We Tried ALL Street Foods in Tokyo’s BIGGEST Koreatown! 🤤🇰🇷

We Tried ALL Street Foods in Tokyo’s BIGGEST Koreatown! 🤤🇰🇷

Did you know that Tokyo has its very own Korea town? Just one stop away from Shinjuku is Shin Okubo and it is a street food lover and Korea lovers paradise. Wow, that’s the biggest stick of butter I think I’ve ever received on anything before. It’s filled with Korean cosmetic shops, Korean restaurants, of course, and even some Korean idol fan shops. So, I’m really excited to see what kind of tasty Korean food is popular in Japan right now. Also, actually, that hot sauce is tickling my throat. I got like the tiniest bit of hot sauce and that is like But before we go, don’t forget to subscribe as always for more fun Japan adventures like this one and stay tuned for something really special we’re doing at BY Food this autumn. Let’s go explore and find some tasty Korean food. Let’s go. My first stop of the day is right here at Eggon. It opened in Shiokoba in 2021 and they make the fluffiest egg sandwiches. This type of egg sandwich is apparently really popular in Korea right now. And the shop is also very popular in Japan with their super cheesy over stuffed egg sandwiches. The shop is packed actually. They also have a few different flavors that look really good. They have their original egg sandwich. They have avocado egg. They got bulgogi which is very Korean. I think I’m going to go extra cheesy today with mozzarella egg though. So, let’s go inside and order. [Music] Okay, I have the goods. It looks amazing. First of all, this sandwich, I ended up getting double cheese, and it looks amazing. The cheese is completely covering the egg, but you can feel how hefty it is with these thick slices of bread. And I got a Delona latte. But I was actually expecting a Delona coffee, which was really popular, I think, worldwide during the pandemic. But it actually is a Dalona latte because the Delona candy on top from Squid Game, if anybody has watched that before. So they put that on top of the latte, which I think is also really cool. So I’m excited to try that. Let’s start with the drink. Actually, let’s have a sip. Oh, it’s actually a little bit sweet and I think it might be from the candy, which is really interesting. It’s got a nice caramelized sugar flavor. So, it kind of tastes like a caramel latte. It’s really good. I just realized I don’t think I’ve ever had a Dalona toffee before. It’s I’ve only seen it in Squid Game, I think. So, let’s see how it tastes by itself. M. Oh, yeah. It’s very sweet. It tastes like a burnt caramel toffee. It’s really good. Crunch and a really lovely like burnt caramel flavor, which I love. Okay, now time to try the sandwich. It looks so good. So good. I am a sucker for cheese and eggs. Like those are definitely two of my favorite foods. Look at this. cut bread and it looks slightly toasted but it’s very soft almost like a French toast. M m. That is like a flavor combo made in heaven. You know what’s interesting about it is it’s not your typical American egg and cheese sandwich. Of course, the bread is totally different. It’s super fluffy and soft, but the other thing is there’s a faint sweetness in there somewhere. I think they’ve seasoned the egg a little bit sweeter and it’s very nice. I’m here for it. Extra cheesy, super bouncy, soft bread, really fluffy eggs that are a little bit sweet. It’s a very nice Korean flavor. This is the perfect breakfast for me today. But I’m going to finish this off and let’s go find some more Korean food in Korea Town. [Music] I’ve always loved how food brings people together and sharing has always been at the heart of what food does. Especially in times like these when many people face economic challenges. Every act of kindness matters even more. So this autumn, by food is strengthening their food for happiness program where 10 additional meals will be donated to children in need on top of what is already donated through each booking on byfood.com. Plus, we’re also thinking about you. If you book more than once during October or November, then By Food will give you a,000 yen off your next foodie adventure. And I don’t know about you, but that’s definitely a journey that I want to be a part of. So join me in savoring the flavors of Japanese autumn and spread some kindness along the way. All right, back to the video. All right, our next stop is right here. It’s Opa Gunik, and it’s a popular street food stand here in Chinokubo that’s is known for their piping hot fishcake skewers that is simmered in this really delicious broth. There’s actually a lot of options here. One of the ones that really stands out to me is the Korean toki, which is like Korean mochi cakes, mochi rice cakes in a sweet and spicy sauce. So, I’m going to order some of these. Maybe the one with the cheese is what I’m thinking. I’m really excited to try this. So, you have to go around to the vending machine to order the through the tickets. So, I’m going to go over there. All right. I’ve got the goodies. So, I’ve got my Korean fish cake in some broth and topoki. Topoki. And I got it with cheese because honestly everything almost everything is better with cheese. So, let’s give it a try. I’m going to start with the topoki. Ooh, I can’t wait. The mochi looks so good. It’s really differently shaped from Japanese mochi, which is normally like a a large rectangle, but these ones are more pasta shaped, and I love them. M. The mochi is so chewy, and the cheese just adds another layer of like gooey chewiness. It’s spicy but a little bit sweet is the sauce. And the mochi is so chewy. Goes so well with the cheese, too. Mashi. M. So good. Okay, I’m going to try the fish cake. And I