I drop by Arenmok in Ueno every now and then, mostly because of a personal connection. They recently opened a second branch in Asakusa, and the manager there is Park Cheol-hyeon (a.k.a. Tetsu), who is pretty well known on Facebook. There aren’t that many Koreans living in Tokyo, so everyone turns out to be a friend of a friend.
Meat
Since we know each other, I had to order their best dishes. What stuck with me that day was a staff member who looked new and was incredibly friendly. If you want to find out who I mean, go and see for yourself.
Buchimgae
Well… it’s decent, nothing more. Makes me miss Miro Sikdang.
Nakji (long-arm octopus)
Very few places in Japan serve Korean-style nakji, so I gave it a try.
Gimmari
It had been ages since I last had these.
More meat
More meat
The quality is good across the board.
After round one, we went for round two at a Korean-run bar right across the street, and the service there was excellent too. The mizuwari was so good I had to ask, and it turned out they make it with Chivas Regal Mizunara. I loved the place, but somehow I never got the chance to go back.






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