Category: Food Trend

Trending in Seoul: Bagels
According to the JoongAng Ilbo, bagels have really hit it big in Korea. In the expat-o-sphere, we’ve been noticing more bagel shops pop up over the years in our group Restaurant Buzz Seoul. The New Yorkers and Montréalers pooh-poohed most of the offerings. Not chewy enough. Too much cream cheese. Trying to make them as sweet as doughnuts. Or just not understanding how a bagel should be sliced before applying cream cheese.
I have two indicators for when a food has become a big trend. One is when I see a type of food in an area that is not that adventurous–like the suburbs I live in. I was surprised last year to find gourmet $5 doughnuts and really good patisseries in my culinarily conservative neighborhood.
The other indicator is when my non-adventurous Korean friends say they want to try a certain food that I’d been hearing buzz about. Years ago, I knew the ribs with cheese thing was blowing up when my rice-and-kimchi-every-meal (RAKEM?) friends said they wanted to try them. This past weekend, one of them said she wanted to go to Anguk-dong to stand in line for bagels.
Really?
I knew of one bagel place in Anguk-dong that’s always closed when I’m in the area, but I’m usually there in the evening getting ready to lead the Dark Side of Seoul Ghost Walk. I’d never tried it. But if my suburban RAKEM friend who almost never goes into the city wants to journey there early in the morning to wait in line for one–hmm… something’s happening.
The eatery in the JoongAng newsletter is Brick Lane Bagel, based in London.
London? Bagels? A little discordant there.
Turns out, TIL, that Brick Lane has a respected history with “beigels” since 1974. As someone who was born that year, it’s troubling to read articles that treat that as ancient history.
Shamelessly ripped from the JoongAnge Ilbo 요리레터, where the author waited 2.5 hours in line for these bagels
Where the London versions seem to be massively stuffed with meats and pickles, the Korean way is to load them down with cream cheese.
Why are bagels hitting it big?
Korea doesn’t have a significant Jewish community–only 1,000 or so. Bagels have been introduced by Koreans studying, working, or growing up overseas bringing what they loved from those places to the Land of the Morning Crowds.
According to the newsletter, it was COVID. Korea started really getting into bread about as much as western countries were getting into home breadmaking. Korean consumption of bread went up 68% between 2018 and 2022. For semantics sake, I’m doing the Korean thing here and including pastries and anything made with dough and baked as “bread.”
The Korean style bagel is characterized by not being as chewy as the North American versions. This I find surprising, as the Korean palate leans towards chewy textures (tteokbokki, chewy bacon, chewy Jeju black pork, savory jellies–I could make a big list and another post about this). They’re also moister.
Korean ingredients, like buchu (Chinese chives), raw garlic, and sweet red beans are mixed with the cream cheese an loaded on.
As for me, I’ve fallen in love with another pastry that’s gotten big lately: Salt Bread (Sogeum Bbang 소금빵). Supposedly, they were invented in Japan as Shio Pan (again, “Salt Bread”). They look like croissants, but they have the texture of Thanksgiving dinner rolls with an airy pocket. The outside is brushed with salt water, which produces a crispy shattering crust. They’re just salty enough with no sweetness, which is a rarity in a country that loves to turn every bread product into candy.
My grouchy expat cynicism in check, I have been thrilled to see this new phase of Korean baked goods emerge. Ketchup-laden sugar-garlic pastries are giving way to more sophisticated and positively localized fare. It’s an exciting time to be here.
May 26, 2023
The Surprising Korean Burger Foodies Are Crazy For
There’s a Korean burger that has been the must-try in Seoul’s foodie community. And it comes from a surprising place.
Lotteria.
Yes, Lotteria. The Korean-Japanese fast food franchise known for its culinary abominations–soggy fries and cardboard tasting burgers (though their Shrimp Burger is the perfect drunk food).
In 2016, something started changing. It was as if management had gone through a change. They came out with their A-Z Burger. It was super loaded. It wasn’t sickeningly sweet.
I compare it to the American cable TV channel AMC. How a shift in management turned it from the “Short Circuit 2” channel to the “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men” channel.
This past week, in our group Restaurant Buzz Seoul, member Gilbert Lee posted this review (I’ve broken up the text to make it more readable):
So, I’ve been in a love affair these past few months with this burger from Lotteria: the Classic Cheeseburger. As a review, I feel that I should compare it with burgers that people know of in this group, and I’d have to say, the whole In-and-Out, Cali Kitchen, Shake and whatever places have lacked resonance over the test of time. I don’t remember them, other than their brand names. Actually, In-and-Out required a long line, and the other ones had questionable interior designs and service for a dumb pricey burger. I remember yellow walls and dark lighting. And lots of people eating the burgers with their eyes closed.
