Walking from Nambu Terminal toward Yangjae, you pass a place called Jangkkobang, and it’s always packed with people. I got curious and went in.

The place

There’s a second floor as well, so business must be good.

The kimchi jjigae they sell as an HMR pack

This place does charcoal-grilled meat, rolled omelette and kimchi jjigae, but eating alone here felt a bit awkward, so I just bought the kimchi jjigae to take away. With two or three people you could order the jjigae plus a side and have a great meal. Tasting it, this isn’t the usual tough style loaded with meat and fat — it’s closer to a kimchi soup, plenty of broth, clean and sharp with a bit of a kick.. It’d be good for a hangover, and I reckon it’d be tasty with some bean sprouts added too.. No wonder it’s popular.

The Jangkkobang in Gangnam

The Jangkkobang by Gangnam Station is a chapssaltteok and patbingsu specialist, and it turns out it’s connected to the kimchi jjigae place.. I knew I’d heard that name somewhere before..

Ssuktteok, mugwort rice cake

I’m not usually a fan of these mochi-style rice cakes, but Jangkkobang’s ssuktteok had the mugwort aroma coming right through, chewy, generous, nice and thick, and packed with red bean filling — it was so good. It felt like the perfected form of Korean dessert. It keeps in the freezer too, so it’d make a good gift.

Chapssaltteok

This one didn’t have as much impact as the ssuktteok. Anyway, next time the weather warms up I should go back for some bingsu at least.

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