Korea!
The leaves used for wrapping our BBQ-ed meat
Lotte’s basement is also a food haven for foodies, consisting of takeaway banchan dishes. I felt like I was at Takashimaya, but it was the Korean version! I was there at about 7.30pm (close to the closing time) and many stalls were selling at reduced prices.
I was drowned in excitement. It was just like my experience at Kyoto’s Takashimaya, where all the staff were shouting to sell their leftover dishes.
I reckon these would be awesome to bring it back to Singapore for those who love the authentic taste from Korea.
While browsing the food display, the raw oysters below caught my eye and an ajumma gave me a sample of it. I was scared I would get food poisoning, but thank goodness I didn’t!
It was quite fresh and seemed to have some soybean and gojuchang marinade.
There are also numerous bakeries and dessert stores here.
I came across BAKE, which has crazy lines in Singapore at the moment, and spied on how they bake their cheese tarts… The fillings are white and painted with egg wash. One tiny hint on how to replicate them heehee.
Oh those caramelised surfaces are to die for.
Lotte Town
81, Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 중구 을지로 30 (소공동)
General Operating Hours: 10.30am -8pm (varies from store to store)
POST-TRAVEL THOUGHTS
Myeongdong is one shopping hub that deserves a visit its Korean food and vibrant cosmetic culture. I would also recommend staying at least 2 nights at that area (I stayed at L7 Lotte Hotel near exit 8 of Myeongdong station) and I had about 1.5 days to roam about the district.
Besides, there are many perks for staying there because it was really convenient for visiting other districts and attractions nearby like Insadong, Ewha Women’s University, Dongdaemun, Nandaemun, Itaewon, Hongdae and Gyeongbokgung Palace!
You can also take an airport coach shuttle from Myeongdong (roughly 45 minutes), which made reduced a lot of hassle for travelling to the airport and you can buy some last minute cosmetics while you’re at it!
Happy travelling!
LOVE, ANDREA,
THE #FOREVERHUNGRY BUNNY
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