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1. The Best Chinese Restaurant In Seoul Is Itaewon Ooyukmien
Taiwanese menus appear to be falling behind other international cuisines in Seoul, which seems to be the case overall. Itaewon Ooyukmien in Hannam-dong is one of the few places where you can get a satisfying bowl of Taiwanese-style noodles. After making numerous journeys to the island nation in an effort to perfect these bowls of beef noodles, Tony Kang, a chef with 30 years of expertise on the island of Taiwan, worked with three other local chefs to develop this special place.
Only a few dishes are available on the menu, suggesting at the level of care that would be put into each dish. While the “Mala Ooyukmien,” cooked with mala sauce, is for people who can handle a little heat, the “Hong-xiao Ooyukmien” is created with a foundation of toban djan (Chili Bean Sauce) and added tomatoes making the dish just a tiny bit acidic and sour. If noodles aren’t your thing, try their “Chao Pan” instead (fried rice).
The two highly recommended entrées from their limited selection are the fried dumplings with shrimp and cuttlefish cutlets (called “Jaxiaryangun”) and the all-too-familiar “Guo Bao Rou” (similar to tangsuyuk). The orange-colored borth in the bowl of Ooyukmien, which has crimson oil droplets and chopped scallions floating on top of it, is flavorful (as well as scent). Although some people might think it’s a little too salty, the flavor doesn’t linger in your mouth, so you’ll want to keep drinking the nearly addictive soup. You won’t have to worry about the fried pork cutlets becoming soggy because the sauce is given separately, ensuring that the “Guo Bao Rou” retains a considerable amount of crispiness.
The best thing is that once you finish the meal, your stomach won’t feel heavy or weighted down as it may when you eat a bowl of jajangmyeon from your local Korean-Chinese delivery service. Small-sized samples of Yantaiguniang and Kinmen Kaoliang liquors are offered for consumption. Although they are really powerful, the food here will go remarkably well with them. A neon sign that reads Wèicéngyu sh (), which is roughly translated as “a taste you have yet to experience,” will be seen as you leave the eatery. The assertion should be accurate for so many Seoulites, including myself, based on the lengthy wait outside the Best Chinese Restaurant In Seoul that has been accumulating since the establishment of the eatery.
2. Little Taiwan
One of the attractions of Seoul is the ability to order fried chicken and alcohol at 3 in the morning, but if you’re sick of the bland Cass and over-fried delivery chicken, you might want to go over to Yeonnam-Little dong’s Taiwan. The Best Chinese Restaurant In Seoul serves Taiwanese street food and mango & pineapple beers in a casual setting. Most of the items on the menu, including ji pai (Taiwanese chicken cutlets), noodle soups, and rice and meat meals, are less than 7000 won.
You can’t go wrong ordering the ji pai, in particular, which comes with a sizable serving of cooked chicken fillet, crunchy batter, and incredibly juicy and tender chicken pieces. The regular variety costs 6,000 won, and you can order it with a zesty Thai-style fish sauce for an extra 1,000 won. There is shrimp wonton noodle soup if you believe more soup and additional carbohydrates would go well with the delicious crispy food. The soup contains 4 delicious, delightfully bouncy shrimp wontons. The noodles, which are primarily made of rice flour, are rather transparent and fluffy, but we hope they were the only thing included in the soup along with the wontons.
There are often a few groups of people here purchasing the mango and pineapple beers along with the flavorful ji pai to share, even in the early afternoons. Would you like to go on a date here? Most likely not. However, we will most definitely do so by improving our chimaek game with simply 10,000 won.
3. Podam – One of the Best Chinese Restaurant In Seoul
If you want to get some xiaolongbao, shaomai, or dan dan noodles at this reasonably priced dim sum place in Seochon, get this Best Chinese Restaurant In Seoul quickly and before 2 pm; their ingredients are likely to run out well before their regular closing hour, and calling them won’t help you since the employees will be running around serving all of the hungry people lining up outside the Best Chinese Restaurant In Seoul
You’ll notice the interior’s vibrant red and orange hues as you enter and are greeted by the incredibly welcoming waiting staff. There are five different types of dim sum, three different entrée options, three different noodle dishes, and shrimp-fried rice on the menu. You may see how skillfully each piece of dim sum is made by taking a brief glimpse into the kitchen.