Anyhow, this cheeseburger I like is super! It takes seven minutes to make, sometimes even instanteously served if you order it during breakfast hours. It costs 4,000 won, and you can inhale it in about a minute. I eat two, usually, and my day’s anxiety melts away.
The burger embodies the essence of fast-food burger joints. In and out, pure. No godforsaken lines. Oh, and the servers are great! No cheap talk, just “What do you want?”
And if you look them sternly in their eyes when you say you don’t want the set meal, they feel you proper: no more questions.
As for the taste of these bad boys, oh man. The bread complements the condiments really well. So well, in fact, Lotteria should definitely make a “Condiment Burger” with no beef. The mustard and mayonnaise is that good, people. Speaking of beef, I believe the chefs at Lotteria have made their ultimate patty, perfected over the years since the restaurateur’s inception in 1979. Words do not do the patty justice. The onions are crispy, too, reminiscent of those crispy onions we’ve all had in our day.
I will definitely remember this burger forever. I had my first in Mangwon on a summer day. It was raining outside. I was sad, but then my discovery made me happy. I hope it stays on Lotteria’s menu for generations to come.
He’s talking about the Classic Cheeseburger, which is one of the new Lotteria Korean burger offerings in the past couple of years.
His post was immediately met with skepticism. Members thought he was trolling or being ironic.
Then others piped in to agree with him.
Besides, it was a great Korean burger review. Fun, entertaining, informative, enthusiastic. So much better than the pretentious crap we usually read from the resident snobs.
The review was intriguing enough to inspire members (including me) to give it a try.
We tried. And you know what? It’s really frikkin’ good!
I’d say it’s even better than the equivalent burgers at Burger King and McDonald’s. It’s no premium burger, like Shake Shack and Five Guys. But that’s not their playground. This change is disturbing. It’s challenging everything I know.
And then it went to fanboy levels of unmitigated enthusiasm.
I’m craving this again.
There’s something addictive in it that I just can’t pinpoint. It’s not syrupy sweet like the Bulgogi Burgers. The patty has actual flavor. It’s oniony. The pickles make it taste a little of Krystal/White Castle. The bun is toasted.
Bonus: Mac and Cheese Sticks
I had to try their new Mac and Cheese Sticks. They taste as if Taco Bell made macaroni and cheese and deep fried it. Not bad.
I’ve been doing this long enough to know there will be a backlash. It always happens when something becomes surprisingly popular. People who mistake cynicism with intelligence will pooh-pooh it just to be contradictory.
But seriously, it’s great to see this surprising development from crappy old Lotteria.
January 25, 2018
Premium Kimbap?
Food trends in Seoul these days tend to center around foreign cuisine. I was happy to find that we are finding new innovations with Korean food in the humble kimbap. This one is long overdue. Kimbap is almost but not quite like a sushi maki roll but filled with meats, pickled radishes, and fresh vegetables. The choices for kimbap have been limited in most places, generally regular, cheese, canned tuna, kimchi, and beef. Sometimes you find dried anchovy kimbap.
On the blogs, I’ve been recently been reading about new types of “premium” kimbap shops opening. One leading the charge is a place in Apgujeong I still haven’t gone to that puts camembert and Dutch edam cheeses in its rolls. The one I want to highlight here is Bapuri, which has a few franchises around Korea, including the one we went to in Hongdae, right next to the park.
They don’t have a premium price, at W2,500 to W4,000 per roll. The flavors include donkkaseu (pork cutlet), barbecued pork (regular and spicy), fiery pork and chilies, double cheese, fried shrimp, canned tuna with fresh wasabi, spicy tuna, barbecue gochujang, and chicken & broccoli.
Wasabi tuna kimbap
Barbecued pork kimbap
We tried the basic barbecued pork (숯불 김밥 sutbul kimbap) and the tuna wasabi (생와사비 참차 김밥 saeng wasabi kimbap). The pork was a basic smoky pork like you’d find in a triangle kimbap in a convenience store–but fresher. We really enjoyed the wasabi tuna. It was like a tuna fish sandwich with just enough nose sting from the wasabi–enough to get a kick without being overwhelming.
I’m starting to see and hear of other stores selling upgraded kimbap. Have you tried any?
March 31, 2014
Review: Schneeballen Korea's Schneeball Cookies
Like any city, Seoul goes through seemingly random food trends and fads. Once such a trend hits, you’re bound to see the same food or dish almost everywhere from street food carts to even high end restaurants sometimes.

