[Travel] Muslim Friendly Foods That You Can Enjoy While Travelling in Korea
One exciting part about travelling is to taste the local food! With Muslims being the minority in South Korea, it was hard to find Halal certified restaurants, especially in the countryside area. But if you look hard enough, there are a lot of Muslim friendly restaurants you can try!
Itaewon is probably the most famous area for Muslim tourists, but this time we wanted to explore Halal restaurants in Gangwon and Seoul. Here are our best 5 restaurants that we tried out during our last trip:
1) Steamed snow crab / Fried rice / Ramyeon
They only sell seafood here, and the snow crab is to die for! The seaweed crab fried rice had a unique taste, and the ramyeon soup was light and fresh. All are delicious!?
Restaurant : Daegewangguk
Address : 55, Saecheonnyeon-doro, Samcheok-si, Gangwon-do
Phone : 033-573-8185
2) Samgyetang (Ginseng chicken soup)
One of the best Samgyetang we’ve ever tried! You have to specially ask the restaurant owner to cook the Halal-certified chicken for you. The Halal chicken are mostly imported from Itaewon, so it’s a little bit pricier compared to the normal chicken.
Restaurant : Goryeo Samgyetang (City Hall Branch)
Address : 1 Seosomun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul Metropolitan city
Phone : 02-752-9376
3) Hanjeongsik (Korean set meal)
Korean meal is known to have a lot of side dishes. Here you can get all kind of side dishes served with rice. The fish was so delicious!
Restaurant : Seojichogateul
Address : 264 Nangok-dong, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do
Phone : 033-646-4430
4) Sundubu Jjigae (Soft Tofu Steamboat)
Tofu is known as a Gangneung specialty, so you have to try this when you come here.
Restaurant : Sonamujib Chodang Sundubu
Address : 95-5, Chodang Sundubu-gil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do
Phone : 033-651-1356
5) Kebab sets / Avocado and salmon steak / Assorted pizza
Every time we asked our Korean friends about Halal restaurants, everyone will recommend Humus Kitchen. We guess its really famous among Muslim here. Not only local food, Humus Kitchen also serves Middle East and Mediterranean food.
Restaurant : Hummus Kitchen
Address : 405, D Tower Replace Ganghwamun, 17 Jongno3-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul Metropolitan City
Phone : 02-2251-8400
If you are wondering what are the classifications of Muslim friendly restaurants, here are some information to tide you by.
Mainly, there are five Muslim friendly restaurant categories in Korea.
- Halal certified : Restaurant certified by Korea Muslim Federation (KMF).
- Self certified : All foods are Halal. Restaurants are certified as Halal by Muslim restaurant owners.
- Muslim Friendly : Some Halal dishes are provided but alcohol is sold.
- Muslim Welcome : Korean vegetarian restaurants or no pork related dishes.
- Pork-Free : contains meat but no pork
You can choose the restaurants by your own preferences. Happy dining!
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