Back in Korea, and it’s freezing. I met up with a friend who loves good food over the weekend, and after going back and forth about where to go, we went to Donsadon in Hapjeong-dong, a Jeju black pork specialist I’d found out about on Twitter a little while ago. It’s not exactly easy to find, but the photos looked delicious, and the fact that there were other good places nearby was a big factor.. These days, wherever I go, I end up doing a whole course of places.
The grill
Yeontan (coal briquette) fire. No complaints about the heat.
The meat they bring out on their own
Seriously thick. I asked for two portions and this is what came out. Just the right amount for a meal for two guys. The price was about 20,000 won per person, drinks and a meal dish included. A blog I read before coming said it was expensive for pork.. I just couldn’t get that at all. Sure, with cheap frozen American meat you could do it for half the price, but comparing it with that kind of thing makes no sense to me.
Side dishes
The basic setup..
Side dishes 2
The lighting wasn’t great for photos.. but it’s a new camera, so I gave it a go anyway.
Once it’s cooked just right, they cut it into bite-size pieces for you.
A beautiful display.. but it takes a while to cook. It’d be nice to have something small to snack on with a drink before the meat is done, but there’s nothing like that, which was a bit of a shame. I think we waited about 20 minutes..
Salted hairtail (galchi-jeotgal)
Warm the salty galchi-jeotgal (fermented hairtail) on the grill and dip the meat in it, and it’s a real treat. Apparently it’s the Jeju way.
Let’s eat~
Finally it’s all cooked and we dig in. Properly juicy, and because it’s so thick the chew is on another level. Some blogs said the original shop on Jeju Island is even better.. well, those people should go to Jeju and eat it there. Just like I go to Japan to eat sushi..
The only drawback of this place is the awkward location. It’s not terrible, but I think you’d have to think about who to come with.
Gochujang jjigae
It’s a kimchi jjigae with not much kimchi and a lot of gochujang. Maybe because the gochujang was a bit sweet, it wasn’t as good as I expected.. I think the kimchi jjigae would be the better pick..
Anyway.. it was a great meal. I’ve finally come back to Korea after a long time, so from now on I plan to seriously hunt down good restaurants, but unlike when I lived in Japan, I expect to strike out fairly often. So I made a new category, chef’s omakase. It means “chef’s choice”, and I’ll collect the places I went to and liked there. This place will be the first post. From now on, feel free to skip any restaurant posts that aren’t in the omakase category..
After a good meal, we moved on to the linked quest: Mapo Mandu. It’s a bunsik (snack) joint famous for its dumplings, very close to Hapjeong Station.
The table setting
A classic bunsik joint.
Galbi mandu
We ordered one portion just for a taste. Strangely enough, it really tasted of galbi. It didn’t look like there was any galbi in it, so how did they do it.. Still a little puzzled, we moved on for dessert.