Speaking of Korean ginseng chicken soup restaurant (or samgyetang restaurant in Korean terms), Korea Samgyetang (고려삼계탕) has been a household name since it opened its door back in 1960. It's one of the oldest samgyetang restaurant in town, if not the oldest one.
The location of Korea Samgyetang is just perfect for us. Situated close to the City Hall subway station, it's just a good 10-minute walk from our hotel so that by itself is already a good reason to back up our decision to come here for dinner following a hardworking day of shopping in Hongdae for most of us.
Unlike most traditional samgyetang restaurants in Seoul, this is pretty clean and well organized. You see different kinds of samgyetang on the menu ranging from the original samgyetang to others with wild ginseng, black-bone chicken and abalone. They're obviously very careful in picking out their ingredients as their ginseng is mostly Geumsan ginseng while their dates normally come from Gyeongsan.
Starting things off for us was sansam Samgyetang (21,000 won), or chicken broth with Korean wild ginseng served in a traditional iron pot. This is surprisingly bland and the broth felt a little too watery for my liking. Other than the decent texture of the chicken, I am afraid this is not getting a passing grade from me.....
Their Jeonbokjuk (15,000 won), or rice porridge with abalone, on the other hand, was surprisingly good. I like the seaweed, dates and sesame (and diced abalone too) in there giving it a bit more texture (I am sure they are there for nutritional reasons too.).
Walking back to the City hall is just a breeze. It's still not late to squeeze in some more shopping in Myeongdong but everyone looks a little beat up by now so perhaps it's time to crash as we have a full day of activities ahead tomorrow.
Food Rating: 4/10
Price: ₩₩₩
Address: 5-1, Sejong-daero 23-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: City Hall
Tel: +82 2-737-1888
Website: www.krsamgyetang.com/main/?load_popup=1
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