Samcheong-dong snack bar weekday lunch set after lilacs: Snack Seoul

What were the flowers like at Jeongdok Library in April?

When I went to Jeongdok Library on April 10, 2026, the crabapple (haedanghwa) was about 70% in bloom and the lilacs about 50%. The cherry blossoms were done, and the double cherry blossoms hadn't opened at all yet. I saw all this a week ago!

A friend and I went back because the crabapple we saw at Jeongdok Library last year was so pretty. Last year we went to see the lilacs, but the crabapple was so gorgeous that I apparently forgot about the lilacs, couldn't even find them, and just left! This time I learned Jeongdok Library is pretty for cherry blossoms too! Next year I'll go for the cherry blossoms!

Last week the weather was rainy, cloudy, cold, everything nasty, but my heart is young!!! It felt so good to go! Flower-viewing at Jeongdok Library turned even a 46-year-old ajumma into a girl!

Jeongdok Library, April 10, 2026 — crabapple 70% in bloom, lilac 50% in bloom, cherry blossoms finished, double cherry blossoms 0%, not open at all

Checking my visit date from last year, it was April 23! This year is about 7–10 days earlier, so if you go this week, I think the Seobu crabapple will be in full bloom and the double cherry blossoms will have started to open!

Where are the Seobu crabapple and lilacs at Jeongdok Library?

Jeongdok Library has two Seobu crabapple trees. Turn right after seeing them and there's a patch of purple lilacs in the flower bed below the building. On a nice day it's crazy good! Seriously pretty! If you're in a "some" with someone and you're a big-F (feelings) type, go! A 200% chance of success!!! You'll go all soft and fluttery!

The lilac trees aren't thick or big! They look recently planted! But the fragrance holds its own! They're pretty up close!

That's about how it looked~ This week it has probably bloomed more and will be even prettier!!!

Where is Snack Seoul, and can you park?

Snack Seoul is at 46 Palpan-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd floor at the three-way intersection near the famous Samcheong Sujebi, so it was easy to find. It's 1 minute from the Samcheong Community Center bus stop. There's no parking lot of its own, so use the nearby Samcheong public parking lot!

After the flower date in Samcheong-dong, we headed off to eat tteokbokki, which my friend loves!!! That's how I planned the course! Snack Seoul is hot lately as a fusion Korean snack bar!

Snack Seoul · 46 Palpan-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul (2nd floor) · Daily 11:00–21:00 (last order 20:00)

How much is the weekday lunch set at Snack Seoul?

The one-person lunch set at Snack Seoul is ₩11,000 with half-and-half portions of signature dishes, and it's only available on weekdays 11:00–14:00. Not on weekends! There are other half-and-half menus too that you can get cheaply at lunch!

The lunch menu is really good, so it's best to avoid the time when office workers eat! The one-person set was so good!

I noticed Snack Seoul in Samcheong-dong is a nice place for stylish modern bunsik (Korean snack food) and handmade makgeolli (rice wine), and lots of foreigners come too! Don't go expecting harsh, spicy snack food! They use fresh ingredients and make healthy fusion dishes. That made me like it even more, and I enjoyed eating there!

Can you get a seat at lunchtime?

I went around 12:30 on a weekday and luckily a few seats were open. I'd put it in my Samcheong-dong date course, and if we couldn't eat on time, it'd be a failure! haha

The vintage-feeling interior made the meal more relaxing! If you visit Samcheong-dong in April or May, you get the fresh light-green feel of new ginkgo leaves. It's pretty in autumn too, but spring has its own charm~ and since Snack Seoul is on the 2nd floor, you can really feel that through the window! It's atmospheric even when it rains!

How do the cheese nurungji roe tteokbokki and roe egg gamtae roll taste?

I heard Snack Seoul had a new dish: its signature pollack roe tteokbokki topped with cheese nurungji (crispy scorched rice). So I ordered the cheese nurungji pollack roe tteokbokki and the pollack roe egg gamtae (laver) roll gimbap. First, order!

This is the pollack roe egg gamtae roll with herring roe radish kimchi! You can order more of the herring roe radish kimchi! You can choose from 3 sauces, and I chose perilla leaf mayo! Cute round french fries come with it too!

When you crack the crispy nurungji, there's loads of tteokbokki, sausage and fish cake inside! It's enough for 3 women to share! One dish is not one serving! Think carefully when ordering!

Ahh~~ the nurungji is a stroke of genius! Chewy yet crispy, nutty, and it goes well with the cheese! And the rosé sauce is packed with pollack roe... it tasted similar to the braised freshwater fish my mom used to make when I was little, so I loved it!

I usually don't spoon up the sauce anywhere~ but this one you keep eating! Like scooping up sauce when eating a thick creamy spaghetti! If there'd been steamed rice, I'd have mixed it in!

Dipping the fries in the roe tteokbokki sauce is delicious too!

The pollack roe egg gamtae roll is packed with egg and the rice is spread really thin! A healthy gimbap you feel you couldn't gain weight from! The egg is really soft! Dipping it in the sauce is good, but

it's delicious with the nicely textured herring roe radish kimchi too!

Are the ades at Snack Seoul too sweet?

I ordered a lemonade and a grapefruit ade at Snack Seoul, and they weren't too sweet, with a strong natural fruit aroma. It seems they make the syrup (cheong) themselves~ I really felt it was a healthy ade! These days people worry about sugar in drinks, right? These are the kind you can drink without that worry!

A half-and-half lunch set like this is ₩11,000! If you go at weekday lunch, do stop by! Really delicious! I don't like tteokbokki that much so I rarely eat it, but this day I inhaled it. My friend was shocked to see me spooning up the sauce! She said it was the first time she'd seen that! hahahahaha

The herring roe radish kimchi comes by default, and you can get one more plate for an extra ₩2,000!

Does Snack Seoul sell fresh makgeolli by the glass?

Snack Seoul sells crisp, dry fresh makgeolli brewed in-house with 0% artificial sweeteners, and if a whole bottle feels like too much, you can have a 160ml glass for ₩3,000. If it weren't for picking up my kid from afternoon cram school, a drink would have been perfect~ what a shame!

If you go in the evening, do try it! It looked delicious! With 0% artificial sweeteners you barely get a hangover, so I highly recommend it! Instead of the handmade makgeolli I consoled myself with a Vilac sikhye (sweet rice drink)!

When we left after eating, everyone else had already gone out, so I took a photo!

A Samcheong-dong date course I wrapped up neatly by stopping at a café too! It was really good, they say^^

What do other customers eat at Snack Seoul?

From watching the tables nearby, people at Snack Seoul mostly seemed to be having tender boiled pork (suyuk) with perilla sauce, perilla sujebi fish cake soup, perilla oil buckwheat noodles, gamtae roll gimbap and pollack roe tteokbokki^^ Foreigners were eating well too^^