Maknae Hoe Center in Singil-dong is an old regular haunt of mine. Though I can’t really call myself a regular, since I don’t manage to go that often. I wanted sandfish, a winter delicacy, and while looking around for a good place I settled on this easy option. Winter brings lots of tasty seasonal fish, so I had high hopes, but that day there weren’t many good fish around. We just had the basic set and headed home.
Fresh sea squirt
Personally, I don’t get what people enjoy about this. It has some chew, but I don’t find it particularly tasty. Maybe it works as something to go with soju.
Premium sweet potato shochu I brought along: Sato Kuro
I’d been saving it for this day for a year ^_^. It’s one step below the very top-tier shochu and costs a little over 10,000 yen a bottle (the top tier goes for 20,000-30,000 yen). At this level, whether you drink it straight or any other way, and whoever drinks it, it’s good enough to satisfy. In wine terms you could think of it as roughly a Premier Cru. It seems more places in Korea serve Japanese shochu lately, but drinking something this good there would cost a fortune. Same goes for sake: Japanese drinks are still best enjoyed in Japan.
Dodari sekkosi (finespotted flounder sliced thin, bones and all)
The fish itself is a tasty one, but the freshness was off. Since they expanded into the annex, the flavor really does seem to be slipping, subtly. I have fewer and fewer reasons to make the trip.
Live “dancing” shrimp
These don’t have that sweetness they used to either. Has my palate gotten pickier? Or was I just off that day… Hmm…
Braised mackerel
It’s good with rice, but it doesn’t quite go with raw fish.
Turban shells, or were they whelks…
Not much different from before. Still a pain to eat, though…
Dak-saeu (spiny shrimp)
These were as good as ever. Probably the best dish of the day…
Steamed squid
I think the change in flavor is less about freshness and more about the ingredients. They’ve grown so big that they probably can’t use only the very best stuff anymore. That’s always the problem when business is booming… Hmm…
Snow crab
A pain to eat, but it’s in season so it’s delicious. A bigger one would have been even better, so that was a bit of a shame…
The main event of the day: sandfish
Weak… Sure, sandfish season had just passed, but it was a real drop. Not the flavor it used to be…
Dished out…
I came all this way specifically for sandfish… It was quite a letdown.
And to finish, seafood ramyeon…
The people stay the same, but good restaurants change… Not that it matters much, since I can just go somewhere else next time…
Next time I’m back in Korea I’ll have to track down tastier places… Stay tuned… – though the Tokyo posts will probably come first…