Sanchon serves a unique experience with an evening of traditional temple dishes with a side of traditional Korean dancing and drumming performances. There is only one menu and it’s based on the traditional diet of Buddhist monks. The owner and founder of Sanchon was a monk himself for 18 years and left the monastery to bring temple food to the common people of Korea and the world. All foods are fresh from the mountain, garden and seaside. All dishes are vegan as well so you can stuff your face and still feel good about it!

I’ll let the pictures do the talking for the rest of the food:

Appetizers.

More appetizers.

Main course.

Under the lid! More fresh, leafy side dishes.

Serving Kamila some bean paste soup.

Dessert of dried lotus root, potatoes, sweet potatoes and sweet puffed rice fingers with cinnamon tea.

Traditional folk performances are held nightly from 8pm-8:40. Before the show, we took some pics of the scenery around Sanchon.

Antique armoires.

Home made honey? Not sure.

L-R: Yours truly, Bal and Kamila.

A close-up of some of the artwork on the above armoire.

Some of the natural ingredients seen inside.

A marionette takes a seat at an old piano while we wash up before eating.

The photos of the traditional performances didn’t do those talented ladies a grain of justice, so check out the video here instead:

Overall the food was unique, strange at times but for the most part, delicious. A glimpse of monastery life coupled with the beautiful performances was well-worth the $44 we spent on the evening. Don’t go in expecting food for a western palette. Arrive with an open mind, an empty stomach and you will not be disappointed.

Many comments on visitor review sites noted that Sanchon was hard to find. To combat this, I’ve provided an array of photos so you can walk your way to a temple dinner with ease. First, get off the Seoul Metro at Anguk station (line 3), exit 6. Walk 100m straight towards the 4-way intersection. You’ll be on the same side of the road you need to turn left on, so look for the ‘Insadong-gil’ street name and turn left. Walk down the main strip of the Insadong shopping street. You’ll see street signs like, ‘Insadong 14-gil,’ ‘Insadong 12-gil,’ and so on. Keep walking down.

You’ll see the street sign ‘Insadong 6-gil’ and you want to turn left down the alleyway BEFORE ‘Insadong 6-gil.’

You should see this sign hanging at the entrance of alley, next to the Park Young Jook building.