One such trend that has arrived in Seoul recently is a type of German cookie/pastry called schneeball. From what I’ve read online, this cookie is traditionally made by taking rolled out shortcrust dough and cutting out strips which are then arranged over a stick into the shape of a ball and then deep fried, dusted with confectioner’s sugar or coated with other toppings.

I first began seeing these curious shaped ball cookies on the streets of Myeongdong where these strange ball-like cookies were being sold from street cart vendors. They didn’t resemble anything Korean and I presumed somewhere some bakery had made this a hit and had sparked the inevitable copycats on the streets.

My assumptions proved correct as I found out a company called Schneeballen Korean has aggressively been ramping up their presence with their own stores and department store corners.

Picture from the Schneeballen Korea Facebook page

A friend, on her way from stopping by a shop in a department store, surprised me with a pack one day where we sampled the cookies together.

Five total schneeballens within

I’m not much of a sweets guy in general so I might have ended up buying one one day out of sheer curiosity but I would’ve never bought myself such a large pack O_O In any case, I was able to sample five different flavors from this company.

Here’s the explanation on the back of the wrapping

Though originally schneeballe comes dusted with sugar, at these Korean stores you can get an assortment of different flavors including some curious ones involving garlic or onion.

The first one I opened up was a brightly yellow colored banana flavored cookie.

A schneeball next to my camera lens cover for a size comparison

Each ball was big enough to fit in one’s hand. The banana flavored one came dusted in bright yellow banana powder. Though I didn’t have the traditional wooden mallet on hand, I took out my regular hammer and, after wrapping up the schneeball, gave it a few good whacks.

After whack whacking

Cracking it open, I could see the layer of icing that had been drizzled over the cookie before receiving its banana powder dusting.

The cookie was crunchy, slightly harder and denser than a tortilla chip. The icing provided the sweet kick while the banana powder brought out flavors reminiscent of the popular banana milk around Korea.

Over the next few days (schneeballe apparently have a slightly longer shelf life being a dry cookie) I tried out the other flavors including…

Chocolate…

White chocolate…

Strawberry…

And finally a coconut flakes one.

After sampling a few of the cookies I was very unimpressed with them. The various flavorings and coatings all taste quite a bit artificial with tastes similar to artificial strawberry milk, artificial banana, etc. Given the gourmet packaging and such, I expected a more luxurious taste would naturally follow but they were the sort of taste and flavors one can easily get from the cookies and other baked treats from your local convenience store.

Now, I can’t say my assessment of schneeballes in general from Schneeballen Korea is the real deal since I haven’t had an authentic one from Germany or anywhere else outside of Korea. Once I perused the Schneeballen Korea site, I found the brand is one that is under a “Sand and Food” company which is a Korean corporation. In addition to the Schneeballen Korea brand, it manages a line of cinnamon buns and cafes too.

It seems we have yet another case of a Korean corporation looking to make a new big food trend by taking in a food from abroad, Korean-izing it, packaging it nicely, getting some stars to advertise it (in Schneeballen Korea’s case, Tiger JK and Yoon Mirae) and including fancy words appealing to Koreans (“European Style Bakery” for example). The fact Schneeballen Korea is also trying to market it as a high end product is evident to me as they are aggressively opening corners within high end department stores and also doing a number of promotions with hotels. The brand has begun capitalizing on current food trends by even offering its own take of the popular cronuts and has also begun expanding into the Japanese market.

I was passing by a Schneeballen Korea store in Hongdae the other day and saw each cookie being sold for over 4,000 won! They’re even looking to profit off the wooden mallets!

