Undoubtedly, the best part about travelling a new country is being able to try new food that you can’t get anywhere else. As I live in Korea, I have recently been exploring the variations in cuisine between different regions and what is special to local cultures. In Yangyang, Gangwon-do, I tried octopus sundae for the first time and I loved it!
Sundae is a famous Korean street food. It typically consists of a mixture of cow or pig’s blood, glass noodles and minced meat stuffed inside intestine, served alongside liver and other entrails. To many western foreigners, this sounds very unappealing, but it helps to know that the glass noodles make up the majority of the sundae sausage. Glass noodles are typically made sweet potato starch, giving sundae a chewy texture.
As sundae is a traditional Korean food, there are several variations, both in ingredients and eating format. For instance, the well-beloved street food combination is ‘gimtteoksun’ meaning gimbap + tteokbokki + sundae. Outside of street food, there are dishes like ‘sundaeguk’ which is a sundae broth/soup.
Octopus sundae is the specialty food of Yangyang region in Gangwon-do province. Preparation involves frying octopus in egg and stuffing with glass noodles and vegetables. I really liked the taste of octopus sundae. What’s more, I think it is a great alternative for travellers who cannot eat pork or other meat, but still want to try local dishes.
Yangyang is a coastal city so naturally their specialty dish includes seafood. I recommend visiting Naksan beach and while you’re there, eating at Sindasin restaurant. Sindasin is right on the beach, so it is the perfect spot to eat fresh seafood.
For only 7000 KRW, you get a hearty portion of octopus sundae. The octopus was soft and the filling was delicious too. I did not expect that a restaurant on the beach front would be this cheap! If you want good value for money and the chance to try good quality local food, I recommend you go to Sindasin.
Address: 46 Haemaji-gil, Ganghyeon-myeon, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do Operating Hours: 9:50am - 8:00pm everyday; last order 7:30pm
From Yangyang Express Intercity Bus Terminal: Take bus no. 9-1, 9 or 8 to Naksan stop. Sindasin is approx. 9 minute walk from here.
