JUJUTRAVELS

Micheline Guide Seoul 2022

Date of Visit: Saturday, June 4, 2022

Arrival

I came to the restaurant for dinner, and there were about 6 people already waiting outside. There was a digital waitlist in front of the restaurant, and thankfully it had an English option. After I put my name, phone number, and party size down, I received a text message on my phone with a link to a website that I can check my spot in line. The wait was not very long even though it’s a very small restaurant. I waited around 20 minutes to be seated. It is a simple meal after all so people finished their meals very quickly. When my name was called, I was lead to our seats at the bar. The table was already set: a bowl with a bit of dipping sauce, an empty bowl for kimchi, a cup of cold tea, and eating utensils. The menu is in on the tissue box, but it is in Korean only.

What I Ordered

I ordered the regular-sized dwaeji gomtang.

Dwaeji gomtang is a pork bone soup dish that contains sliced pork and rice. (Dwaeji = pig; gomtang = bone soup). I believe gomtang is usually made with beef bone, but here it is made with pork bone instead. It is a simple meal and doesn’t look like it has much, but this is oh-so-delicious. It is the main dish here and comes in two sizes: regular or special/large. My regular bowl came with about 8 slices of thinly sliced pork, served on a bed of rice, pork bone broth, and bits of green onion. The broth was a clear and light broth that was full of flavor. It was not super salty nor bland; quite perfect for my taste. The dipping sauce was more of a paste instead of a sauce that tasted mainly of red pepper flakes. The pork slices were tender and full of flavor, so the dipping sauce complimented the pork very well because it didn’t take away from the flavor of the pork itself. The rice was a short grained rice that soaked up the soup very well.

I also saw the gomtang being prepared. Soup was placed in the bowl and swirled. This was done a couple of times so the bowl was thoroughly heated when served. I really appreciated this small attention to detail in the meal preparation.

The kimchi here was free and self-served. Containers of kimchi were set a few seats apart, and you can take as much as you want. The server refilled the containers when they’re near empty. The kimchi here was more on the tart side, which is my preferred type of kimchi.

They also served kimchi dumplings, which is 4 for ₩5000. I did not order this, but the dumpling were ordered by many of the other patrons.

Payment & Cost

I paid directly from my seat. For two regular-sized gomtangs, the total came out to ₩20000, which is about $16.

Suggestions & Tips

The restaurant is very small and bar seating only. The bar seats about 10 people at once, so I do not recommend this restaurant to those traveling in big groups. It also seemed like they seat people in groups instead of whenever seats become available. When some patrons left the restaurant, they did not seat anyone else until a couple more people left a little later. I think they do this so it is more efficient when serving food to everyone, so do be a little patient even if you see a few empty seats!

This restaurant seemed like a restaurant with a calming and quiet ambiance. All the patrons were chatting but very quietly, so please respectful of the restaurant’s environment.