I heard there was a Chinese restaurant in Yeonnam-dong that only starts folding the dumplings once you order, so I went to check it out. There are quite a few places in Korea that do good dumplings, but I am not sure any of them make them to order. The Chinese-food lovers around me all rated it highly, so I could hardly not go.
The front entrance
It is right across the road from Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai, heading toward Sinchon. A bit of an out-of-the-way spot. The place looks so shabby that from the outside you could not tell whether it is a great restaurant or just the neighbourhood Chinese joint.
Cooking in progress
I ordered the steamed dumplings, and they started folding them right away. Because of that, it takes a while after ordering for the dumplings to come out. Done this way the taste is bound to be good, but once business picks up later on they will have trouble turning tables. The right move is probably to visit before it gets any more popular. It would be a shame if the taste changed once business took off, like it did at Ipum Bunsik.
The menu
Besides dumplings there are various other dishes. The five-spice braised pork (ohyang jangyuk) is said to be excellent, and in fact the people eating in front of me ordered it, and it looked delicious. Rounding up the gang for jangyuk and a glass of soju would not be a bad idea either.
Side dishes
Well.. nothing special.
Steamed dumplings
The dumplings finally arrived, and the skins were wonderfully soft yet chewy. The generous filling has a mild, unassertive flavour, so opinions might be a bit divided, but I really liked it.
Fried rice
I was short on time so I took the fried rice to go. It had that wok-fire smokiness, but the seasoning was on the light side. That seems to be their style, and I think it would work well alongside something like the jangyuk.
It has been a while since I found a decent Chinese restaurant, and this is what makes the foodie life fun. I had better keep going diligently before it gets popular and goes downhill.
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