Seoul Day 1 – Lunch at Saboten, Shinsegae Department Store, Seoul

Namdaemun Market is so huge that we didn’t notice how fast time flew by. When I looked at my watch, it’s already lunchtime. Time to find a place to eat!

One of my friends suggested walking towards Shinsegae Department Store to find a restaurant. Trying the elevator to go up to the 10^th floor seemed hopeless since it’s always filled with people. So, we ended up using the escalators instead. I didn’t mind at all because there was so much to see in the different floors while going up. However, no buying for us as we were all on a budget.

courtesy of http://english.shinsegae.com

When we got to the 10^th floor, we spotted Saboten. There was a queue of people in front of the restaurant – seems to be popular among the locals. As one of my friends is craving for this, it was decided that we will eat there. Great! We get to sample what all the hype was about. I really got excited for this one!

We were ushered to a table after waiting for about 20 minutes – not bad considering the number of people waiting outside.

Choosing from their extensive menu proved more challenging. Everything seems to be delicious – or maybe I was just too hungry to tell? It took us awhile but we ordered as soon as we can.

I got the Set Menu of Pork Cutlet and Hot Noodles since I wanted something to warm me up.

When I got my order, I immediately dumped all the other ingredients in the noodle soup for those to cook. The udon noodles were prepared nicely – soft but still have a firm texture to it. I like the clear broth that came with this one as it did not overpower any of the other ingredients. It was also a good break from the deep fried pork cutlet and shrimp. On that note, the pork cutlet is crispy on the outside but very soft on the inside – it sort of melts in your mouth actually. Likewise, the shrimp was crunchy yet retained its freshness. There were also some fish cakes that came in a stick. I like how the taste of these complemented the udon noodles to make it a fine meal.

Our lunch experience here at Saboten was definitely a good one – great food and great service.

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Up next, shopping and dinner at Myeongdong. 


Want to discover more about my 5 Days and 4 Nights in Seoul, South Korea? Just click the link.