[FOOD COURT] The best places to eat near Sejong University

Located right next to Seoul Children’s Grand Park, Sejong University is surrounded by a neighborhood where both students and families gather.

Xihongshi's mapo tofu with rice [XIHONGSHI]

Located right next to Seoul Children’s Grand Park, Sejong University is surrounded by a neighborhood where both students and families gather.

The area near the university’s main and back gates is full of restaurants, with many also found at the nearby Gunja and Seoul Children’s Grand Park subway stations.

Another thing the university is well known for is its cheap and tasty cafeterias, with even students from nearby Konkuk University taking a walk to eat at the school. But despite the cheap food, Sejong University students often head off campus to go to their favorite restaurants and enjoy the wider options offered.

Whether you are a student or out in the neighborhood to visit the beautiful gardens or amusement park, the restaurants near Sejong University will more than likely satisfy your hunger.

If you are unsure of where to go, here are some recommendations from the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Jangwon Kalguksu

Jangwon Kalguksu's chicken kalguksu (knife cut noodles) and kimchi jeon (pan fried food) [LEE TAE-HEE]

Jangwon Kalguksu is located right in front of the university's back gate. It sells the classic combination of kalguksu (knife cut noodles) and jeon (pan-fried food), or foods that will cheer anyone up during chilly weathers or on a rainy and gloomy day.

There's three types of noodles — chicken kalguksu, clam kalguksu and anchovy kalguksu — with each sold for 7,000 won. All three come in a huge bowl that will make anyone full, but those who want more can get a bigger bowl for an additional 1,000 won. The noodles are hand-pulled by the restaurant and have an extra chewy texture to them.

There is only one type of jeon on the menu, which is kimchi jeon. Compared to other restaurants, Jangan Kalguksu's has one of the most crispy edges. Despite it being crispy around the edges, the jeon has a very soft and chewy center. The spiciness of the kimchi used in the jeon is manageable, but the kimchi served as side dishes might be tough for those who can't handle spicy food well.

137, Gunja-ro, Gwangjin District, eastern SeoulBusiness hours: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. 0507-1400-5322

Baozipu

Baozipu's steamed shrimp dumplings and shrimp wonton noodles [LEE TAE-HEE]

At Baozipu, there are three types of steamed dumplings — shrimp, meat and chives — and two fried dumplings — chives and shrimp — for customers to choose from. When biting into the steamed dumplings, customers will be able to taste a little bit of broth seeping out, although not as much as the xia long bao (soup dumplings). The fried ones have thin dumpling skins that are fried to crispy delight, adding to the texture.

Food can take some time to be served, especially if you ordered dumplings, as the chefs will start making and steaming the dumplings right after the customers place their orders. But because dumplings are served right after they are made, customers can get their food when its the most delicious.

Although the restaurant is open until 9:20 p.m. each day, it is likely that some dumplings won't be available late in the day as the restaurant tends to run out of ingredients due to having lots of customers. 373, Gwangnaru-ro, Gwangjin District, eastern SeoulBusiness hours: 11:30 a.m. - 9:20 p.m. 02-462-9256

Misik Ilga

Seafood that comes when customers order grilled shell for three people [MISIK ILGA]

If you are a seafood lover, Misik Ilga is a great place to go. The restaurant dishes range from grilled scallops and steamed clams to oysters. Ordering is simple, with customers either choosing grilled or steamed clams, and ordering the food based on how many people will eat.

The grilled clam set comes with huge fan mussels, scallops topped with cheese and various sauces and abalone. It also comes with a small side of cream pasta and tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) that comes in cream sauce. The steamed clam set comes with the same seafood, but is put in a big pan with an assortment of vegetables. A small amount of broth is added to the pan, which will be a bit spicy as it contains cheongyang peppers.

The restaurant will require a long wait because it is a small venue that does not take reservations, and also due to its popularity. The restaurant's branch in Seongsu, eastern Seoul, was featured on Repeat Restaurant, a YouTube series starring YouTuber Pungja, and was even chosen as the best restaurant in the Seongsu area. Although it was the branch that was shown on the YouTube video, people are also visiting branches nearby, trying to get a similar experience.

9, Gwangnaru-ro 19-gil, Gwangjin District, eastern SeoulBusiness hours: Monday to Friday 3 p.m. - 12 p.m., Saturday 1 p.m. - 12 p.m. 010-5603-9282

Xihongshi

Mapo curry rice sold at Xihongshi [XIHONGSHI]

Xihongshi is a Chinese fusion restaurant located near Seoul Children's Grand Park station. Like the name Xihongshi suggests, which is Chinese for tomato, one of its best selling dishes is the tomato egg fried rice. It has the sweet flavor of the dish, but adds a bit of spice to give the flavor a kick.

One of its fusion dishes is the mapo curry rice, combining China's mapo tofu (tofu braised in spicy sauce) and Indian curry. The mapo tofu's flavor is strong, but customers will definitely be able to taste the earthy curry spices at the end. The dish is topped with egg yolk, calming down the spices when mixed with the sauce. For dishes such as the mapo curry rice and mapo tofu, customers can ask to change the rice to noodles.

The restaurant will provide various appetizers to its customers, although they do change depending on the ingredients the restaurant has. Sometimes customers will get a small piece of silken tofu with sesame soy sauce or cooked egg that comes with spicy tteokbokki sauce.

5, Neungdong-ro 17-gil, Gwangjin District, eastern SeoulBusiness hours: Monday to Friday 11:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m., Saturday 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.0507-1491-4333Learn more about Korean university life on K-campus.

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