Seongsu-dong is the epicentre of young Korean cool. It’s not quite the Brooklyn of Korea that it’s being pegged as, but is still a fascinating neighbourhood. A good place to go to people watch, you can wander around taking in the street art or just grab a coffee. Like much of the neighbourhood Cafe Onion has been converted from its run down former self. It used to be a metal factory, but it’s now an industrial chic space filled with raw concrete, exposed brick and some of the best coffee in Seoul.

Finding vegetarian food can be tricky in Korea: there are numerous vegetable preparations, kimchi and namuls (a cooked and seasoned vegetable side dish – essentially a cooked salad), but they tend to be seasoned with fish sauce or fermented shrimp paste. There are options of course, and for a truly unique experience I would highly recommend Baru Gongyang. The best place in Seoul for ‘sachal eumsik’ (a completely vegan cuisine from the Buddhist temples of Korea), all the food here is cooked by monks and is a true expression of the diversity and deliciousness of the world of plants.

Gwangjang is one of the better markets in Seoul. A relic of an older time, it has been given a new lease of life by the increased interest in Korean traditional food. The market is famous for bindaeduk, a pancake of pork and ground mung beans whose flavour belies its humble origins. Gwangjang is also home to a wide range of kimchi (that will give you a sense of how diverse the ubiquitous Korean side dish can be); a very good beef tartare restaurant called Chang Shin Yukhoe; and (like any market worth it’s name it has fresh donuts) Korean ggwabaegi – a plaited dough fried to order and dusted with cinnamon sugar.

Hadongkwan in Myeongdong has been serving a Korean beef soup known as gomtang for 70 years – if it’s not broken, they don’t fix it. Served up in a brass pot, the soup is a clear broth – with a noticeable lack of additives – of beef and onions, served with radish and cabbage kimchi. Gomtang is a restorative dish and can taste plain the first time you try it, but a pinch of salt isn’t discouraged and will help bring it to life.

La Yeon is one of two 3 Michelin-starred restaurants in Seoul, and comes with all the trappings and the price tag you’d expect from its lofty status. The restaurant is located on the 23rd level of the Shilla hotel with an incredible view overlooking downtown Seoul. And the food stands up to the view. Unlike most other well-regarded fine dining restaurants in Korea (such as Jung Shik Dang or Kwonsooksoo) there are no modern molecular gastronomic tricks or gimmicks at La Yeon, just carefully sourced and cooked Korean food informed by the traditions of gungjung eumsik (Korean court cuisine).