KOREAN SPRING

Pho is quite common here in Korea, although I've heard a Vietnamese friend tell me that the Koreanized pho is too sweet and not flavorful enough; in other words, not the real deal. I've never tried authentic pho before, and truth be told I'm not too sad about missing out because the Korean version is quite delicious too. That being said, when I agreed to meet up with a friend at Jongno and literally searched online for the closest pho restaurant from the subway station, I was pleasantly surprised to come across Emoi, which seemed a lot more legit than the ones I was accustomed to. For one thing, the staff were Vietnamese, which made me think I might finally get to try actual pho this time. The interior and atmosphere also seemed a bit... foreign, for lack of a better word. Directions: walk straight from Jonggak station exit 4, make a right at Starbucks, then make an immediate left. Another thing I liked was that the menu was very simple and not very diverse, whi