After a really good sundae at Yeonnam Wangsundae, I suddenly got hooked on sundae. Around that time I was also watching the Japanese drama Kodoku no Gurume religiously, which got me interested in food you can go and eat on your own, a single dish, and then walk straight back out. I started by leafing through the Blue Ribbon guide, and Seoil Sundaeguk came up as a famous one. It was a bit of a trek, but I picked a day and went.
The front entrance
The original branch is right next door, but I went into the clean, roomy second branch. Some people insist this sort of thing only tastes right in a shabby old place, but since I carry around a camera I’m rather precious about, I don’t much like setting it down on the floor, so I prefer somewhere clean.
Side dishes
A standard spread.
A plate of sundae, ordered separately
The sundae is packed with vegetables and tastes clean and light. It’s a little different from the usual sundae, but it’s definitely good, which must be why so many people queue up to come here. The sundae set meal I’d seen on Nokjang’s blog was gone, so I ordered the sundae and the sundaeguk separately. I like the set-meal style, so that part was a bit of a shame.
Sundaeguk
It arrives piping hot.
Plenty packed into the bowl.
The broth, the sundae and the meat were all just about perfect. The only thing nagging at me was the missing set meal; otherwise I thought there can’t be many sundae gukbap places in Korea doing it this well. Which is why people flock here even though it’s out of the way.
Boramae Park
I had time to spare, so I took a walk to let the meal settle.
The park
I actually lived around here a long time ago, and back then I had no idea there was a popular sundae gukbap place nearby.
The walking course
Memories of coming out here to exercise came flooding back.
Roughly this kind of atmosphere
This neighbourhood seems to have developed a lot too.