[FOOD COURT] The best places to eat near Sungshin Women's University

Hongdae or Sinchon might be best known as Seoul's most vibrant campus neighborhoods, but the area near Sungshin Women's University is a hidden gem that gives off a similar atmosphere.

Xeoxeo's thit kho trung, or caramelized pork and eggs [XEOXEO]

Hongdae or Sinchon might be best known as Seoul's most vibrant campus neighborhoods, but the area near Sungshin Women's University is a hidden gem that gives off a similar atmosphere.

Nicknamed Sungshin Rodeo Street for the many clothing shops, cosmetics stores and accessory stalls, the street always has a crowd of people, whether its students on weekdays or visitors on weekends. Although restaurants near universities tend to only open on weekdays to target students, many near Sungshin Women's University's stay open even on weekends due to the influx of customers.

If you're new to the area and want to know where to go, here are some places the Korea JoongAng Daily recommends.

Palbaegjib

Jjolgalbi, or marinated pork ribs that come with a pool of sauce, sold at Palbaegjib. [PALBAEGJIB]

This restaurant sells a Korean dish known as jjolgalbi. Many will be more familiar with the term galbi, or marinated beef or pork ribs, and jjolgalbi is a similar version of the dish. One difference is that it comes with a pool of sauce that is watery and almost soup-like, which is meant to be boiled down before eaten. This thickens and concentrates the sauce, giving more flavor to the pork.

There's more than meat to the dish. Mushroom, radish and chives are placed on top after the sauce simmers down, allowing the vegetables to maintain their original texture. If you are someone that likes some vegetables, try ordering the siraegi rice, or rice that's cooked with radish stems. It is a bit chewy because the radish stems are originally dried and then cooked with the rice, but adds a healthy woody green flavor to the meal. Although most bowls of rice are sold for 1,000 won, the siraegi rice is sold for 3,000 won.

Visitors are guaranteed to see a queue when going to Palbaegjib. The restaurant has long been a favorite of Sungshin Women's University students, but has been seeing more people since it was featured on tvN's "The Must-Try Restaurants" featuring comedian Park Na-rae and mukbang Youtuber Haetnim.

46 Bomun-ro 30-gil, Seongbuk-gu, northern SeoulBusiness hours: 11:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.02-928-0032

Yoonhwi Sikdang

Hamburg steak sold at Yoonhwi Sikdang, with extra side dishes that can be ordered for 2,500 won ($1.90). [LEE TAE-HEE]

Yoonhwi Sikdang has various Japanese-style dishes such as the chashu (braised pork belly) fried rice and okonomiyaki, or savory pancake with meat or seafood. But one of the dishes its most known for is the hamburg steak, a patty of ground beef.

When making the hamburg steak, the restaurant mixes ground beef with pureed soybean and egg whites, giving the meat a more nutty flavor. A block of mozzarella cheese is placed inside the hamburg steak, which oozes out when cutting the meat. The hamburg steak comes with various side dishes for an extra 2,500 won. Salad, a warm bowl of miso soup, egg custard, fried tofu and fruit for dessert comes with the meal.

This is another restaurant that will require visitors to wait in a line. But the wait will normally be around 10 to 20 minutes and not that long as people tend to finish quite quickly.

70 Bomun-ro 34-gil, Seongbuk-gu, northern SeoulBusiness hours: 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.0507-1429-0100

Myran

Omelet sold at Myran [LEE TAE-HEE]

Myran sells various omelets that come with a tornado-like swirling pattern in the middle. The egg is draped over a mound of fried rice just like many other omelets, but the restaurants offers a variety of toppings. Customers can either choose between fried shrimp, sausage or grilled eggplant as their main topping when ordering the 10,000 won omelet from the menu. All dishes come with mini hash browns, and adding more toppings is possible.

There are three types of sauce that customers can choose from: A classic demi-glace, spicy tomato sauce and meat sauce. A pot of soup is available on the table of the restaurant and customers are allowed to help themselves to as much as they want. The soup changes every day, ranging from broccoli cream soup and carrot soup to lettuce soup.

Although omelet is the restaurant's signature dish, it also sells various pastas such as the meatball cream spaghetti and shrimp aglio e olio.

33-9 Dongsomun-ro 22-gil, Seongbuk-gu, northern SeoulBusiness hours: 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. 0507-1309-6793

Xeoxeo

Banh xeo sold at Xeoxeo [XEOXEO]

Although Korea does have a lot of Vietnamese restaurants, many simply serve a few selections of pho. But Xeoxeo has more variety to choose from, including thit kho trung, or caramelized pork and eggs. Bo nuong, or marinated beef seared with butter, is another dish that warms up a lot of customers during the cold weather.

One of its best-selling dishes is the banh xeo, or a crepe-like dish filled with shrimp, pork and vegetables. The banh xeo has a crispy texture that is balanced well with the fresh lettuce and perilla leaves customers wrap it in.

The restaurant mostly has tables for a party of two to four, but also has a bar area where people who come alone are welcome to eat.

56 Bomun-ro 34-gil, Seongbuk-gu, northern SeoulBusiness hours: Tuesday to Sunday 11:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. 02-929-1225

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