5.003

8 (Wed) January 2014

Jaengban Ban

3.5

at Pyeongyang Myeonok

-Nonhyeon, Gangnam, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with the Family, Mom + Dad

Flying to Manila tomorrow, for three months on a consultancy for WHO.  I’ll share the details in a future post.

As per pre-flight SOP, the final dinner had to include mul naeng myeon.  This restaurant is one of the best MNM joints in the city/country/world.

The eobok jaengban was good.  Unlike traditional hodgepodge platings, the version here consisted of just sliced beef with piles of perilla leaf and crown daisy and scallion, taking us all by surprise.  Even more surprising, it turned out to be much better that way, the fragrant veggies balancing out the richness of the beef, pure and simple, no unnecessary ingredients, a mere boiled egg as a symbolic gesture.  I suggested to my mother that she should employ the method for her next batch of suyuk, and she agreed.

Ordinarily too expensive for us to even consider – 80,000 won for a whole order, 40,000 for half – we splurged in light of the special circumstances.  Mom’s treat, but she was only willing to get the half – though northern by birth, she regards the dish to be the most ridiculous and overpriced in the entire Korean cuisine.  Here, the name of the half-portion means “platter (jaengban) + half (ban).”  In the end, it was enough for all of us, given everything else on the table.  Decent value.

Overall, it was a great meal and a perfect sendoff.

See you on the other side.

(See also MUL NAENG MYEON)

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)