There are two things I personally care about in a drinking place: good booze and the right food to go with it. In Korea you usually drink soju, so as long as the food is good there’s nothing more to ask for. In that sense, the food at Ilbeonji Pocha by Sadang Station called for an endless stream of soju.
Mullet gizzard
They bring out one per person (not one plate) as the free starter. It’s not much, but the chewy texture was fun.
Vegetables
Simple, but good quality. It’s the first place I’ve seen serve kohlrabi in Korea.
Makhoe
The fish in it changes from day to day. I was told this one had horse mackerel and mullet in it. Since makhoe is tossed in chogochujang, it’s hard to say much about texture or flavor, but the ingredients were good quality.
It reminded me of the makhoe I had at Yeongilman not long ago; the styles are quite different, but going purely by taste, Yeongilman suits my palate a bit better. Of course, that’s a place with the drawback that you can’t really drink much. The owners differ too: the man at Yeongilman is the gruff type, while Ilbeonji Pocha is the type who keeps bringing you this and that on the house. Personally I don’t care about the style as long as the drink is good, but some people hate being talked to while they drink, so it’ll divide opinion.
Hongcho soju
Pomegranate Hongcho vinegar mixed into soju, and the color is lovely. Drink it and you can’t taste the soju at all. They say it’s the drink that shows you hell, because you end up drinking far past your limit; anyway, the drinks were good that night and I went at it pretty hard.
Seaweed soup
On the house. Nicely made, too.
Saury
On the house as well. The owner really looks after you ^_^
Country-style pork stir-fry
It’s one of only two things on the menu here (makhoe and pork stir-fry), and this one went with soju better than the makhoe did. The big chunks of pork were excellent quality, and the kimchi and vegetables stick right to your palate. When the meat was running out the owner sliced up some tofu and laid it on top, and that turned out to be a treat of its own. I ate very well that day.
The Hugo & Victor chocolate case
We opened the chocolates at a jeon place nearby on the second round. Clever packaging.
Chocolates
There was even a Valentine’s Day chocolate in there! Given the price… well, anyway, I enjoyed them right down to the last one.