realized I don’t think I’ve ever had a Korean fish cake on a stick before. So, it kind of feels like I’m traveling outside of Japan, which is the really cool thing about little Korea here in Tokyo. So, I added some soy sauce on top. I also added some hot sauce, which you can both recommended to add. And I’m not sure if I added too much sauce or not. We’ll find out. M. Also, actually, that hot sauce is tickling my throat. I got like the tiniest bit of hot sauce, and that is like tickling my throat already. Maybe that was a bad call. I put a lot of hot sauce on this. But let me just say the broth is really good. You get a little bit of soy sauce flavor, but also this wonderful I don’t know. I think it’s a fishbased broth is my guess, but the fish cake itself is it’s really tender. Almost like eating like the texture of a like a fried tofu. Little bit of this fishy fishcake taste. I think it’s worth a try. I really like it. I’m going to finish these up and uh we’ll see you guys at the next Korean food spot. We’ll see what I can find next. [Music] My next food stop of the day is right here at Sabong. And it is a Thayyaki shop, which is originally a Japanese food that is like a fishshaped pastry that usually has red bean paste in it. But this one has a very unique twist. It’s actually a saltbread tayyaki, which is not common here. I’ve actually never had it before. Although saltre is a Japanese food as well. So you can find something called salt bread or shopan in a lot of Japanese bakeries here. But apparently it has really taken off in Korea. So I think this is the perfect example of a fusion food where like two Japanese foods were taken and combined and become sort of a Korean thing now. So let’s go and try a saltbread tayyaki. I’m really excited. This is a lot of butter. Wow. That’s the biggest stick of butter I think I’ve ever received on anything before. Slightly concerned about the calorie content, but it’s fine. It’s fine. I’m sure that the butter is probably salted is my guess. So, it’ll probably give a lot of flavor to this. And I’m really curious about if there’s something inside of it or not, cuz traditional tayyaki will have red bean paste uh usually, but sometimes different fillings like custard or chocolate. This one looks like it’s a flattened shiopan butter roll. So, it looks really crispy on the outside with a lot of butter. Let’s see how it tastes. M. There’s a surprise. There’s red bean paste. That was a delightful surprise. I actually fully thought there was not going to be anything in it. What’s really good about this tayyaki is the exterior is clearly like a salty crispy dinner roll bun. It’s super buttery and then the contrast with the sweet red bean paste on the inside is so nice cuz red bean paste for those of you who are not familiar is usually really quite sweet. So the contrast of the saltiness with the bread and the sweetness is like a very interesting combo. It’s just right. This is a a great a great combo. Japan and Korea, we should all love each other like this Chiopan/Tayyaki loves each other. Moral of the story, it’s very good. That’s so scary. [Music] My next stop is right here. This is Okodo Cafe about a 3-minute walk from Shinooko station and they first opened at the beginning of 2024 and their theme is actually based on Jedju Island in Korea. So these are some statues you can find in Jedju Island. It’s a very chic and stylish cafe that has quickly become very popular in the area amongst locals as well. And they’re particularly known for a really unique dessert here called sooro pan or so bread. And so means like crumbled or minced. We usually use it for like minced meat in Japan, but here they use it to describe the topping of the bread, which is like a strusel like crumbly topping. And those have these giant drinks. So, I really want to try some of those. And some of their bagels. They have these really delicious looking bagels on the sign here. Let’s go inside and see what we can get. Okay, I’ve got my food and my drink. The drink is so tall. And this one is called the Jedju Sea Latte. As you can see, the coloring is inspired by the sea and the beach in Jedju Island. I think it looks really beautiful. The flavoring is actually using a blue curo lure that is made of like bitter dried orange peels. But now I’m wondering, is this alcoholic or not? I’m not sure. But it looks really nice. I think we should start with this one first. Oh, that’s really good. But I don’t think it tastes anything like orange. But what I’ll say is like you can really taste the sweet latte at the top. The syrup is probably what’s giving some of the sweetness. To me, it almost feels a little bit floral. So rather than orange, it’s a bit floral tasty. That’s my impression. All right. So, for the foods, I ended up getting the blueberry sando or the blueberry sandwich, which is basically a blueberry bagel sandwich. It has the blueberry bagel. It has cream cheese on the top, I believe, with real fresh blueberries and some kind of blueberry jam and cream cheese on the inside. I also got the soor pan. This one is the black cocoa cheese, which is their recommended menu item and apparently uh one of their most popular ones. And it’s got cream cheese filling and this wonderful crumbly cookie topping, which would be the sooro. Can’t wait to try. All right, let’s start with the blueberry sand dough. M. Oh my gosh. Wait a second. That is so good. The bagel, it tastes really like a homemade bagel. really bouncy, doughy, fluffy, and the cream cheese is really just blueberry, very faintly sweet, and then you get these like fresh blueberry bites which add a little bit of juiciness and some more fruiness from the blueberry jam. I