[FOOD COURT] The best places to eat near Sookmyung Women's University

K-campus

Published: 31 Jan. 2023, 16:15 Updated: 03 Mar. 2023, 18:22

[FOOD COURT] The best places to eat near Sookmyung Women's University

Goobok Mandu's eponymous signature dish, front, and shrimp dumplings. [LEE TAE-HEE]

The 1-kilometer (0.6-mile) from Sookmyung Women's University Station to the school is home to a wide variety of restaurants to even the most picky eater.

Visitors will mostly notice bars and big franchise restaurants when they first step out of the subway station, with the more affordable restaurants targeting students found closer to the university itself. The neighborhood is located in the heart of Seoul, close to major landmarks like Seoul Station, also bringing a lot of customers to the area looking for a good meal.

If you're a student at the school or you're in central Seoul looking for something to eat, here are some recommendations for a satisfying meal near Sookmyung Women's University.

Goobok Mandu

Goobok Mandu's menu is simple, only selling four types of dumplings. One of its signature dishes is the eponymous goobok mandu, giving the restaurant its name because it uses a family recipe passed down to the owner. Unlike other dumplings, its first fried in oil and then steamed in hot water, which gives it a very thin and crispy golden crust while the filling maintain a soft texture.

Instead of dipping the dumplings in simple soy sauce, the restaurant advises customers add extra condiments such as thinly cut-up ginger and green onion. If you are someone who likes spice, adding pinches of red pepper powder will give the dumplings a kick.

Shrimp dumplings sold at Goobok Mandu. [LEE TAE-HEE]

Apart from the goobok mandu, the restaurant also sells shrimp dumplings (8,000 won) and kimchi dumplings (7,000 won). The xiao long bao (8,000 won), or soup dumplings, is also a good choice if you are looking for a warm dish in the winter.

The restaurant isn't only a favourite of Sookmyung Women's University students. Goobok Mandu has been selected for the Michelin Guide's Bib Gourmand list every year since 2018. Due to its popularity, visitors should expect a queue during peak hours.

@goobokmandu_official
7 Duteopbawi-ro, Yongsan District, central Seoul
Business hours: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. (break time 3 p.m. - 4 p.m.)
02-797-8656

Bistro B1

Basil ricotta tomato sold at Bistro B1 [B1]

Bistro B1 is a restaurant selling western dishes such as pasta and risotto, located in the middle of the main road in front of Sookmyung Women's University.

One of its signature pasta dishes is duxelles pasta, using thick cream sauce flavored with four types of mushrooms that are diced and sautéed. Additional slices of mushroom are placed on dish, with drops of truffle oil also adding flavor.

Kimchi fried rice is another best-seller. Although some may be surprised to see fried rice at a western-style restaurant, the dish doesn't follow the well-known Korean recipe. The restaurant tops it with sauce mixed with cream and ranch, making it less spicy than a typical kimchi fried rice. Grated cheese is also sprinkled on top, along with a poached egg.

Bistro B1 tends to have a queue during busy hours. If you don't like to wait, the restaurant takes reservations by phone and Instagram, so try saving a spot beforehand.

@bistro_b1
36 Cheongpa-ro 45-gil, Yongsan District, central Seoul
Business hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11:50 a.m. - 10 p.m. (break time 3 p.m. - 5 p.m., last order for lunch by 2:30 p.m. and last order for dinner by 9 p.m.)
0507-1372-7174

Cafe SIVA

Ragu hamburg steak sold at Cafe SIVA [LEE TAE-HEE]

The SIVA in Cafe SIVA stands for Serve International Vegan Awareness, and it is a vegan restaurant like the name suggests.

The restaurant offers a range of food including fried chicken, pasta and hamburgers, but of course all without any meat. Its patties that go in the ragu hamburg steak pasta are made of vegan mince and lentil beans, with the owners making fresh batches on site.

There are other dishes that don't use any alternative meat. The fried chicken with spicy sauce is made from mushrooms, but mimics the taste by replicating the spicy and tangy sauce. Kansho shrimp, or deep-fried shrimp in sweet and sour chili sauce, replaces the shrimp with konjac.

Cafe SIVA is more than just a place to eat, with the second floor of the restaurant used as a yoga studio. There's also plenty of books about both veganism and yoga around the restaurant, so try skimming one while you're waiting for the food.

@cafe.siva
276-1 Hangang-daero, Yongsan District, central Seoul
Business hours: Tuesday to Sunday 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. (break time 3 p.m. - 5 p.m., last order by 8 p.m.)
0507-1352-1339

Kkachi House

Kkachi House's jjolsun, spicy tofu stew with chewy noodles, and pork cutlet. [LEE TAE-HEE]

Kkachi House is a restaurant that many generations of students remember, staying open in front of Sookmyung Women's University since 1983. The restaurant offers a dish known as jjolsun (7,500 won), or spicy tofu stew with chewy noodles. The soup also has cut-up garaetteok, or cylindrical-shaped rice cakes, that add a bit of texture.

But that's not the only item on the menu, with the restaurant also offering a long list to choose from, including pork cutlet, kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew), ramyeon and fried rice. Its pork cutlet follows the Korean adaptation of the Japanese tonkatsu, made thinner by pounding and stretching the meat. Pork cutlet sauce tends to be both sweet and savory, but Kkachi House's is on the savory side.

If you want to try more than one dish, try going for the combo menu. It allows customers to go for various combinations — jjolsun and pork cutlet, jjolsun and fried rice and jjolsun and naengmyeon (cold noodles) — for 10,000 won each.

@kkachihouse
18 Cheongpa-ro 45-gil, Yongsan District, central Seoul
Business hours: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. (last order by 8:30 p.m.)
02-715-0806