Convenience store food is fine with me, but when time permits, a nice hot meal from a proper eatery or restaurant is most welcome. Here are some of the restaurants whose names we never made the effort to learn to read, but restaurants we made the effort to go to:
We arrived at Jeju R Hotel & Guesthouse, where we would be staying in Jeju City, before 1PM and we were quite hungry. We asked the receptionist for a recommendation and he suggested this small restaurant, just a 400-meter walk from the guesthouse.
Since it was already almost 1PM, the restaurant only had one other customer. The menu board was in Hangul or Korean, but, by some magic—just kidding, the staff helped us though she herself did not speak English—we were able to order kimchi stew with pork (6000 won) and stir fried spicy pork (7000 won).
I can eat spicy food but my tolerance for it is not high. Thankfully the stew and the spicy pork were just right for me—enough to make my nose run. A runny nose could not stop me from eating the last morsel of the spicy pork and the last drop of stew. I love Korean food!
Stir fried spicy pork
Kimchi stew with pork, surrounded by a bunch of side dishes
Heuk dwaeji or black pork is a popular Jeju food. Heuk dwaeji is not black-colored pork, but just meat from a black pig. I have tried this the previous year, but since it's my friend's first time in Jeju, I thought she should also try it. This restaurant, also recommended by our guesthouse's receptionist, is just 500 meters from the guesthouse.
The menu board was in Hangul or Korean, and the staff did not speak English. One side of the restaurant looked like it was a meatshop: there were glass cases of meat on display. We, including the server, laughed because we couldn't understand each other. The server had a brainwave and led us to the glass cases and helped us choose a portion of meat which ended up on the grill on our table. We were laughing while grilling and eating our dinner of pork (but the fatty portion, I did not enjoy much) and a bunch of side dishes. The server kept laughing and looking our way; I guess she was preparing herself on how to communicate with us in case we needed help. It was probably a huge relief for her when the only time we called her was when we were ready to pay the bill, which was 40,000 won (for two persons).
Heuk dwaeji and a bunch of side dishes
On my first visit to Jeju, my Korean friend brought me to 자매국수 to try gogi guksu (noodles in pork broth) but the queue was long and we were too hungry to wait, so we ended up trying gogi guksu in the restaurant next door. That bowl of gogi guksu was a tasty memory and I figured the long queue at 자매국수 meant they served an even tastier gogi guksu. I made sure to include 자매국수 in the itinerary for my 2019 trip to Jeju. And to go before the dinner rush. Which was the right move. We didn't have to queue, but not long after we were seated, empty tables were soon snatched up. Proof that this place is very popular. And its gogi guksu lived up to its popularity. I wished I had ordered two bowls for myself! (A bowl of gogi guksu at 자매국수 costs 8000 won.)
Gogi guksu
This article is now available as a mobile app. Go to GPSmyCity to download the app for GPS-assisted travel directions to the attractions featured in this article.
Jeju and Busan, April 2019
Jeju Accommodation: Jeju R Hotel & Guesthouse
Traveling Around Jeju by Bus Plus KakaoMap (2019)
Eats from Jeju City Restaurants I Can't Read the Names Of (you're
here!)
Jeju City Lights: Iho Tewoo Beach and Jeju Light Art Festa
Geomun Oreum and Manjanggul Lava Tube
Art and Nature in Seogwipo City
Jeju Olle: Udo Island
Jeju Olle: Gapado Island
Busan Accommodation: One Way Guesthouse
Where and What We Ate in Busan
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