Anagoya near Boramae Park is a famous place, but what with the shop moving and me being busy in my own way, I only just got around to going. Since I was going anyway, I roped in one of the shop’s most loyal regulars, so we may have got a few extra freebies out of it.

Yuknak (yukhoe with chopped raw octopus)

Goes really well with soju. So good it made me wonder whether the main event here is beef rather than sea eel.

Chadolbagi (beef brisket)

It came out thickly sliced, so I wondered what cut it was, and they said it was chadolbagi. I had never had it like this, and the chew is just excellent.

Ilpum Jinro

An oak-aged soju from Jinro, with a distinctive deliciousness of its own. A rare item that is hard to find these days.

Jeotgal (salted seafood)

Was it sea squirt jeotgal.. I kept reaching for it.

Sea eel soup

Half of it was already gone.. but I think it was decent.

Grilled sea eel

The main grilled dish finally arrives. The chew was superb. The place was packed again that night, and with food like this, no wonder.

Sashimi

Both the grilled and the raw are good. Looking at everything that has come out so far, it is nothing but dishes that make the drinks go down without end. Which is why I drank a lot that night.

Yamazaki Limited Edition

A whisky I brought back from a trip to Japan. Yamazaki, as ever. They say it is made only from malts aged over 20 years, and the smoothness is on another level. It feels a touch smoother than the 18 Year, yet costs far less, so I would call it a must-buy.

Grilled

Sea eel goes very well with whisky too.

They even had glasses ready.

A first for me at a place like this. Who knew they would have whisky glasses!

Mineo (croaker)

The owner brought out a little for us to try, so my first croaker of the year turned out to be at Anagoya.

Mineo jeon

They fried up some jeon for us too. Jeon as a whisky snack is.. hmm.. well, but I drank happily all the same.

Octopus

The mains were over but there was still liquor left, so we asked for a little more to nibble on, and out came octopus. Nice touch.

Jiri, the clear soup

What kind of jiri it was, I cannot recall…

Rice

Carbs to finish, as always.

Grappa

Just when I thought we were done, a fearsome liquor flown in from Italy appeared, but sadly I cannot remember this one.

Dolce

Another gift flown in from Italy, but my memory is hazy.. sorry.

Echire galettes

The galettes I brought along. Rich with the flavour of butter.

Snacks

Anagoya put together this plate for us, and the sense of style is on a par with a whisky bar.

The food was great and the mood was so warm that night that I overdid the drinking a bit. In the gourmet life there are plenty of dull gatherings, so a day of pure fun like this feels really rewarding. I wish we could have fun get-togethers like this more often, but it is a shame I am about to get busy. Someday things will quiet down again and there will be a time for frequent gatherings once more. In the near future, I hope.

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