Best Vietnamese Food in Seoul

Since the weather is finally starting to get a little cooler, I thought it was the perfect time for me to make a post about where you can find the best Pho/Vietnamese food in Seoul!

What is Pho? Pho is a popular street food from Vietnam. It is a noodle soup consisting of broth, rice noodles, a few herbs, and meat. Not only is Pho popular in Vietnam, but I would say that it is one of the most beloved Asian noodles worldwide. It's warm noodles and flavorful broth is what makes the dish perfect for fall and winter. 

While in Korea, I noticed that Pho was quite popular amongst Koreans. There are at least two to three different popular Vietnamese "Pho" chains in Korea. However, after realizing that those chains do not serve traditional Vietnamese Pho, I started my quest to find the most authentic Pho in Seoul. I had visited another Pho restaurant in Sinchon, that was Korean owned, and did not taste like the real thing. My boyfriend had heard of a Vietnamese restaurant that was quite popular for being authentic so we thought we'd hit it up and find out for ourselves! 

We visited a restaurant called "Emoi." (This phrase is quite hard to translate from Vietnamese to English. I guess the best way I can translate it is "honey." It's a short phrase an older person would say to a younger person, but the way I interpreted the name of the restaurant is from a older person to a younger person in a relationship.) Anyways, back to the topic of this post! Emoi is a small little restaurant run by a real Vietnamese cooking staff! The waiters were Korean, but this makes sense because most of their customers are Korean. While we were there, there were 2 other tables and they were made up of Vietnamese customers. I was excited to see fellow Vietnamese people because it made me feel like if this place is good enough for them, it must be pretty legit and good! 

The restaurant itself was very cute and had traditional Vietnamese decor. There was a lot of wood in the restaurant and it made the restaurant feel like a little wooden shack in Vietnam (but in a nice and classy way haha). The menu was short and simple, which I appreciated. It made our order decision a lot easier. 

We ordered the Premium Pho 쌀국수 보통 프리미엄, Bun Cha 분짜짜, and a side of egg rolls.  However, after ordering I realized there was a new item on the menu posted on the wall. They actually even served Bahn Xeo 반쎄오! This is a flour based dish that I absolutely love, but it was too late for me to change my order, so I'm saving this for my next trip. 

The service was good and we got a pot of tea filled with water, which was a cute traditional touch. Every table also had a little jar of pickled white radish. This is not something that Vietnamese people would do, but I think it must have been a tactic to please Korean customers. The prices of the food items were a bit pricey compared to what I am used to in America. However since Vietnamese food is somewhat exotic and I'm sure the ingredients are a tad hard to find, it's understandable.

 The restaurant also had hot chili and hoisin sauce, which were both Korean made. I didn't really mind this because the sauces tasted pretty good and authentic. The beef Phở was so crazy delicious! The noodles used were similar to the noodles used for Phở in Vietnam so that was a huge plus for me. The broth was flavorful and wasn't too salty or bland. Overall, the Phở was an A+! I do believe this was the best Phở I've tasted. Still not 100% authentic because they still need to cater to the Korean's taste buds, but the closest I have found in Seoul. The Bun was a little different from what I'm used to. They used the same noodles from Phở for the Bun instead of using vermicelli noodles. However, the dressing for the Bun was perfect so I was able to get over the difference in noodle. Lastly, the egg rolls we ordered were very very delicious. However, the egg rolls were also not what I am used to. They were deep fried as you could probably see from the photos. They were a bit oilier than normal, but nonetheless delicious. 

Overall, my experience at Emoi was fantastic! I loved the authentic ambience of the restaurant and how simple, but different the menu was. The service and the food was great so I will definitely be returning to Emoi on my next trip to Seoul! If you're looking for the most authentic Vietnamese food in Seoul, you must stop by Emoi!


Also --
When looking for a specific ethnicity's food in Korea, you need to remember that you are still in Korea. This is not America or some other country,  it's going to be hard to find exactly what you're looking for. You should go in with an open mind and realize that the possibility of you finding the same exact food of that country isn't plausible. Non-Korean food in Korea will most likely taste a little different because the restaurant needs to cater to their Korean customers the most. Just enjoy the food for what it is :)

Emoi

서울시 종로구 종로 12길 6-20

Seoul, South Korea 

from Jackie