Buminok in Jongno has been famous for ages and I had actually been before.. but yang-muchim, the seasoned beef tripe this place is known for, is an awkward thing to order when you are on your own, so even though I knew it was famous, it never even crossed my mind to eat it.

The front entrance

That day my pay had landed and inflation is coming anyway, so I thought I might as well go and try something I had never had before.

The spread

Got to have a drink in the middle of the day..

Yang-muchim

It looks a little grotesque.. but the soft texture is lovely and it is cleaner-tasting than it looks, so it was fantastic with soju. So this is why yang-muchim is famous. The one thing is that they put in so much black pepper that it stings, and I think it would be delicious without going that far, so that part is a shame.

Yukgaejang broth

When you say Buminok you think yukgaejang, and while I was drinking soju with the tripe they brought out a little yukgaejang broth as well. A middle-aged guy gets moved by service like this. I had Buminok’s yukgaejang for the first time in ages too, and of course it is delicious. That alone is reason enough to come. And with that, one more item crossed off the bucket list. If there is an upside to becoming a middle-aged guy, maybe it is that you can drink alone in the afternoon, order an expensive dish to go with it, and just shrug it off.. though it might just mean my life has gone downhill..

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