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The non spicy Korean food guide. Sort of.

맵지 않게 해주세요 (maebji ahnge haejuseo) Please make it not spicy.

I tried memorising this from my Korean class and even had Korean to English translation ready in my phone but I just couldn’t remember this while ordering. Many F&B staff also spoke English and Mandarin in Myeongdong so ordering was a breeze.

This is an unintentional non-spicy food list and made very much due to circumstances, because my son and I were unwell before the trip and our cough got worse and I even lost my voice completely for a couple of days during the trip.

Lookout for the below common non spicy food if you can’t take spices!

Top: Pig trotter jelly (taste very much like our Teochew 猪脚冻 in a paler colour)

Middle from left: Bibimpap without sauce, seafood soup, jajangmyeong (bean paste noodles) and noodle soup.

Bottom: All you can eat BBQ (non-marinated), vanilla latte and ginseng chicken soup.

Latte does not count as food but I need my daily dose of caffeine. Sure, there are rainbow cakes and bread too but they are not really my favourite on this trip.

Prior the trip, I did not train my little one to eat pepper, spice or chili to prepare for the trip. I am also not a mum who will bring her whole kitchen just to prepare food during a holiday.

Little did I realise how much spices and chili Korean food contain until my throat burns from eating a slice of kimchi. Kimchi is spicy.

The cough medicine we bought from Singapore did not seem to be effective so I bought some off the counter medication at a pharmacy which eased my symptoms.

I did not recover during the trip so I missed out eating spicy rice cakes, spicy seafood soup and all those delicious spicy snacks I was craving for. Even cheese powder on sliced potato irritated my throat.

My heart ached when my poor child cried and ate minimal for initial meals. He could still be unwell so I let him eat and drink whatever junk he wanted. Junk food is better than no food. At this point, I was ready to buy him ice cream in winter if he asked.

Luckily there are plenty of all you can eat Korean BBQ restaurants at less than USD $20 when we got to Myeongdong which he enjoyed. Children up to certain age eats for free so it was a bonus.

Eat back the nutrients you missed little one!

Note: The little one couldn’t sleep after consuming Ginseng Chicken Soup at night so we allowed him to watch tv till very late.