A Thai food bar called Opas has opened in Yeonnam-dong. It’s part of the Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai and Soi Yeonnam family. I’m VIP member No. 2 and I’ve been countless times already, so I feel almost guilty that I’m only posting about it now.. To be honest, Tuk Tuk is popular with everyone and the wait is always long, so I never imagined becoming a regular. But this time, thanks to the kindness of Mareunbi, a Tuk Tuk VIP, I ended up going to Opas often. I’m always grateful.

Fried spring-roll wrappers

It’s the basic bar snack, but it’s so ridiculously good that the problem is you keep asking for refills.

Welcome drink and Maker’s Mark Mint Julep

Maker’s Mark Mint Julep is, oddly enough, a bourbon whisky that tastes like a mint julep. The ABV is low, so you’d call it a liqueur rather than a whisky. Drunk neat it’s on the sweet side, but chilled over ice it turns into a perfect mint julep.

Tod mun kung

We ordered a few light finger foods. Unlike other bars, there are plenty of dishes that work perfectly well as a meal, so it’s good as a first stop too. The concept of covering the first and second round in one place is common in Japan, but I think this is just about the first in Korea.

Fish balls

They said they’re made from ground flounder, and I was surprised at how good they were. The problem was that every dish after this kept being delicious too.

A sort of menbosha

I’m not good at remembering the names of Thai dishes.

Signature cocktail

They have a range of signature cocktails ready. They’re very thorough in their preparation.

Morning glory + uni

This one was a bit so-so. The morning glory was far too spicy, and putting uni on top kind of killed the flavour.

Pork jowl

Sweet and tender. This was the most popular dish of the night. It really goes well with the drinks at a bar.

Thai-style pork knuckle

Something spectacular came out. Deep-fry a pork knuckle and there’s no way it won’t be good.

Chicken

It’s a bit like karaage too. If your chicken is this good, you could open a chicken joint.

Today’s whisky, Oban 14 Year Old

The single malt from The Newsroom! Solidly good. Always reliable, you could say.

Ribs

Tasty, but a bit awkward to eat. As bar food it was a bit so-so.

Cake from Maison M’O

It looks good, but the taste is excellent too. It’s on the level of a top-class shop in Japan. The problem is that after this day its popularity exploded and it became hard to get hold of..

Beef tenderloin

I think we ate almost everything on the menu that day.

For round two we went to Craft One.

Nøgne Ø Double IPA

Delicious. Nøgne Ø is truly reliable.

Mingle

This one was just okay..

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