Mandu Road, the massive gourmet project Mr. Go** kicked off at the start of the year, has finally reached its grand finale. The last stop was the best of the best: Sujeonggung in Banghak-dong. I was honoured to get a seat at the table ^_^ Without a meetup like this, I doubt I could ever have found anyone willing to go all the way out there with me.
Fried mandu
The house signature. Apparently they dry the steamed mandu and then fry them. Plenty of chives inside and a nicely chewy wrapper — it really deserves to be called the best.
Duck eggs, pidan (century eggs)
Maybe my experience is just limited, but these were the best century eggs I have had in Korea. The kind of taste that calls for a glass of kaoliang liquor.
Ohyang jangyuk (five-spice braised pork)
Very well made. That said, there are so many places that specialise in ohyang jangyuk that I cannot call it anything special.
Steamed mandu (tong mandu)
Apparently a kind of boiled dumpling, but they are big and full of juices, and delicious.
Fried chicken wings
Basically tebasaki, but ordinary. The seasoning was too weak to satisfy a palate used to Korean fried chicken.
Fried pork
Deep-fried pork, but I could not help thinking tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) would have been the better choice.
Boiled mandu
The mandu here are good, but these were the exception — a bit disappointing. Probably because they are small.
ROYCE’ chocolate, brought along as a treat
Nama chocolate flown in from Japan.
The problem with this place is that it is really, really far away. And it is so popular that they often run out of ingredients early. Form a team of two or three, come around opening time, and order just the fried mandu, steamed mandu and duck eggs — you should leave perfectly happy.