Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai • 툭툭누들타이

I have heard about Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai Restaurant (툭툭누들타이) for a couple of years now. Recommended by friends and read about it online, it seems like this place has held its popularity for a couple of years now and even made it to 2018 MICHELIN Guide Seoul list. I finally got to try this place a while ago and I have to say, the experience wasn’t disappointing and I ended up coming back to this place on different occasions after that.

Tuk Tuk Noddle Thai serves all the food that you would expect from a Thai restaurant and they taste delicious. Not surprising since the chef is a Thai native. If you wanna try their delicious selections, you might wanna come with friends so you can order a couple of dishes to share. But if you’re more of a solo diner (like me), don’t worry, there’s also plenty of options to choose from.

Tips from me, go during odd hours to avoid the line. I never actually encountered a line since I always went during odd hours, but I’m pretty sure they got pretty busy during lunch and dinner hours since there’s a ticket machine for you to take a number from to wait for tables. Or if you go in smaller groups, there’s a higher probability for you to get seated faster if you don’t mind seating at the bar.

Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai • 툭툭누들타이

Address: 서울특별시 마포구 연남동 223-15 1층
Telephone: 070-4407-5130
Lunch Hours: 11:30 - 3:30 (Weekdays) / 12:00 - 4:00 (Weekends)
Dinner Hours: 5:00 - 10:00 (Last Order 09:00)

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Meet Market • 미트마켓

For my friends who have known me long enough and have grabbed a meal with me on different occasions, they all probably know about my fondness for meat and rice. I have to say, prior coming to this place, I've had a really good piece of steak and a really good rice meal, but never had steak AND rice at the same time. The two don't really go together you know, especially growing up in western countries where rice is not a main staple. I've gotten used to the fact that I usually have my steak with mashed potatoes, asparagus, or salads on the side. But never a well-cooked rice. So imagined my surprise when I had my first meal at Meet Market (미트마켓), where they serve their steak with asparagus AND rice! Seeing two of my most favorite food in one plate, I was beyond ecstatic!

And it didn't stop there. The steak was perfectly cooked—it got some crispy parts on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside—just the way I like it. The meat, asparagus, and rice was perfectly seasoned too. Everything was delicious, including the soup and salad that they served for the appetizers. The service was excellent and they have an open kitchen so I was able to see the chefs doing their thing. This place is probably one of my favorite restaurants in Seoul. Sadly, I think they are no longer at this location that I've visited. I'm not sure if they closed down or moved to a different location but I just found it this place has now been replaced by a bakery cafe. Even so, thought It'd still be fun to share this story ;)

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Izawa • 이자와

Izawa (이자와) is another gyukatsu (규카츠) restaurant that is nearby Atto Gyukatsu that I've shared a couple of posts ago. This place, also in a basement, has a slightly bigger seating area compared to the other place. Gyukatsu (규카츠) is what I always order, and sometimes their Steak Don (스테이시동) if I come with a friend and we want to mix it up a bit and order to share. Their set menu comes with salad, side dishes, miso soup and rice and if you ordered their 2 persons set menu, it also comes with a choice of drink. I personally come here more often cos I like their gyukatsu slightly better. I think the beef is more tender and the stone plate grill that they use makes it easier to grill the meat (plus they change the grill plate for you quite a bit so your meat doesn't stick to the grill).

I've came here a couple of times and the place is pretty packed during lunch and dinner hours (you might have to wait in line for a bit, especially if you come in big groups more than 4 people). But Koreans usually eat pretty fast, so the wait time is not that long. Or you can always come before or after the lunch/dinner rush, like I do all the time ;)

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Izawa (이자와)

Address: 서울특별시 서대문구 연세로 29 지하 1층
Telephone: 02-322-5776
Hours: 11:00 - 22:00
Break Time: 15:30 - 16:30 (Weekdays)

Atto Gyukatsu • 아토 규카츠

Gyukatsu (규카츠) was one of the food that became 'a thing' in Seoul last year. Or at least according to my observations since I encountered quite a number of newly opened gyukatsu places around Seoul and started to see more pictures of it online afterwards. And when one of my favorite restaurant moved away from its original spot and replaced by a gyukatsu restaurant, I felt like it was a perfect time to try it out.

Atto Gyukatsu (아토 규카츠) in Sinchon (신촌) was the first place I got a taste of these delicious deep-fried breaded beef cutlets. I ordered the one person gyukatsu set meal which was served with rice, miso soup, and side dishes. The server gave me instructions on how to cook the meat according to your liking, put wasabi on top of it, dip it in the sauces and all that while putting down the tray in front of me. I followed his instructions and started eating. And man it was good. The meat was tender despite of the crunchy breading and the sauce goes well with the meat and rice. I personally feel the wasabi was unnecessary, but hey, I don't really like spicy food in general so for those who do, it might be better with the wasabi. If you are around Sinchon, this place might be worth a try. The restaurant is actually located in the basement so look out for their entrance (pictured below) and just follow down the stairs to the entrance.

p.s: There's actually another gyukatsu place that I visit quite frequently around here that I'll be sharing soon. Stay tuned! ;)

 

Atto Gyukatsu (아토 규카츠)

Address: 서울특별시 서대문구 명물길 38
Tel: 02-363-4588
Hours: 11:00 - 22:30
Break Time: 15:30 - 16:30
Subway: Sinchon Station. Exit 3.

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Suminine • 수민이네

For lunch, we headed to Suminine (수민이네), another recommendations from my friend, Sally. We stepped into their main dining area and took a seat on the green plastic chairs surrounding one of the empty tables. The place was not too busy. It was filled with a couple of locals who seemed to have picked the same place to get lunch as us. After hearing the recommended menu from our server, we ended up ordering 조개구이 for two persons. Our server came back not too long after with our order and start grilling the food for us and it was delicious. Everything was nicely seasoned and cooked (and probably the fact that we were pretty hungry just made it even better). After we finished our lunch, we just hung around for a bit and I took a walk around the restaurant. I wasn't expecting this, but the view outside the restaurant wasn't bad either. Must be pretty nice to have a meal with this kinda view. Maybe not on a hot summer day like when we were there though.

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