As Seen Abroad: The Best Restaurant in Seoul is $8

We’re on vacation! For the first time since we started this blog, we’re traveling abroad. As we journey across Asia, Europe, and America, we’ll update with some of the fun places we visit. Yay!

Deep in the sexy beating breast of Seoul lies Insadong, a neighborhood known for its laid-back vibe and the fact that autocorrect thinks I’m trying to say Invading. It’s home to Changgyeonggung Palace, the old-timey Bukchon Hanok Village, and many, many eateries and trendy coffee places.

I don’t really know what counts as Insadong proper and what’s in the surrounding neighborhoods, but nearby you’ll also find the sprawling Gwangjang Market, home to lots of spicy rice cakes and clothes, as well as clusters of tiny sales districts, where stores are organized by what they sell: six jewelry stores in a row, followed by four sewing machine stores, followed by a block of machine shops, etc. It’s a fantastic place to explore, and if you prefer coffee shops to bars, you’ll have a good time here.

This is my third time in Seoul, and 90% of my time in the city has been spent in this neighborhood. There are many reasons: it’s easy to walk around, nothing’s too crowded, stuff gets going rather late in the day so you can sleep in if you want, and the Ibis Ambassador Insadong is there (a fantastic budget hotel where the rooms aren’t too tiny). But the main reason is that the best restaurant in all of Korea is hidden here, and it’s incredibly cheap.

The restaurant: welcome to Talk Talk

My favorite restaurant in Seoul is called: 토담토담

To the best of my knowledge, that name translates to “Talk Talk.” If it doesn’t, then… oops.

They specialize in bulgogi beef hotpot. Most of the time when you’re at a restaurant in Seoul, someone will speak English (often fluently with hardly a trace of accent). This place is not like that. Though there’s an English menu, the old couple that run the joint speak not a single word of English. I once tried asking them if they had tea, and the word “tea” in English and Japanese stumped them completely (and I don’t like tea enough to learn the word in Korean, so I guess I have a lot in common with these two). So when we ate here this time, I did what I’d done the first time I randomly stumbled in here five years ago: I pointed at the picture of the beef hotpot and they brought it.

The food: an amazing bulgogi hotpot

As you can see, a big pot of beef, onions, mushrooms, glass noodles, bamboo shoots, and whatever else is in there is left to simmer on the burner on your table, with the owners periodically coming to turn down the temperature as you enjoy the smattering of side dishes. Before there was always standard kimchi (which I never like in America but find delicious in Korea), though this time it was spicy tofu and some really tasty vegetables.

After the pot has had time to simmer, you can ladle some into your bowl and eat it along with some rice. The beef and vegetables and noodles are all fine, but the star here is the broth. It’s sweet, beefy, tangy, sexy, dreamy, luscious, orgasmic, phantasmic, celestial, breastial, perfect. One bite, and I was transported back to when I’d first tried it and reminded of why I keep coming back here. Eriko had a strong reaction too.

The reaction: my wife leaves me for a bowl of broth

“Oh my! So delicious! I can drink forever!”

Not only is “I can drink forever” a strong endorsement, it’s also the same thing I said right before my last trip to the emergency room.

What makes the hotpot experience even better is that as you eat, the broth continues to reduce, making the flavor more concentrated and EVEN MORE BEEFY AND DELICIOUS. We stuffed ourselves so full we wanted to die, and then I continued eating because I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving behind any beef. The last spoonful of broth was so strong it almost knocked me out.

In the end, we each paid 1,100 won, which is the equivalent of about $8. Truly, this is the best restaurant in all of Seoul.

But Gregg, how could you know that? You’ve been like nine places in Seoul.

My answer to that is simple: shut up. Shut up right now. You sound like an idiot. This is my favorite place and therefore it is the best place. End of discussion.

Where is this place?

As you can see from the maps above, Talk Talk is in the Insadong area, on a street filled with delicious food, just a couple blocks south of the Ibis Ambassador. I know little about it, but there is a Google entry for it, so you can learn where and what it is in the event that it is not actually called Talk Talk.

In conclusion, I love this restaurant with a sinful passion. It goes on my list of top five favorite restaurants I’ve ever eaten at, along with Franklin BBQ, Bougatsa Chania, Larchmont Wine & Cheese, Irv’s Burgers, and my sixth man, Wakkoqu.

If you are in Seoul, go eat at this place. You will love it or I will fight you.