Oh my…

For that price and for what these cookies essentially are (fried bits of dough rolled in cheap flavorings) this sort of price is definitely not justified. I’d understand the price if the toppings were more luxurious (real pistachio bits or real dark chocolate, etc) or even as far fetched as them bringing in some master baker who churned these out from a bakery… but sorry Schneeballen Korea, you’re not getting another won from me.

And I’m fairly certain your trend will be short-lived…. (oops, I said it!)
October 13, 2013
TRENDWATCH: Sugar Cane Juice
You can tell when a vendor has had some success at one of the many food expos during the year. It looks like sugar cane juicers hit it big.
There are three major areas where I check for street food trends, Insa-dong, Myeong-dong, and Hongdae. I first saw this in Hongdae last month, and I saw it again last weekend in Myeong-dong. Last year it looked to be fresh squeezed lemonade and, to a smaller extent, coconuts with straws stuck in them. Now we have vendors with stainless steel machines squeezing the juice out of sugar canes. When dunked in ice, they are surprisingly refreshing. Though I don’t see myself outright craving a cup.
June 17, 2013
TRENDWATCH: Schneeballen
These have been popping up in various places around Seoul. They originate from Rothenberg, Germany, one of my favorite places in Europe, but I had not seen them when I lived in Germany. It does look like they do have some copycats jumping on the trend, though.
They come in different sweet and savory flavors. I got one that was coconut and banana, and it was a good choice.
So, what the freak are they?
The best I can describe it is sugar ice cream cones coated in flavorings then layered like jawbreakers into balls. You buy what you want then go to the Cracking Zone.
This one cafe next to the Hongdae playground had the Cracking Zone set up conspicuously at the front window for all passers-by to see.
Here is the result of my SMASH!! The cases they’re in are refrigerated, and they did taste good cold. You should carry a beverage with you, though, as it gets rich on the throat after a while. But they’re a good bit of fun. A little thicker than ice cream cones, but they have that satisfying crunch without being too sweet.
Here’s Seattle-based food writer Jay Friedman whacking out a ball. To read his take on it, go to Serious Eats.
June 17, 2013
Bamboo Salt Almonds
As I mentioned, I need a mid-afternoon snack. I find that a bag o’ nuts does me fine. My usual mixed nuts I couldn’t find at E-Mart. But I saw these.
Aw, I had to try it out.
Bamboo salt is a Korean way of making salt by putting brine into bamboo and roasting it over a fire multiple times. It’s supposed to have a lot of health properties. I’m not so sure about that–until we actually see the scientific method being applied to these claims. It’s also one of the most expensive salts in the world. Maybe they’ve come up with a cheaper industrial method to manufacture it because this nutsack was one of the cheapest of the lot.
This caught my eye.
98.53% Almonds. 0.51% Bamboo Salt.
So what’s the remaining 0.96%–PEOPLE???
The taste? They taste like salted almonds. If I didn’t know there was anything special about them, I’d notice nothing. But I do note a little foresty back note.
Hold on. One just fell down my shirt.
Like a roasted woody aroma. It’s very brief. Good almonds, though.
October 12, 2012
Self-serve Beer Bars
I’d been hearing about self-serve beer bars not only opening but exploding in Seoul. These types of bars exist in other cities around the world, but it’s a very new concept in Korea, and it’s catching on quickly. Import beers are becoming popular with young Korean adults. FTAs with countries have been coming into effect recently. Import beer prices are going down.
This type of bar is more than a bar. It’s a phenomenon that has occurred at just the right time. Beer in Korea has so long been dominated by the big three brewers, Cass, OB, and Hite, most of which taste like watered-down corn tea. Imports have been formidably expensive, especially in bars. With a self-serve concept like this, there is less overhead in labor, making it easier for young adults to experiment with different flavors.
Education is something that popped out in my mind when I checked out one of the new dominant players, Maekju Barket (맥주 Barket), started by the founder of the famous Wa Bar franchise. At the table there are placemats that explain the properties of different beer glasses. At the beer coolers, they have current popularity rankings for the beers in stock. In the restroom, even, there was a taste guide posted above the urinal created by a self-proclaimed “beer stylist.”
Yes, the beer coolers. This is how it works. You head to the beer coolers. Each cooler has a price on the door, signifying what the beers in there cost. They also have some of the glasses that correspond with the brands. There are also options for spirits and mixers.
