Day 2 in Seoul: Gyeongbokgung Palace --> Tosokchon Samgyetang --> Bukchon Hanok Village
This is another one where practically almost everyone (in person and online) tells you that it is a MUST-GO. Legit. EVERY SINGLE PERSON. Even if they couldn't recall the name of the restaurant, its "You MUST GO to this famous ginseng chicken place!"
Ok, got the message. And since it is only a walking distance from Gyeongbokgung Palace, that's where we headed for lunch after touring the palace. I had initially wanted to visit the museums within Gyeongbokgung but mom said she was way too hungry for museums.
Less than 10 minutes later, we arrived at the famous Tosokchon Samgyetang restaurant. I was actually quite surprised that there was no queue even though we arrived during lunch hour. Yay! Hurry for us!
We were very promptly ushered into the spacious Hanok-styled restaurant. There are options for the traditional sit-on-floor or table-and-chair arrangement. I believe the staff's usual habit is to sit people on the floor, so do make the request upfront if you want the table-and-chairs option. Else you might get the same annoyed face we got when we later realised that there were chairs which my mom preferred for her mobility issues.
Excuse my less than stellar shots of the menu. We were shoved into a pretty tight corner and this was the best I could manage in that cramped space with the iPhone.
My parents and I ordered 2 versions, their signature Ginseng Chicken Soup and the other one with the Wild Ginseng Adventitious Roots. My advice, just stick to the signature one. The roots added a slight punch to the herbal taste but otherwise, there really isn't much difference in taste between the two.
We also added the Haemul Pajeon when we realised that almost every other table also had a plate of it. Unfortunately, we couldn't finish it. Not because it was awful. On the contrary, I enjoyed the savory pancake thoroughly. However, we were just too full from our individual bowls of the ginseng chicken soup.
You know those situations where you anticipate something so much, or the hype has been built so high, that when you actually get to it, you come off slightly disappointed?
Well, that's what happened to us at Tosokchon.
And here's the second "Don't get me wrong". It's not that the food was terrible. Each bowl came with a whole chicken stuffed with a ginseng root, glutinous rice, chestnuts, jujube and ginko nuts. The chicken was tender and the meat easily fell off the bones with each tug of our chopsticks. The milky broth was piping hot and soothed our tummies on a chilly day. The soup also had just the right amount of oil from boiling the chicken that leaves you with that lip smacking feel of a well-boiled soup. I also enjoyed the small cup of Insamju (ginseng liquor) provided and (as my mom has an alcohol allergy) gladly poured my mom's cup into my soup to enhance the taste.
The kimchi was also one of the best I had during my time in Seoul. I considered hauling some of the ginseng liquor and kimchi home but eventually decided against it.
But that's about it. With all that hype, I had actually anticipated something earth-shattering, you know, food so yummy it sends a punch to your gut. Well, the food is good but not the gut-punching good I was looking for. I think I probably would have enjoyed it more if I didn't learn of the hype around it. But it really just wasn't the same unlike when I visited Ichiran or Ippudo in Japan.
Yummy, worth a visit. But go without expectations. Oh and don't expect great service.
Tourist Information
Tosokchon Samgyetang
Website: www.tosokchon.co.kr/
Address: 5, Jahamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03041
DID: +82 2-737-7444
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