Every Corner of Korea

Alleyway taste trip to another world, Yeonnam-dong alley food and coffee shop - Mapo-gu, Seoul, Korea

Taco and Quesadilla of Bemucho Cantina, Mexican family meal

Alleyway taste trip to another world, Yeonnam-dong alley food and coffee shop

Mapo-gu, Seoul, Korea

When you cross a crossing in Hongdae Street, crowded with crowds all day, you meet Yeonnam-dong, which leads to an old and alley. Narrow alleys, Yeonnam-dong Alleys, filled with analogue sensibility and vintage charm, are filled with strange and fresh taste and aroma.
Except for more than 50 m, an exotic day at the Thai restaurant 'Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai', 'Coffee Shop Issim', 'Coffee Breve', Mexican restaurant 'Bemucho Cantina', and curry restaurant 'Himeji' Is simple, comfortable, fragrant and plain.
Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai Appetizer, Fried Shrimp Pork
Nice place to walk slowly alone, Yeonnam-dong alleyway
There are such people. An alley that only I know, a gourmet that only goes to me. The small desire to keep everyone's own space without wanting to inform anyone seems to be selfish and timid, but the inner heart of saving that space is more affectionate and passionate than anyone else. This is the heart of people who love the alleys of Yeonnam-dong.
After walking off the bustling street at the intersection of Exit 3 of Hongik University Subway Station and walking for about 10 minutes on the left side of the street, you will see a small alley going down the side of the Kimbab House. This is a small alley leading to Yeonhui-dong, the old address of Yeonnam-dong, located at 227. Gallery, bookstore, coffee shop, and restaurant representing Yeonnam-dong are gathered in the alleyway overlooking the neighborhood at a glance.
Gallery Barracks opened in the alley of Dongjin Market

Influencing the wind of culture and art in the alleys of Yeonnam-dong, known as Chinatown and Knights Restaurant, is a complex cultural space called 'Place Mak'

www.placemak.com

to be. It opened in 2010 and re-lighted the old alleys of the old town by collecting and displaying chairs containing the memories of residents of Yeonnam-dong. More than 30㎡, this is a non-profit space that begins as an artistic shelter for residents of Yeonnam-dong, where free and innovative exhibitions of young artists such as installation, sculpture, furniture, and paintings can be freely continued. As a small tree in front of the gallery, the gallery is like a love room in the neighborhood where anyone can look back and relax.

Gallery, Place of Culture and Art in Yeonnam-dong Alley
As you walk through the alleys of Yeonnam-dong, you'll find a bookstore that has disappeared into a faint memory due to the cafes and pubs. It is the bookstore Pinocchio (070-4025-9186), which sells picture books as the first graphic novelty store in Korea that opened a year ago.
Picture book, bookstore Pinocchio that adult and child see together
In a 20㎡ space, looking through essays, illustration books, and handmade fairy tales full of beautiful paintings, you will be moist. There are also valuable books imported from overseas in the bookshelf, where the picture books seen by adults and children are packed together.
A space full of essays and fairy tales with pretty pictures
Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai

If you've entered the alley in search of a hot place in Yeonnam-dong, you may be disappointed at the plain atmosphere of the entrance to the alley and the simple entrance down to “Tuk-tuk Noodle Thai”. A small alley that runs smoothly is beautiful after long viewing. Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai's food is also a taste that falls out once you taste it.

Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai's representative menu, Yang Yang and Yang Tam Kai
Chefs from Issan, northeast of Thailand, say the food is exceptional. That's why Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai's food is delicious. The Thai food produced by local chefs from Issan is generous and local style compared to other places, making it especially satisfying for local food lovers. When you enter the dining room, the hammock ceiling, elephant painted walls, and exotic wooden tables create an exotic atmosphere with a unique herbal scent.
Stir-fried noodles with plenty of pork and vegetables, Pad Thai
Chicken and papaya salad with curry powder and spices added to the dish, and Yom Tam Khai Yang is a signature menu of Tuktuk Noodle Thai. The crispy fried chicken and sweet and sour sweaty salad are fresh enough to fit any dish.
Crispy fried chicken and papaya salad
똠 Yang-Yang, a dish with rich broth, is a taste that combines the sour taste of tomato, lime, and lemongrass, the sweet taste of coconut milk, and the juicy texture of crayfish.
Iced tea enjoyed by Thais
In addition, you can taste over 50 different Thai dishes, such as Pad Thai, Punim Pat Pong Curry, and Chek Man Yum.
Entrance to Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai
It is also famous as a regular home for foreigners living in Korea, so reservation is required. In some cases, your reservation may be over a week ago.
Interior decorated with local Thai ornaments
Bemucho Cantina's Mexican Homestyle

Most restaurants in Yeonnam-dong are open until noon. It is a small store run by one or two people, so there are many things to prepare. “Bemucho Cantina”, with five tables, is decorated with ornaments from Mexico, the owner's hometown, and is like a pub in Mexico.