It’s undoubtedly a scenario that tempts you to taste each of the five varieties of dim sum; but, if choosing proves to be too difficult, you can always go for the Podam Xiaolongbao or the Shrimp Shaomai, which are the house special and the most Instagrammable options, respectively. The exceedingly thin skin that covered the xiaolongbaos was tough enough to contain the filling but nearly disintegrated in my mouth.
Even while there wasn’t as much broth within as was anticipated, the considerable amount of meal on which it was built made it rather rich. The shaomai had a similar flavor. It is also unquestionably Instagram-worthy because it is wrapped in seaweed and topped with flying fish roe that is a vivid orange color. However, the dan dan noodles were not one of our favorites because of the flavorless broth. Even though it had a strong peanut flavor, it couldn’t make up for the dish’s obvious lack of flavor.
Overall, Podam fulfills its promise to provide “wrapped lightness,” as stated in its name. The delicate, smooth dim sums are incredibly delicious and filling. Be cautious, though, because later, they also seem to disappear swiftly from your stomach.
4. MongJungIn
The fourth candidate for Best Chinese Restaurant In Seoul is MongJungIn. MongJungIn isn’t a particularly conspicuous spot, being situated on a street that is primarily residential and gets quite dark at night. MongJungIn, however, is frequently crowded by 8 p.m., with a lengthy line that requires a minimum 2-hour wait. They don’t accept bookings, but as a welcome drink, they give you a complimentary MongJungIn shot (topped with whipping cream).
As some people may have surmised, the Hong Kong romantic fantasy movie served as the inspiration for MongJungIn Kitchen & Pub (Dream Lovers, 1986). The entire ambiance of the pub is fairly retro with an Asian mentality because the movie was produced and is set in the 1980s.
There are just about 4 options in each category, making the interface relatively straightforward. A couple of their cocktails use Kaoliang liquor as its foundation. The “Kaolian+lemon+tonic water” highball cocktail didn’t taste particularly sophisticated, but it is inexpensive. But the food was better than it was worth. The meal known as “Malaxiangguo” (also known as the hot, numbing stir-fry pot) was particularly outstanding. There was a potent blend of exotic spices and aromas, with mala sauce serving as the base.
The tofu skin noodles had a chewy, soft texture, and the numerous veggies and shellfish all had distinct flavors. But beware of the Sichunan pepper! The nicest part about them is that they have a bitter aftertaste and have a numbing effect. The small GuoBaoRou had a delicate sweet and sour flavor from the sauce sprinkled on top and was incredibly clean and light (despite being deep-fried). Although the beef pieces within were somewhat thin, the price made it a good deal.
The tofu skin noodles had a chewy, soft texture, and the numerous veggies and shellfish all had distinct flavors. But beware of the Sichunan pepper! The nicest part about them is that they have a bitter aftertaste and have a numbing effect. The small GuoBaoRou had a delicate sweet and sour flavor from the sauce sprinkled on top and was incredibly clean and light (despite being deep-fried). Although the beef pieces within were somewhat thin, the price made it a good deal.
For the famed 2-cha (second round), MongJungIn is one of those locations that are ideal since they have amazing cuisine to combine with some booze, and even a variety of Kaoliang for all those who want.
5. Limgagi – Best Chinese Restaurant In Seoul
The last Best Chinese Restaurant In Seoul I highly recommend is Limgagi. Cantonese roast duck is still not as well-known in Seoul as Peking duck. The Cantonese style offers particularly juicy meat because it is cooked when it is still moist, covered in multiple coats of Cantonese barbecue sauce. This is in contrast to the kind that Seoulites are more accustomed to, which has crispiness and food with a chewy texture due to the air-drying process. You can sample this Cantonese delicacy at Limgagi Limgagi in Hongdae, for example (Seogyo-dong).
Here, a full roast duck costs 43,000 won (a half portion is 23,000 won). Three to four persons can share the serving. The meat is not overly oily but is incredibly soft when cut into little pieces (as a Cantonese roast duck is often presented).
Soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, garlic, ginger, and five spices are used to create savory, sweet, and medicinal flavors that are exceedingly potent and mouthwatering. While eating the pork, you might not see that the skin isn’t as crispy as that found on a Peking duck because, with the leather still in place, the textures are still pleasing and cozy.
You also get plum syrup with your meat when you order Cantonese roast duck, which is fantastic. You can choose Limgagi’s unique savory sauce, which is prepared with duck juice if you don’t like sweet sauces. There are noodle dishes and folded dumplings (with vegetables, shrimp, and pig) if you want to eat some carbohydrates along with your duck (duck noodle soup and spicy Sichuan noodles).
