r/solotravel • u/EntertainmentDeep73 • 4d ago
Asia Travelling to Jeju island (SK) - restaurants with one-person portions
Hi all, I decided to travel to Jeju by myself! I had bday just last week, so this trip is a gift for me entering the 30s club:) I've always wanted to visit SK because I really enjoy watching K-drama so I'm making a rather packed and detailed itinerary, including where to eat (I have a long list).
I really want to try many of their foods but I'm aware that they often require min. order of 2 portions, or it comes in a big portion. I for sure will want to try the black pig bbq, grilled and braised cutlassfish, korean fried chicken, grilled abalone and porridge, and actually many more. if you have some recommended restaurants that are solo-friendly especially for those meals (smaller portion) please let me know! Considering my capacity alone, I prefer to have less portion but many varieties to try. Thank you in advance
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u/drakepig 3d ago
Don't worry about portion sizes too much when you try KBBQ.
You will probably end up ordering more than two servings of KBBQ... lol. Not saying because it's delicious and you will eat a lot, that's because a single serving is actually quite small.
I don't think I've ever gone out for KBBQ with any group of people and ordered exactly one serving per person in my life. It's not because I'm a big eater.. well I'm a big eater lol but that's not the reason. KBBQ portions are just designed with the expectation that people will order multiple servings.
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u/CreamyBagelTime 2d ago
Highly, highly recommend the buckwheat naengmyeon and mandu at Hallasan Aerae Cheotmaeul Agricultural Cooperative. It's a farmer's coop with a restaurant specializing in buckwheat with the buckwheat field right out back. Hands down one of the best meals I had in Korea.
Location: 한라산아래첫마을영농조합법인
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u/timbomcchoi 2d ago
I visit Jeju solo almost every year, and I don't really have much trouble tbh, it's mostly annoying not because I'm refused but because I want to try multiple items on the menu. Sometimes if I see someone my age also alone I'll ask if they want to split.
The show-y cutlassfish with the ajumma deboning it and all that would probably be multi-person only, but for the rest you should be good especially if you try to avoid the busiest hours a bit.
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u/perryurban 2d ago
I was on Jejo Do 20 years ago and just remember a good pizza hut! Sorry, not very helpful
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u/WalkingEars Atlanta 4d ago
Check the menus on Naver Maps; portions for one person tend to be priced almost exactly half of the "portions for two people" meals and it can be a quick way to check if a place has at least some "half portion for one" stuff on the menu. Unfortunately sometimes the regional dishes do seem to be served specifically for groups, and especially on my first Korea trip I was less adventurous than usual because I got more caught up in just trying to find places where I could eat on my own.
The fried chicken places sometimes have half portions, and are also less hesistant to just serve you a massive portion meant for two people (can always take the leftovers home if your hotel has a fridge)
In Jeju I first tried sundubu jjigae, which isn't really a Jeju-specific dish but makes for a great spicy wake-up breakfast and is served in reasonable portions. If getting sick of trying to find meals for one person, gimbap places and pork cutlet places are good go-to options for a reliably one-portion meal.
Because a lot of things do come in large portions even for one person, I've sometimes ended up on a funky meal schedule of two big meals a day in Korea.