The Bemucho Cantina, shortened to the “Besame Mucho Tavern,” is a place where Mexican men and women from Yeonnam-dong meet and cook Mexican home-cooked meals. The owner, who has a strong sense of cooking experience in Mexico, offers fresh and hearty Mexican cuisine by picking local ingredients. It is basic to use fresh lettuce and tomatoes. By making use of the taste of the hometown, they produce exotic and delicious Mexican food.
Bemucho Cantina Spinach Quesadilla and Fried Chicken Tacos
Popular menu items include chicken bria, lettuce, corn, onion, paprika, sour cream, and tomato salsa sauce. Fry Chicken Taco, which is perfect for Koreans, tastes delicious with tomato salsa salad by frying the taco with chicken.
Fry Chicken Taco, the main menu of Bemucho Cantina
The husband takes care of the dishes, and the wife devotes himself to traditional Mexican drinks. Orchata, a traditional rice drink that is seasoned with sugar and cinnamon by grinding rice flour every three or four times, is often sweet and savory. There are many customers on the weekend and there are few tables, so if you make a reservation 30 minutes in advance, the table will be empty.
Cooking is more delicious with traditional Mexican beverages
Slow food, Himeji curry rice

During lunchtime, a long line of curry pours along the smell of the sweet curry. The representative menu of Himeji is curry rice. The old bicycle shop reminds me of a small home in a Japanese residential area. It is a cozy and comfortable atmosphere where the curry rice is good for indoors.

Curry rice, cooked in a Japanese style with only vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and broccoli, is familiar to us. The popular curry udon, which is eaten with curry, is also popular. The soy sauce noodles with plenty of ginger aren't Japanese soba, but the noodles that the owner used to boil with Haejang. The soft noodle goes well with the taste of the soup that opens up inside.
Himeji reminds me of a small Japanese family home
Curry rice is topped with curry sauce that is boiled and boiled in yellow and wrinkly cooked rice with turmeric. The pieces of bell peppers sprinkled like a decoration are chewed crisp and give a pleasant taste. The scent of pepper goes very well, so I eat a lot of rice by scratching it. I have never learned cooking, no restaurant experience, and no secrets, but like the taste of a mother's hand, Himeji's curry boiled for a long time without feeling spared the essence of slow food.
Coffee full of heart, coffee shop Lee Sim and coffee libre

An alley that is familiar to those visiting Yeonnam-dong is a road park path from Himeji to Bookstore Pinocchio, the back street of Dongjin Market and the next big road and Yeonnam-dong Community Service Center. There is a coffee shop that hopes to stay in Yeonnam-dong for a long time, even if a new cultural space enters the Dongjin Market, where only traces remain, and there are three or four cafes a month.

Yeonnam-dong has a coffee shop where you can drink the best coffee
There are two coffee shops in Yeonnam-dong that attract coffee enthusiasts: 'Coffee Store Lee Sim' and 'Coffee Brivre'. 'Issim', famous for its Turkish coffee, grinds coffee in a traditional way with a tool called 'Ibrick'.
Coffee shop Lee Sim is crowded with coffee lovers
For the regulars who come to buy long beans, the coffee beans piled up by Subuk and a thick roasting machine make you feel proud of good coffee.
Papua New Guinea Kimmel from drip
Coffee Libre's coffee menu that made Yeonnam-dong trouble while on the air with 'Good Coffee' is more straightforward than I thought.
Drip coffee with owner's sincerity is more fragrant
Four types of brewed coffee, espresso, americano, aeropress or french press.
Coffee Libre exterior showing the virtues of simplicity
If you buy coffee beans, a cup of coffee is free. Roasting green beans and brewing coffee all day is busy.
The medicine cabinet Kankan is full of fresh beans.
We bring in and sell the best green beans selected from the “Cup of Excellence”, which ranks the best among the beans harvested each year.
Complimentary takeaway coffee with purchase of coffee beans
Travel information

1.Access
-Go up about 200m on the left hill road from the intersection of Exit 3 of Hongik University Subway Station, turn left at the Gimbap World, and go downhill to the alleyway of Yeonnam-dong.

2. Restaurants around

Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai: Thai food / 37 Yeonhui-ro, Mapo-gu

http://blog.naver.com/tuktuknoodle

Bemucho Cantina: Mexican food / 40 Donggyo-ro 46-gil, Mapo-gu

https://www.facebook.com/bmuchocantina

Himeji: Japanese home meal / 198 Seongmisan-ro, Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu

Coffee shop Lee Shim: Turkish Coffee / 42 Donggyo-ro 46-gil, Mapo-gu

Coffee Libre: Drip coffee / 198 Seongmisan-ro, Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu

http://www.coffeelibre.kr/


3.Accommodation

Just Stay: 3, Euljiro 40-gil, Jung-gu / 02-2271-2287

Hotel Manu: 19 Toegye-ro, Jung-gu / 02-777-0100

http://www.hotelmanu.com/

Adrige Hotel: 3-6, Teheran-ro 28-gil, Gangnam-gu / 02-552-9711

※ The above information was updated in March 2017, and may be changed later, so please check before you travel.
※ Information, such as text, photos, and videos used in this article, is copyrighted by the Korea Tourism Organization, and unauthorized use of the article is prohibited.