It hadn’t been long since lunch, but I’d more or less digested it by then -_- so off I went to a ganjang gejang (soy-marinated crab) place that’s supposedly famous in Insadong. It’s called Shinil, and it’s tucked away inside an alley.
Head all the way down an alley like this
and it’s at the far end. If it’s your first time, I imagine it’d be pretty hard to find..
The sign
Apparently it’s been on the news and all, but it didn’t look all that famous.
Anyway, the ganjang gejang
I think this was two portions. (And I was already full.) You get quite a lot. I can’t say the quality here beats Pro Ganjang Gejang in Sinsa-dong, but it’s about on the same level for roughly half the price. It’d be really handy for taking tourists from Japan or elsewhere. The prices are relatively cheap too, so you can treat people without worrying. Try to play the big spender at the Sinsa-dong crab places and you’ll be broke in no time. Sob. They sell at Japanese-tourist prices there, not Korean prices..
Gyeran-jjim (steamed egg)
Free extras are the true virtue of a Korean restaurant!
Doenjang-guk (soybean paste soup)
Lots of side dishes and soup come out, and not a single one falls short. Koreans tend to be harsh judges of Korean food, but a place like this wouldn’t be embarrassing to show off anywhere.
The side dishes
And the side dishes aren’t much worse than the ones you’d make at home, either.
Bokbunja-ju (black raspberry wine)
Couldn’t skip the booze, so I ordered some. It’s slightly sweet. I don’t really know the standards for traditional liquor, but I’d say it’s plenty good for tourists.
A kettle of bokbunja-ju
I think I drank almost all of it by myself..
Probably sujeonggwa, served as dessert..
I ate well and ate my fill. But how to put it.. picking the meat out of crab burns so many calories that even after finishing there’s something oddly unsatisfying about it. So, off to a dessert place..
Cupcakes
There weren’t many cakes left.. so I picked from the few they had. The taste was just so-so.. Having been to Echire, ordinary butter cakes just can’t move me anymore. Ah.. Echire, I want to go again..
This is a berry herbal tea
Even if tea isn’t their specialty, they just served it with a single cheap-looking tea bag dropped in. It’s not like it’s cheap, either, so it’d be nice if they put in a bit more care.