3.239

31 (Fri) August 2012

Gamja Tang

3.5

at Imone

-Itaewon, Yongsan, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with MtG + NSJ, HSK, SWC

Imone (이모네) is a Korean restaurant.  Specializes in gamja tang.  The name of the place -“imo” technically refers to a maternal aunt but can be applied to anyone, while “ne” means “home/family of” and is often used like “chez” for restaurants – implies comfort.

I don’t really like gamja tang in general (see 3.226 Gamja Tang), but I love the version here.  Delectably tender chunks of meat falling off the bones in a perfectly balanced, not-too-spicy, almost-sweet broth and, most remarkably, not a hint of the perilla employed by most other places as either or both a masking and/or flavoring agent, which had always put me off.  25,000 won for a small pot, enough for 3-4 servings.

Ironically, the restaurant serving this paradigm of a hardcore Korean stew is located in Itaewon, the country’s largest/oldest foreign enclave more noted of course for ethnic eateries.  So, after a long night of ales and whiskies and tequilas and wings and ribs and tacos, as well as the loud music and the loudmouthed masses, it’s become my go-to final destination for a wrap-up round of soju and gamja tang in peace and quiet.

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