I started off with a Samuel Adams in a Bitburger glass, combining two of my faves in a way. You don’t know what ya got till it’s gone, and that’s true with Sammy. I have always loved it but haven’t gotten to drink in much in the eight years I’ve been in Korea. So enjoying it in a Bitburger glass, one of my favorites pilsen from my time in Germany, just made it perfect.
How do they know what you drank?
There’s a red basket at the table. Load it up with the bottles from the evening, bring it to the cashier, pay, and go.
They also have self-serve popcorn, chips and snacks like you’d find at a convenience store, and even some typical anju. Though from the look of the anju menu, I don’t suggest going there hungry–just thirsty.
The owner of Maekju Barket has the target of opening a hundred bars by the end of this year. This is such a great concept. The interior is clean with blonde wood but not sterile. It’s warm. It has music at the right volume where you can hear the other person talk but still have a feeling of aural privacy. It’s exactly the type of place I want to go to with my friends.
April 6, 2012
Finds and Trends at Korea Food Expo 2011
Last month was the annual Korea Food Expo at the COEX, which seems to be getting bigger each year. To me, this is a theme park. They have one section that is like a museum of Korean cuisine. Then there’s a section of Korean vendors. This year it looked to be organized by region. And there’s the international vendor section, where I usually get buzzed from sake samples. Here are some finds.
In the culture hall, they had exhibits on people globalizing Korean cuisine. ZenKimchi fave Hooni Kim and his restaurant Danji had a nice showing.
These were taken with my Galaxy S phone, and something smeared on the lens. Kinda has a Xanadu feel.
Some new sauces are coming out. In fact, I’ve already seen them at my E-Mart. Soy sauces with lemon and ginger flavors and something called “Pickle Sauce,” which I think is for quick home pickling.
CJ had an exhibit of the products they were exporting to Japan and America. This fancy looking makkolli was for Japan.
Here’s the array, under the Bibigo label. The exports to America are mostly sauces, seaweed, and instant rice.
Some sweet wines, called Muju, were popular. The blueberry I liked–not by itself, but it would be a good cocktail mixer.
Jeju abalone shell trinkets. A lot like mother of pearl. And inexpensive too.
In the Andong section, they had their famous version of shikhye–a sweet rice punch.
And you gotta have your Andong soju, in classic bottle form
or Hahoe mask form
or golf club form?
Here was one of the big finds. An Andong company is developing a Korean proscuitto with the name Corescuitto. They had no samples yet.
They did have a model, though. This was a topic of heated debate among my friends. Part of it was, “That’s some gall to outright copy Italian prosciutto techniques.” But the other side was, “Yet they’re using Korean pork, which is good quality. And it will be cheaper.”
The Jeju section was my favorite. They were showcasing a lot of products, including this Herb Water. Very different take on bottled water with lemongrass and rosemary flavors. They also had “Herb Cool” body spray, which I have a sample of at home. Makes your skin feel cool like a Peppermint Patty.
This is also where I had found the Yeonggyul, which I had posted about earlier.
The gadgets section had a few finds, like this draft makkolli machine. I think they missed the point of the enjoyment of both draft beer and the enjoyment of makkolli. Draft beer is tapped fresh from a keg so you get the freshest flavors. Makkolli’s character comes from its natural carbonation. This machine kills both of those. The method is to pour bottles of makkolli into the machine. It spins the liquid to cool it down while also agitating the bubbles. You end up with a flat glass of makkolli. It’s like pouring bottles of beer into a washing machine and drinking them from a spout.
So yeah, they missed the point.
This machine sucks the dust off your shoes. I wish I could just watch the customers’ reactions at the first restaurant that installs this.
I also sampled a lot of makkolli in the process. My favorite was this one. Ginseng-infused makkolli. The reddish brown bottle had the fullest flavor. Very earthy natural and uniquely Korean flavor.
That’s all I have from this year. The Andong proscuitto and Jeju yeonggyul were promising. Not so sure about the draft makkolli.
December 21, 2011
PB Sighting: Banh Mi
The Vietnamese hoagie that was trendy in America is popping its buns up in Korea. This chicken version was sighted and eaten at Paris Croissant in Yeouido. I’m no Banh Mi connoisseur, but I liked it.
September 23, 2011