Work took me to the Bangbang Sageori area in Yangjae-dong for a few days. While I was there I dropped by a few of the neighbourhood’s good restaurants, so here are my notes.

On the very first day I went to the most famous place in the area, Seocho Namsunnam Sundae-guk. I had a great meal here before, and after a long gap it was as good as ever.

Banchan

Even on your own you get a full spread.

Sundae-guk

The sundae itself is nothing special, but the quality of the meat is excellent. This taste at 7,000 won is incredibly competitive for the Gangnam area. That must be why the place is still packed. Next time I’ll ask for it without the sundae.

A hopeless sky

The fine dust levels around here were incredibly high. Thanks to China, I don’t think you can live in Korea any more without an air purifier and a mask.

Sujebi at Yedang

Yedang is a place I went to on a friend’s recommendation. It seems to specialise in sujebi (hand-torn dough soup), and the broth was pretty good.

Jeyuk jikhwa at Sogong-dong Ttukbaegi

Sogong-dong Ttukbaegi is a chain, and there are a ton of branches around Gangnam. I tried a menu item called jeyuk jikhwa (flame-grilled spicy pork), and both the quality of the meat and the seasoning were better than you’d expect from a chain. If it tastes this good, you couldn’t ask for more as a snack with soju. The only problem is that it’s a set meal, so it comes with rice and sundubu and costs 15,000 won. It would be nice if they sold it on its own for around 10,000 won.. is there really any need to serve bland sundubu and filling rice alongside it? Anyway, I learned that even chain restaurants have dishes that are decent enough to eat.

The next day’s weather

This was just before the rain came, and once it rained it got a bit easier to breathe. Never thought the day would come when I’d be waiting for rain..

Sundae-guk at Onnuri Farm

It’s originally a barbecue place, but they serve sundae-guk too. I went on a friend’s recommendation, but they use loads of seasoning and not very good ingredients. Cook like this and it tastes fine, but it’s poor for nutritional balance. You need to get enough fresh protein and fat, and a seasoning-based broth just doesn’t have those in it. I don’t think MSG is bad for your health; the problem is that it lets you get by on a meal made from cheap, unbalanced ingredients.

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