I kept having reasons to go to Yeongdeungpo, so I ended up there regularly.
The pho place by Dangsan Station
They run it right at the entrance to Han River Park, and it looks absolutely great.
A Yeongdeungpo alley
This will be redeveloped before long.
A Yeongdeungpo alley
It’ll only live on as a memory..
Buil Galbi
This is a place you have to come to properly geared up for, and rounding up people to grill meat with from midday isn’t easy.. It’s a popular place so it’s not going anywhere, and someday I’ll get my chance.
Baek Jong-won’s Wonjo Ssambapjip
The sign is looking a bit worn. It used to be a famous franchise, and in a way this shop is the original of Baek Jong-won’s whole franchise empire, but only a handful of branches are left now. It had also been ages since I last had ssambap, so I was curious and went in for once.
Fresh pork belly
At a ssambap house, ssambap isn’t actually the main event – it’s really a pork belly joint. This place is best known for daepae samgyeopsal, the paper-thin shaved pork belly, and that’s the cheaper option, but I like my pork belly thick so I ordered this instead.
The wrap greens
Ssam is a hassle to put together at home, so eating it out is better value. The quality was pretty decent, and nobody gave me any grief for ordering it on my own, which was nice.
A spread like this
It isn’t fancy, but there isn’t a single side dish you’d leave. The mackerel was braised through nicely.. the meat quality is good, there are plenty of greens.. do this much and I’d call it an above-average place to eat. No wonder Baek Jong-won made it big. The one shame is that when you come alone you only get the basic ssamjang, and yet ordering the house’s signature ssamjang for one person is a bit much in quantity. I suppose I’ll just have to come with a group.
A bench at SeaLaLa
There’s a water park in Yeongdeungpo called SeaLaLa, with facilities that are a little dated. I’d been looking around for pools to go to, and maybe it’s because of Covid, but there are hardly any places you can just drop into. Here, though, it isn’t that crowded, the facilities aren’t bad, there’s a sauna, and the afternoon rate is around 16,000 won – there’s nothing else like it in Seoul.. About half the price of Aquafield, I’d say.. Aquafield is packed anyway so it isn’t exactly comfortable to use, so I’ve found myself coming here often..
The entrance
You have to buy the ticket online. There’s no way to buy one on the spot. You print your ticket at the kiosk and walk in.
The entrance..
You don’t see many people walking past, but there are quite a few inside. Thinking of the kids, there’s probably nothing else like it around here.
Udo hotteok
I tried it to see what the peanut was like, but it’s pretty ordinary.. There isn’t much peanut in it, and the honey inside isn’t spread evenly, so there are bits where you’re just eating bread..
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