Koreatown is a weird place for foreigners in Shanghai. While many of you will undoubtedly have been at some point, chances are it was a one off occurrence. Much like Pudong, Koreatown\u2019s distance from Jing\u2019an and Xujiahui dissuades many from visiting the area which sucks because Koreans really know how to eat, drink and have a great time. Here\u2019re some of the best things we enjoy doing down in K-town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the people we speak to in China are surprised to find out that it\u2019s relatively easy to visit North Korea and that there are direct flights from Shanghai to Pyongyang. Still, if you\u2019re a bit too nervous to plan your next holiday in the hermit kingdom, the Pyongyang restaurant (Chinese name: \u5e73\u58e4\u96ea\u666f\u9986) in Koreatown makes for a nice alternative. Compared to the city\u2019s other North Korean restaurants, the food is relatively cheap and at 19:30 every evening the waitresses put on a performance that features Korean KTV classics like \ubc18\uac11\uc2b5\ub2c8\ub2e4, dancing, and even a bit of gayageum (the Korean instrument in the picture above) shredding.
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Sannakji, truly one of South Korea\u2019s most controversial dishes. For those of you who haven\u2019t seen our video, Sannakji is live octopus that\u2019s cut up at your table and that still squirms around in your mouth as you bite into it. While we don\u2019t particularly enjoy eating these eight-legged sea creatures we\u2019ve got to admit, sannakji is the best tasting octopus we\u2019ve ever had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Kimchi is pretty easy to buy around Shanghai, the supermarkets in Koreatown are the only places we\u2019ve found where you can buy the freshly-made variety. The kimchi we bought here is on par with some of the better portions we\u2019ve enjoyed in Seoul. Of course if you\u2019re more interested in quantity over quality, Koreatown has you covered on that front as well. Avid kimchi lovers will be happy to know the stores here stock 5kg sacks of the fermented Korean side dish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ah Kyochon, before we found you we were convinced that nothing could beat the combination of buffalo wings and a blue cheese sauce, how wrong we were. Seriously, if you\u2019ve never been to Kyochon you\u2019re missing out. They serve a small selection of Korean-themed dishes but they\u2019re most famous for their chicken wings which come in three different flavours, soy garlic (original), red pepper (spicy), honey (bring you to the point of orgasm). Go for honey flavoured wings and thank us later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We know, who would\u2019ve guessed that Koreatown is home to Shanghai\u2019s best Korean food?! While we have our own personal K-town favourites on this trip we were determined to find out where the local Koreans in the area go when they\u2019re missing home. After asking around, the one place that kept coming up was Zixiamen in the Korea Food Plaza. When we visited the service was great and the BBQ was on point. We also saw large numbers of Koreans eating and working in the restaurant, definitely a good sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While winter may well be on the way, there\u2019re still a few warm evenings left to enjoy sitting outside and getting your drink on. If you\u2019re reading this and it\u2019s already freezing, don\u2019t worry, once the cold sets in many of the restaurants have covered, heated outside areas where guests can continue to enjoy their Soju. One thing we do promise is that a night out here will be far more enjoyable than that hellish shithole Yongkang Lu ever was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After you\u2019ve had your fill of Soju and incredible food head on over to New Star Spa to relax and sweat out the booze. For those who haven\u2019t been to a Jimjilbang it\u2019s basically a large bathhouse separated into wet and dry areas. The wet areas are divided by gender where guests strip down to their birthday suits and bathe in a number of hot and cold pools of water. The dry area is where men and women can relax together and features saunas, relaxation rooms, a cinema, a Korean restaurant, massage areas, and hair and nail boutiques. We usually go to the New Star on Yan\u2019an Xi Lu, so this one felt a little smaller than usual but it’s just as enjoyable. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"