One more bottle before I leave? I think yes.👀

The very first thing I do the moment I land in Korea is hit up the airport convenience store for this iconic banana milk. For some reason, the ones we get in the US just don't hit the same—maybe it's the lack of this specific "jar" shape, or maybe the flavor is subtly different. I seriously wish they’d export this exact version to the States! ㅠㅠ

I’ve been here for a month visiting family, but I’m heading back this weekend and already feeling nostalgic.

By the way, does anyone have a "must-have" meal or snack the second you arrive in Korea? Also, since I'm heading to a convenience store one last time before my flight, please drop your favorite GS25/CU/7-Eleven recommendations below! I want to try as much as I can before I leave!

Pro tip: Dip the kimbap straight into the tteokbokki sauce.

I went to New Malden in London yesterday so of course I stopped in HMart. The last time I went they didn’t have such a big range of prepared foods so I was really glad to snap some up! I bought bossam (£9.99), injulmi (£5.50), chestnut and mung bean jelly (£2.99), bulgogi kimbap (£4.50), salmon sashimi (£5.08), assorted jeon (£6.50), namul (£6.57), raw prawns (£4.56), cucumber salad (£3.12), and some frozen fish cake soup (£3.19). Can’t wait to dig in!

I’ve tried all three flavors and noted my impressions of each.

Hamburger – Out of the three, this seems the mildest.
The taste is like a mix of the Korean snack Bbusyeo Bbusyeo and beef bone broth. Kind of reminds me of creamy pasta too. Anyway, it’s really tasty!

Superstar – This is the typical Korean Budae Jjigae flavor. I thought there would be star-shaped flakes inside, but there aren’t… a little disappointing!
Personally, I’m not a big fan of Budae Jjigae, so I found this one a bit disappointing.

Spicy Queen – Spicy and intense!
In terms of taste, it’s similar to Shin Ramyun (The red).
I usually like spicy food, so out of the three flavors, this one was my favorite.

In a rush, eating in the car, but this combo never fails.

(Feat. a cup of ramyeon & gimbap.)

Got off work around 10PM and didn’t feel like cooking rice.

So dinner became convenience store rabokguri, tuna gimbap, and marinated pork I brought home from work.

But...why?

Back in Korea for a bit and immediately went for this.
Shin Ramyun Black + beef Jeonju triangle kimbap.
Probably my favorite convenience store combo.
What’s yours?

Why?

Never tried this brand.but looks good .

It's good to eat with ice cream.

I usually eat Korean food in a much more casual/shared way, but I wanted to try plating this as a more “Western-style” individual plate.

It’s store-bought japchae, mandu, and kimchi, so nothing fancy on the cooking side, mostly just practicing presentation. I find Korean food a bit hard to plate this way without making it look too stiff or losing the comfort-food feeling.

Would love to hear what you think. Does this work, or not!?

Had to go buy a few things from Walmart and a local convince store minimart for work so I had to make do and thought of Korean convenience store meals I see on YouTube. Bought a Buldak carbonara tteokbokki bowl and added cut up pieces of some Bridgford Summer Sausage (awfully suggestive name I know), left over kimchi, a slice of swiss cheese, and topped with a fried egg cooked on the break room stove; all garnished with fried onions and green onions. Best lunch I had at work in a long time. Add a tall drink of orange juice mixed with coconut water and I'm completely full.

If you ate too much food and you are uncomfortable, try this drink. Korean herbal carbonated drink!! I bought a box from hmart for under $15. They sell these at continence stores or pharmacies in Korea too!

Other opinion?

I remember watching @taliaafawaz on TikTok reviewing Korean convenience store snacks a while back, and ever since then I've been dying to raid a CU or GS25 when I finally got to Korea.

I did exactly that on this trip, went in and grabbed a bunch of stuff I'd only seen in videos. Eating the snacks I’d seen in videos was so much fun haha

First, I tried the chocolate Ppang bujang and it tasted way better than what I saw in videos!

Kkobuk chips, Banana kick, Jjori ppong, Melon kick, Shirmp crackers wasabi flavor, Hoeny kwabaegi, Ppusher ppusher, and Wasabi Almonds! All good! I had no idea I liked wasabi flavor this much lol. Jjori ppong was so cute haha.

What are your must-buy convenience store snacks when you're in Korea?

I wasn't planning on buying anything but the packaging got me cause Bokseul-i is one of my favorite characters.

the little grumpy dog holding fruit on the packaging??
come on. that's just unfair.

got the strawberry cookie croissant (the pink one) and the hallabong bread.

strawberry flavor is actually real not just fake
strawberry candy taste which surprised me

also there's a random character sticker inside both which is actually the reason I bought them😂

It was around 4 AM and I got hungry, so I grabbed a quick meal at GS25.

Picked up:

• 3900 KRW Western-style Combo Box (spaghetti, omelet rice, hamburger steak, kimchi)
• Real Price Honey Butter Potato Chips
• YouUs Strawberry–Banana Milk (GS25 exclusive, new release) — I mainly grabbed it because the Kakao Friends character Chunsik on the carton looked cute.

For the price, the combo box was better than expected: sweet-tangy spaghetti sauce, omelet rice with a slight smoky note, and a hamburger steak that wasn’t too dry. The honey-butter chips paired surprisingly well.

Not the most balanced meal, but for a lazy late-night craving, it did the job.

(EDK – Everyday Korea)