Jangheung Sikdang is a Korean restaurant. Specializes in baekban; while the menu offers other dishes, orders are sometimes refused during the lunchtime rush. Run by a mother-daughter combo, the restaurant is so old-school/low-key that it doesn’t show on an internet search.
Located 30 m from the office.
The vast majority of Korean restaurants in the neighborhood, catering to office workers looking for a quick meal, typically offer 3 banchan, always and only: ggakdugi (radish kimchi) + odeng (stir-fried fishcakes) + ojingeo jeotgal (sickled squid). Cheap and easy to make, unused portions keep well until the next service, and they’re reasonably tasty.
Not too busy at 11:30, but it’ll be packed at noon.
What I appreciate about the baekban here is that the spread, comprising a bowl of rice + soup + a “main” dish + 6 banchan – fluctuates daily. At least 3 of the banchan are some form of fresh vegetable, prepared as namul, so it’s also one of the most nutritious meals around. Excellent value at just 6,000 won, especially considering that banchan and soup are refillable upon request. And finally, the food is quite good, not the highest quality ingredients, but maximal flavor within budgetary constraints.
Today’s spread [clockwise from bottom right]: rice + kimchi sundubu guk + fishkatsu + garlic stem & dried shrimp muchim + stir-fried fishcakes + kimchi + mungbean sprout namul + radish stem kimchi + cucumber muchim [center].As I’ve written about before (can’t recall the post), this kind of meal is only possible in a country like Korea. The food is predictable – even with an infinite combination of possible banchans and soups and mains, there’s nothing on the table that everyone hasn’t already eaten countless times in their lives. Customers will eat whatever is put in front of them – substitutions are not requested, and wouldn’t even be possible (what they made for the day is all they got). And nobody demands special consideration for their dietary restrictions (or those that would, don’t come to places like this) – no vegetarian, no vegan, no organic, no lactose intolerance, no gluten free, no peanut allergy, no kosher, no halal. I might be the pickiest customer that they have because, on days when the soup is cheonggukjang (super fermented bean paste stew, which to me looks and smells literally like shit, and I can’t even be in the same room where someone’s eating it), I walk in, take a quick sniff, and quietly walk out.
Some other day’s spread, just for comparison [clockwise from bottom right]: miyeok guk + rice + kongnamul + ddeokbokki + gosari namul + stir-fried myeolchi + kimchi + pickled radish + minari namul [center].
