Come sunset, food carts turn Myeong-dong into a street food heaven
When it comes to snacks, foreigners who have visited Korea may have tried tteokbokki (spicy sliced rice cakes) and sundae (steamed blood sausage made with pig intestines).
But for those looking for more unique street food, Myeong-dong, one of Seoul’s main shopping districts, is the place to be.
Bulging at the seams with shops, restaurants and cafes, the area is always crowded with locals and increasingly foreign visitors from China and Japan. Adding vibrancy to Myeong-dong are food carts, crowding the already busy streets as they set up shop when the sun sets.
Near the Myeong-dong Art Theater, food carts sell unique street foods unlikely to be found elsewhere, such as the sausage and tteokgalbi skewer.
A food cart selling king-size fish cakes uses a cauldron of hot oil to deep-fry them. (Lee Hyun-jae/The Korea Herald)
Located between Myeongdong Station and Myeong-dong Art Theater, the cart is surrounded by tourists and couples.
Thick sausages and thumb-sized Korean “tteokgalbi” (grilled meat patties) are skewered one after another and topped with ketchup and mustard.
“The number of tourists from China and Japan has increased significantly within the past few years, and many of them visit and try our authentic skewer,” said the vendor of the cart. The price of a single skewer is 2,500 won.
One of Myeong-dong’s most famous street foods is the “spiral potato” located about 100 meters from the Myeong-dong Art Theater.
The snack, also called the tornado potato, is made of a potato sliced, skewered and fried in the shape of a spiral with a secret seasoning that enhances the taste. It also comes as “spiral sausage potatoes” with a thin sausage in the center surrounded by the fried spiral potato.
“Our unique food is so famous that some Asian visitors bought the machine and brought it back to their home country,” said the vendor. Visitors can enjoy both snacks for 2,000 won.
Another famous snack-on-the-go in Myeong-dong is the king-size fish cake on a stick. There are several carts that sell this popular item, which comes in every version imaginable ― chilli, sesame leaf, tteok, shrimp, cheese, seafood and sausage.
Sausage and tteokgalbi skewer
Steamed bread and egg are prepared on the spot on a Meyong-dong street on Aug. 18.
Each flavor is mixed with fish cake dough and deep-fried in a cauldron of hot oil. The customer can add ketchup, mustard and spicy sauce upon request. The price varies from 1,500 to 2,000 won.
“Myeong-dong offers different types of snacks, which cannot be found anywhere in China. This is another form of entertainment found by walking around the district,” said Adam Shi, a tourist from Beijing, China.
If you get thirsty between sampling the snacks, lemonade stands offer refreshing lemonade at a reasonable price. The vendor peels the lemon skin, puts it through a squeezer and pours it into a plastic bag filled with Chilsung cider soft drink.
A bag of lemonade costs 2,500 won, almost half the price of an order in coffee shops.
“I normally do not eat street food because of hygiene issues, but this lemonade looked tasty and since I don’t have to worry about sanitary problems, I decided to get one,” said Kim Ah-ram from Bundang. The fresh-squeezed lemonade carts can be found everywhere in Myeong-dong but mostly in areas close to the Myeong-dong Art Theater.
Other unusual finds include steamed bread and egg and “32 cm ice cream.” The steamed bread and egg may sound reminiscent of a Portuguese egg tart, but the taste is entirely different. Steamed bread with seasoning and egg on top offer the taste that can be found nowhere but in Myeong-dong. It is sold for 2,000 won.
“Hundreds of tourists from Japan and China visit our cart every day,” said the vendor while steaming the bread and egg. “Once we put out the bread on the plate, people stare with curiosity and they just cannot leave without trying one.”
The “32cm ice cream” gets its name from the improbable height of ice cream piled onto each cone. The ice cream comes in three different flavors ― vanilla, chocolate and a mix of the two ― and sells at 2,000 won.
Carts selling street foods can be found throughout the streets of Myeong-dong, especially the stretch from Myeong-dong Station to Euljiro Station and around Myeong-dong Art Theater. Most carts close up by 11 p.m.
By Lee Hyun-jae, Intern reporter
(lhj137@heraldcorp.com)
