11.253 Spicy Chicken Curry and Other Japaneseish (Not So) Goodies

11.253

14 (Mon) September 2020

Spicy Chicken Curry and Other Japaneseish (Not So) Goodies

1.5

at The Ban Food

-Seongsu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with Mom

The Ban Food (더반푸드) is a Korean restaurant.  Buffet-style cafeteria.  Primary customer base comprises employees working for companies in the SK Techno Building, including Tongbang Books, though it is open to the public.  6,000 won per person.  Menu changes daily, always some combination of rice + soup + main dish + side dishes.  Whereas “ban (飯)” is another word for rice, the name of the restaurant (“The Rice Food”) doesn’t really make sense.

Choice of steamed rice: either plain white or with black/purple grains.
Me: “Am I allowed to come back for more?”  Mom: “You’re not going to want more.”

The meal was disappointing.  Though I can see now in retrospect that the theme of the day was apparently Japanese, it hadn’t occurred to me at the time.  The individual items were passable, except the terribly mushy okonomiyaki tonkatsu and terribly mushy udon with fake crab.  However, nothing seemed to go with anything else, resulting in a disjointed, thoroughly unsatisfying dining experience.

I won’t ban (^^) the place outright, but I would have to be very desperate to venture a second go.

Clockwise from top left: kimchi (3.0), chicory in citron dressing (2.0), lotus root in sweet soy glaze (2.5), mixed salad (2.0), fish cake soup (2.0), okonomiyaki tonkatsu (1.0), spicy chicken curry with brown rice (2.0), stir-fried crab udon (1.0).

That said, I remind myself of the lesson from yesterday’s post (see 11.252 Hot-Hot-Hot Potato … with Salt): that I should be grateful for every meal, every day – give me this day.

For some reason, Korean cafeterias provide water/beverages near the exit, so customers take a quick sip on their way out, after the meal is already over; I have never seen anyone get a drink and bring it back to the table for mealtime consumption; this is odd because Koreans generally do drink during the meal in non-cafeteria situations.

(For more details about food, see WHAT)

(For more details about venue, see WHERE IN KOREA)

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