Tiffy in Korea: Korean Food & Milk Tea Ice Cream

Korean Food & Milk Tea Ice Cream
August 16, 2011
Tiffy in Korea


When I travel, I try to check out the selection of foodstuff at convenience stores and grocery stores because it's there that I get an idea of what kind of stuff people usually eat in that particular country. Well, that, and go to small canteen-type restaurants where they're bound to serve local food.

Back in August, I booked this particular trip because one of my good friends, Brandon (you might remember him from back when I was an exchange student in Nagoya), is now an English teacher in Korea. So it was the perfect time to book that ticket! Traveling in a country that your friends are in is the best.

My first morning in Korea, we hit a local canteen that delivers food to the offices around the area (including the school that my friend works at). It's his to-go-to place for meals and I wanted to eat authentic Korean food so...

Banchan 반찬

Dolsot Bibimbap 돌솥 비빔밥

Bibim Mandu 비빔만두 | Kimbap 김밥 

As I wasn't being as adventurous with my food as I ought to have been, I ordered a bibimbap which I always order at Korean restaurants here in the Philippines. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I also found out that bibimbap in the Philippines tastes different than that of the real thing. The one I had in Korea didn't have that strong of a flavor, as opposed to the sweet taste that the one I had before had.

The bibim mandu was amazingly good. Brandon was a guy who was a-ok with sharing (I MAKE THE MOST AWESOME FRIENDS EVER EVER) and I had some of it. Plus the kimbap (I don't really have an opinion on this one).

Korean food is pretty freaking healthy it's awesome.

But Milk Tea Ice Cream... what a disappointment!

I have always liked milk tea and I was pretty stoked at seeing it at a convenience store (I think it was a 7Eleven). But meh. It melted so fast (probably because it was summer) and it just tasted like frozen milk tea (probably because it was a popsicle? I can't read Korean) and I decided then and there never to eat milk tea ice cream ever again. Ever.