12.291 Ban-Ban

Cycle 12 – Item 291

23 (Sat) October 2021

Ban-Ban

4.0

at Okcheon Goeup Naeng Myeon

-Goeup, Okcheon, Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

solo

Okcheon KPWM Challenge (1) (see also OKPWMC)

Okcheon Goeup Naeng Myeon – literally, the “OG” – has been my favorite Okcheon-style MNM restaurant forever, the first GMTD post dating back to 2012 (see 3.005 Mul Naeng Myeon).

The new building, as first reported on GMTD in 2017.

The time has come for a refresher to confirm that the restaurant is still the best in town. I’ll start with 3 competing restaurants at random (the places with the most cars parked outside). If none of them come close, I’ll shut the project down and happily go back to OG.

Now that we live in Wirye, driving to the cabin via Okcheon requires an additional 30 minutes, so I won’t go every time, just maybe when I’m on my own.

Since 2012, the price of MNM has gone up from 7,000 won to 9,000 won (29% increase), while the meat dishes have gone up from 13,000 won per plate to 20,000 won (54% increase) – ouch.

Every restaurant will be judged on 4 standard Okcheon dishes: mul naeng myeon, pyeonyuk (boiled pork belly), wanja (meatball jeon), and the neighborhood’s signature radish kimchi (see generally 4.099 Mu Kimchi). Each dish will be scored on GMTD’s 4-point scale. The highest cumulative score wins. In case of a tie, I’ll return to try the bibim naeng myeon as a tie-breaker.