I’ve lived in Gangnam for quite a while now, but I still barely know any of the neighbourhood’s hidden gems. I end up at pricier French and Italian restaurants on a regular basis, but where are the good places you can just casually drop into? I really ought to get recommendations from people who live around here, but being a hardcore shut-in I don’t know anyone, so I’ve been diligently digging through posts by the power bloggers who inhabit the Gangnam area. I found this place thanks to a certain power blogger, R, and it turned out to be a nice spot for a light second round.
It’s in Yeoksam-dong, behind the Ritz-Carlton. The place is cramped and has an ’80s vibe. They’re not unfriendly, but it’s a joint that caters to the local regulars, so they seem a bit wary of drop-in strangers. The lady who runs it asked me not to put it on my blog, and here I am posting it anyway..
Live kkomjangeo (hagfish)
The quality is good. The way they wriggle like crazy is a bit grotesque, though..
Grilled
It’s not exactly cheap for kkomjangeo, but it’s clean-tasting with a really satisfying bounce, so it tastes pretty good. Great for a light second round – one bottle of soju each. They also gave us a separate broth and some mugeunji (aged kimchi), but I don’t have photos of those. You can see them on R’s blog, though..
Spicy marinated jjukkumi (webfoot octopus)
On a roll, we ordered the jjukkumi too, but it came out frozen. That knocked my satisfaction down a lot. I’ll have to come back in spring and order it again.
Ramyeon
Looks like ordinary Shin Ramyun, but with the mugeunji the broth gets nice and spicy, and it’s killer as a hangover cure.
It feels a bit pricey, but the taste is solid, so it’s worth a visit. Given what kind of place it is, I don’t think anyone would trek out here from far away on purpose, but it’s near my home, so I’ll probably drop by now and then.