I came back to Korea after a long while, and with the weather this cold it’s only natural to crave winter food. I went with members of my foodie club to Pyeongando Mandujip in Gwanghwamun, famous for its mandu jeongol (dumpling hot pot). It’s such a well-known place that there isn’t much to explain, but it was harder to find than I expected. It’s not far from the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, but it isn’t right next to it either. The entrance is on the opposite side, so if you go by the map alone you’ll wander around for quite a while.
Nongju (farmer’s rice wine)
Seeing them order nongju in the middle of the day without a care for the endless run of year-end parties tells you these members are seriously seasoned drinkers.
Side dishes
Nothing special..
Daytime drinking
A drink feels good. But for some reason it didn’t digest well, and I suffered until night.
Mung bean pancake
By the time I went to take a picture, this was all that was left.. It tasted fine but wasn’t anything special.
Spicy oyster salad
It’s winter season, so I just ordered it. The taste was just so-so, average.
Mandu jeongol, large
There are no expensive ingredients in it, but it’s packed with plenty of stuff. I fished out the jeon (pan-fried slices) to eat first before the dumplings, and that day I learned for the first time that you can put jeon into a hot pot. When I asked, everyone just took it for granted.. The dumplings taste clean, so it seems like a good place to come when I get a craving in winter. Maybe because I had saengtae-tang (fresh pollack stew) the day before, I wasn’t as impressed, but this is plenty good. If I ever treat my younger friends to a meal in winter, I’d like to bring them here ^_^
Plain lassi
At Gabenaru, our usual spot, I chatted with the members and took photos. It’s a bit hectic, but many of the members are regulars so it has a family-like atmosphere, and I end up going often. I prefer quieter places, but the places I like always go out of business so fast..