can see why this is a popular menu item. I would get this again. It’s a little decadent, but so good. Okay, now it’s time to try the black cocoa cheese soap. And they actually heat it up for you. That is so crunchy. The dough is also amazing. They use a cookie dough to make the bread. The texture is not actually like a cookie, but the exterior is definitely really crisp. And then there’s a little bit of like cheese on the inside. The sweet bread with the cheese goes really well together. And I love the stretchiness, the fluffiness, and the crisp like crunch on the outside from the sole. I’m going to finish this. Actually, I really enjoy eating this. But, uh, we still have more food to eat today, so I’ll see you guys at our next stop. It has started pouring rain out of the blue. It’s raining really hard. My feet are soaked. But this is our last stop of the day. We’re actually going to be trying some Korean fried chicken right here at this shop called Shing Chang. Korean fried chicken has been really popular recently, I think, around the world, but also really in Japan. So, you can find a lot of great restaurants that serve Korean fried chicken. And what’s special about it is it’s got this really crunchy, crispy exterior, really juicy meat. It’s a little bit similar to Japanese karag but with different more Korean style flavor options using sweet and spicy sauces like and they double fry the exterior so you really get this nice crisp crunch on the outside that keeps the interior juicy so it’ll be a little different from American fried chicken. I can’t wait to try this spot. Let’s go upstairs. Oh, here we are. Oh, this is really nice. It’s a It’s like an isakaya but slightly something about it definitely feels more Korean. I love the little dividers between the tables. They have these really cool light decorations everywhere. Very fun atmosphere. We’re here really early, by the way, but I can see this place being really lively as soon as we hit after work time. It’s still 3:00 p.m. So, but there are customers, so that says something. All right, let’s see what kind of crispy chicken we can get today. [Music] Here’s the food. It looks so good. I decided to get three types of Korean style fried chicken. We have one which is the powdered cheese. It’s called purinkuru chicken in Japan. This one is the yanom chicken which is like a classic sweet and slightly spicy sauce on the chicken. And then we have another interesting flavor which is the kuromitsu gi kosoyu. So it should be sweet and salty and I think it’ll be really good. Look at this. This looks so good. It’s a nice chunk of meaty meaty fried chicken and there’s a lot of cheese powder on it. M. That’s really tasty. One thing that really surprised me was actually how crispy it is. I knew coming into the shop that it was going to be very crispy chicken and then you get this like really satisfying crunch. It’s very nice. And then the chicken on the inside is so juicy. The cheese powder is the second part that was very pleasant. The cheese powder flavoring is clearly mixed with different seasonings. It tastes really good. There’s a slight sweetness to the Korean cheese powder. A little bit of like almost garlicky flavor. some what looks like basil bits or something. It’s very good. I’m very impressed. All right, let’s try the Kuromitsu garlic soy sauce chicken. There’s a lot of names to say in there. It looks really good. This one looks a lot saucier. Oh, it’s very crispy. Let’s take a bite. M m. That is crunchy. Mhm. I am not exaggerating the crunch. It is so crisp. The sauce is fantastic. You get this flavor of the sesame seeds that are on top and sweet soy sauce kind of flavor. I like the kuromitsu, the black sugar sauce. Really nice. It almost tastes a little bit like a Korean and Japanese fusion. You’re doing good work, Korea and Japan. Heart. Okay, time to try the last chicken. This is the yamon chicken, which is definitely the most popular flavor of Korean chicken that I think you could find in Japan. And this one seems to be topped with crushed peanuts, which looks really nice. It looks really saucy and sticky. Oh, can’t wait to try this. Here you go. M. Oh. Oh, that’s so good. M. That sauce is so garlicky. A little bit of nuttiness from the peanuts. Also, this really great like sweet sticky sauce that also has a very, very subtle hint of spice. It’s very good. I can see why this is like the popular flavor in Japan. M. Well, there you have it. That was my little exploration of delicious Korean, mostly street foods today that are very popular in Japan. So, if any of you have lived in Korea or are from Korea, um I would love to hear how similar the foods that we find in Japan are to the ones actually back in Korea. And some of you may wonder like why you would visit Shinokubo Korea Town when you’re in Tokyo. If you had one Asia trip and you were only coming, you only have time for Japan, you might as well visit Shinokubo and get a little taste of Korea in it as well. I think that’s like two birds with one stone. You can see the Korean food trends and you can have a Japan experience as well. Let me know in the comments down below which food you like the most or the one that you would most want to try when you come to Tokyo or when you go to Korea. You might be able to find these in Korea, too. Anyway, thanks so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed it and we’ll see you guys in another video. Don’t forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe. All right, see you next time. If you enjoyed this video, click the photos on the left for more and click the one on the right to learn more about buy food and book your own Japan adventures. [Music]

