Temple Food

For about 22,000 won ($20), you can get 30 dishes of authentic Korean temple food. Kim Yeon-Sik, the owner of the restaurant has ran this restaurant for 30 years. A former monk, he entered temple life at age 15. Inspired by the lifestyle and healthy cuisine, he opened up Sanchon Korean Temple Cuisine Restaurant in Insadong. Korea is 50% Buddhist and Christian. A lot of Korean food is inspired by this food. Anytime you order food in Korea, the side dishes are those found in temple cuisine. Dave told me about this restaurant because he always takes visiting friends here to experience temple food. A must-see in Korea, I had to experience it myself.

Upon entering the restaurant, you have to take off your shoes and place them in a locker. A monk-robed server greets you and seats you at a table where you have to sit on heated floors hoping not to get a cramp. I usually extend my legs under the table because I cannot sit "Indian style" for very long. On the table is a traditional setting of wooden chopsticks and spoon. There is only one thing to order and that is the 30 dish vegetarian set. It includes kimchee, tofu, sprouts, seaweed, potatoes, mushrooms, vegetable pancakes, and assorted seasoned vegetables. Nothing has artificial seasoning. My least favorite were the roots and barks of tree. After eating, you get a bowl of cold cinnamon tea with rice crackers. Although the bowls of food are tiny, you are surprisingly very full at the end. It was a great experience to try all sorts of temple food. I ended up getting very bloated because of all the gassy foods, but they were delicious and highly recommended.

To view menu items and descriptions, click below:

http://sanchon.com/english/Menu/sub_01.html

Dave & Me at Sanchon Korean Temple Cuisine Restaurant
Full & Satisfied After 30 Servings of Temple Food

Sanchon Korean Temple Cuisine Restaurant

02-735-312

Seoul, Korea

www.sanchon.com

Directions:

Take the subway to Jongno 3(sam) ga. It is the stop that intersects Line 3 (orange), 5 (purple), and 1 (dark blue). Go out of Exit 5 towards Insadong. Walk straight past the Coffee Bean. Sanchon is in an alley on the right side of the street. When you see a newspaper article poster about the restaurant, then you've found the alley. Follow till the end. Make sure you take your shoes off!