The best Ginseng Chicken Soup

Honestly, I’m not a big fan of ginseng chicken soup. It’s not that I don’t like it, but I guess it didn’t have much novelty for me because my mom made it pretty often at home. It’s something that I grew up with.

So, when I started hearing people talking about ginseng chicken soup as ‘must eat’ when you visit Korea, I was a little bit surprised. However, it didn’t make me go and search for the best ginseng chicken soup either. So, when I visited this famed restaurant among locals and foreigners, I was surprised and satisfied.

‘To Sok chon’ is located near ‘Insa-dong’ where people visit to see traditional Korean art galleries, stores, tea houses and restaurants. So, you can visit ‘To Sok Chon’ either before or after your visit to Insa-dong.

If you want to beat the crowd (there are long queues of customers waiting to go in on weekends), go early like 11:30am. The restaurant is huge especially after the recent renovation.

The menu is very simple, only a few items on it and you can order your ginseng chicken soup straight away (there is picture, English and Chinese translation). Even a lady can finish a bowl. So, order according to a number of people you have on the table.

You will see lots and lots of tourist but this place is very popular among locals as well. The great tasting ginseng chicken soup is the reason why people don’t mind waiting even there is a long queue. The soup is really rich without being oily or heavy. The chicken is tender and juicy. I’m not really a big eater, but I finished the entire chicken and most of my soup. My husband could finish his bowl (not a single drop of soup was left in his bowl) and he ate half of the other bowl we ordered for kids.

If you eat this in cold weather, it will warm your whole body. If you eat this in hot weather, it will energize your tired body from the heat. That’s why Koreans eat ginseng chicken soup on the hottest day of summer to get energy.

So, get your ginseng chicken soup fix at To Sok Chon when you next visit Seoul~

How to get there;

Gyeongbokgung Station (Seoul Subway Line 3), Exit 2.
Go straight about 170m and turn left onto Jahamun-ro 5-gil Road.
Tosokchon (토속촌) is located 10m ahead on the left.