Japan byFood and Shizuka are discovering the taste of Korea in Shin-Okubo, Tokyo’s largest Koreatown, just one stop away from Shinjuku! We are eating all the street foods you could think of – tteokbokki, fishcake, dalgona latte, salt bread and the legendary Korean chicken. How authentic can all the tastes be? Stay tuned until the end of the video!

*Share Japan’s Autumn Harvest 🍂 Give 10 Meals + Get ¥1,000 Off on byFood!* ➡️ http://bit.ly/42j6OPf

*Locations*
EggOn
1 Chome-5-4 Tohto Building 1F, Hyakunincho, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-0073

Oppa Bunsik
2 Chome-1-1 K-PLAZA 1, Hyakunincho, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-0073

SOBOONG
2 Chome-1-4, Hyakunincho, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-0073

OKUDO CAFE
2 Chome-2-9 Hyakunincho, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-0073

Shinchang Chicken
1 Chome-10-10 KM Building 2F, Hyakunincho, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-0073

TIMELINE
00:00 – Intro
00:51 – First Stop: EggOn
03:55 – Autumn Campaign
04:36 – Second Stop: Oppa Bunsik
07:28 – Third Stop: SOBOONG
10:04 – Fourth Stop: OKUDO CAFE
14:06 – Last Stop: Shinchang Chicken

*About byFood*
ByFood is a platform that connects foodies with food experiences in Japan, from bustling food markets to serene countryside tastings. Besides exploring Japanese food culture in an authentic way, your booking fuels positive change! For every booking, we donate 10 meals to children in need through our Food for Happiness program. Ready for your next food adventure?

Browse trending restaurants and award-winning menus ➡️ https://bit.ly/3IBQ7Et
Find and book food experiences in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and beyond ➡️ https://bit.ly/4agznyx
Want a tailor-made Japan experience? Let our travel experts craft culinary experiences just for you ➡️ https://bit.ly/48NU6dm

*Follow byFood online for more food and travel tips from Japan!*
Japan byFood on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/japanbyfood
Japan byFood on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/japanbyfood
Japan byFood on X: https://twitter.com/japanbyfood