[FOOD COURT] The best places to eat near HUFS and Kyung Hee University

Some universities are located close to each other, with students from multiple schools sharing favorite restaurants. That’s also the case for Kyung Hee and HUFS. Able to target a larger group of customers, many tasty restaurants flock to the area.

Cheeseburger sold at Hoegi Burger [HOEGI BURGER]

Some universities are located very close to each other, with students from multiple schools sharing favorite restaurants. That’s also the case for Kyung Hee University and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), both in Dongdaemun District, central Seoul, and located only 10 minutes walk from each other.

Able to target a larger group of customers — hungry students from two universities — many tasty restaurants flock to the area and have been open there for a long time. But that also means visitors have to search a bigger area to find the best restaurants to go to. If you're struggling to find the best place for dinner, here are some restaurants the Korea JoongAng Daily would like to recommend.

Chuanke

Mapo tofu, or tofu braised in spicy sauce, and guobaorou, deep-fried pork, sold at Chuanke. [LEE TAE-HEE]

Chuanke is located near the back gate of both Kyung Hee University and HUFS, in an alleyway that mostly consists of studio apartments where many students live. Although the residential area is quiet, the vibe entirely changes when you get to Chuanke. The restaurant is a favorite of many, and you are almost guaranteed to see a long line of people waiting during busy lunch and dinner hours.

The restaurant offers a variety of Chinese dishes, and is most known for its guobaorou, or deep-fried pork. The dish is priced at 16,000 won and is best if you share it with one or two friends. The pork is fried to have a thin crust, and is very crispy when you take a bite.

Another best-selling dish is the mapo tofu, tofu braised in spicy sauce, priced at 11,000 won. The dish is a bit filling for one, and is also best if ordered with another friend. The dish is on the spicy side and is best when eaten with rice. The restaurant doesn’t provide rice as standard, so don’t forget to order a bowl.

105 Imun-ro 9-gil, Dongdaemun District, central SeoulBusiness hours: Monday to Saturday 11:30 a.m. – 9:50 p.m. (break time 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.)Phone number: 02) 963-3688

Bun99

Bun rieu, pho with tomato broth, sold at Bun99 [LEE TAE-HEE]

Bun99 is slightly closer to the HUFS side of Dongdaemun, but is also easily reachable by foot even for Kyung Hee University students.

The restaurant offers Vietnamese food, ranging from the classic Pho noodles to its com suon, or fried rice with pork. One dish that customers particularly love is the bun rieu, or pho noodles with a tomato broth, priced at 10,000 won. There is plenty of sautéed tomato in the broth, which gives the noodles a slight acidic but sweet flavor. The noodles come with mussels and shrimp, with the restaurant offering a generous amount for the price.

Bun99 also offers a wide selection of side dishes to order. The restaurant hand-makes the nem rolls, or fried spring rolls with pork. It is similar to the well-known cha gio, fried egg rolls, but has a lighter crust made of rice paper. If you like having dessert with your meal, try the chuoi chien, or fried bananas topped with coconut powder and sweetened condensed milk priced at 4,000 won.

36 Cheonjangsan-ro 4-gil, Dongdaemun District, central SeoulBusiness hours: 11 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. (break time 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., last order by 8 p.m.)Phone number: 02) 959-9979

Hoegi Burger

Burgers sold at Hoegi Burger [HOEGI BURGER]

The burger restaurant is located closer to Kyung Hee University, selling a variety of handmade burgers. Although handmade burgers tend to be priced on the expensive side, the restaurant makes the price tag affordable. A single burger ranges between 6,900 won to 7,900 won, with a meal that comes with a set of fries and coke costing 3,000 won more.

Compared to other handmade burgers, the restaurant’s bun tends to be thinner and makes the taste of the meat and ingredients more distinct. The cheeseburger is priced at 6,900 won and has the classic combination of meat patties, cheese, tomato, lettuce and onions.

The restaurant offers a wide range of shrimp burgers as well. There’s the spicy shrimp burger (7,900 won) that has a thick and juicy shrimp patty, with the sauce as spicy as the infamous Buldak Ramen. The wasabi shrimp burger (7,900 won) contains wasabi like the name suggests, but there’s always the simple shrimp burger (7,900 won) that doesn’t have any spicy sauces.

Loved by many people, the burger restaurant started with only one branch near the university, but has now expanded to having eight branches around Seoul and Gyeonggi.

@hoegiburger_official46 Imun-ro, Dongdaemun District, central SeoulBusiness hours: 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. (break time 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.) Phone number: 02) 6104-3210

79th Street Noodle House

Jeon (pan-fried food) and chicken kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) sold at 79th Street Noodle House [79TH STREET NOODLE HOUSE]

The restaurant has been open near Kyung Hee University since 2007 and is popular with both students and locals. It sells a variety of noodles that all have one thing in common: Chicken.

One of its well-known dishes is the chicken kalguksu (6,000 won), which refers to knife-cut noodles. It has a rich chicken-based broth and shredded chicken meat. The dakguksu (5,000 won), or chicken noodles, is similar to the chicken kalguksu but has thinner-shaped noodles. There’s also a seasonal dish for the summer, which is its chogyeguksu (6,000 won). Although you may think all noodles come with a warm broth, chogyeguksu is served chilled, even with some ice cubes in the broth.

If you aren’t much of a noodle person, try the dakgomtang (6,000 won), or Korean chicken soup with rice. The dish is also topped with a generous amount of bean sprouts, along with diced green onions.

The restaurant is also a great place to go if you are planning to have a drink with your friends. Another item on the menu is jeon, or pan-fried food. There are three types — the meat kimchi jeon, meat jeon and potato seafood jeon — which are all priced at 9,000 won. The dish goes perfectly with makgeolli, Korean traditional rice wine, so try ordering a bottle. The restaurant will serve the drink in a traditional-style brass pot, allowing you to enjoy the full experience.

15 Hoegi-ro 13-gil, Dongdaemun District, central SeoulBusiness hours: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Phone number: 0507-1344-9494

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]