A Japanese friend came to visit, and one thing led to another and we ended up at a pojangmacha (street tent bar) near Dongdaemun. When you live in Korea you hardly ever end up going to a pojangmacha. Because they’re way too expensive.
Napjak mandu (flat pan-fried dumplings)
Looks like they just fried up some supermarket dumplings.
Fish cake broth
An ordinary fish cake broth with plenty of MSG.
Buchimgae (savory pancake)
Very ordinary
Stir-fried gopchang (intestines)
The ingredients were shoddy, so they covered it up with spice. Eating spicy food just upsets your stomach anyway, so why should I pay money to eat something like this?
We ate this, ordered a few drinks, and I think we paid around 40,000 won, which is on the pricey side. Walk into any random chicken joint you see and the food would be far better than this. Next time a friend suggests a place like this, I think I’d better take them to Gwangjang Market or just go to whatever neighborhood chicken, golbaengi or bunsik place catches my eye. From my friend’s point of view a pojangmacha probably seemed cheaper and more atmospheric, but that’s not how it is in Korea.
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