Cycle 3 – Item 296

27 (Sat) October 2012

Shabu Shabu Kal Guksu

3.5

at Bongdeok Kal Guksu

-Yongin, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with the Family, Mom + Dad

Bongdeok is a Korean restaurant.  Specializes in shabu shabu and kal guksu, and both together.

Tonight’s dinner consisted of an unusual dish, possibly unique to this restaurant.  The first stage started with a boiling pot of red, spicy, garlicky stock in which thinly sliced beef, oyster mushrooms, and minari were dipped and eaten à la shabu shabu.  While shabu shabu is popular in Korea, the stock is typically clear white.  Though I’m not a huge fan of spiciness, it worked here, especially with the combination of earthy (mushrooms) and fragrant (minari) vegetables.

Stage 2 involved the addition of noodles to the stock, by now a richly flavored broth.  The noodles were kal guksu, hand-made and made-to-order on the premises.  These might’ve been the best kal guksu noodles in terms of texture that I’ve ever had in my life – perfectly irregular in composition, some thick, some thin, each one perfectly chewy.  I was very tempted to rate the meal 4.0 solely on the strength of the noodles.

At Stage 3, the remaining broth was used to make a stir-fried rice/porridge, as Koreans are wont to do.

Amazingly, everything cost just 6,000 won per portion.  And the portions were so large that we ended up with leftovers, even though we’d ordered 3 portions for 4 adults and 1 kid.   But the food overall was excellent, regardless of price.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)