I went to a university near Bongcheon-dong (Nakseongdae, I suppose?), but back when I was a student I hardly ever ate at the good places in that neighborhood. There were reasons for that at the time…. Anyway, the upshot is that every now and then I hear about a well-known spot near the school and only get around to it after graduating. This place is famous too, and I finally had an errand that brought me by. It is near Seoul National University Station, with Sammiok, famous for seolleongtang, right next door.
Side dishes
Pretty ordinary, really. I also learned that day that they are open 24 hours.
Bean sprout gukbap
Well.. it is true that bean sprout gukbap is a bit thin compared to other hangover soups. Egg and bean sprouts are the main event, after all. Still, it is not a bad choice when you just want a clean, simple meal.
This place has the advantage that you can also have hongeo (fermented skate) and a glass of moju, though I have no idea when I would ever take them up on it. Ahem..
The next day I flew straight to Tokyo. I usually go through Gimpo, but this time I used Incheon Airport so I could make proper use of the duty-free shops. Turns out there was less worth buying at the airport than I expected. Popping into a duty-free shop once or twice on a weekend works out better..
Bibimbap from a diner in the basement of Incheon Airport
These days I avoid in-flight meals whenever I can. I used to stuff myself because it was free food, but going back and forth to Japan so often, the same repertoire every time gets old. So before departure I wandered around the airport looking for something to eat, found a cheap, decent-looking place in the basement snack corner, and ordered bibimbap. Good value for the money. It is an airport anyway, so even the expensive food is not actually good, and this was just right.
The newly opened Louis Vuitton in the duty-free area
The scale of it was enormous. But of course, they pull the usual trick of barely stocking the cheaper items.. Seen that way, the city duty-free shops are far better.
The new terminal has a Paris Baguette, and there are spots where you can quietly lie down and rest even if you are not a lounge user, which was nice. If this fine airport gets privatized, services like this for customers who bring in no money at all will surely disappear. Privatization is something we have to fight tooth and nail.