13.190 Dubu Wanja

Cycle 13 – Item 190

14 (Thu) July 2022

Dubu Wanja

3.0

at Dongbuk Hwagwa Wang

-Changsin, Jongro, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with MtG and his family

For the first time in our experience, the place was packed to capacity.  Reinforces my theory that these kinds of Yianbian-style restaurants, once fringe, are now thoroughly mainstream.

For the first time ever, we had to wait for a table.  25 minutes – it’s not the type of place where people have a quick meal and run.

The group of middle-aged women at the right of the frame had already finished their meal when we arrived, which is why we’d decided to wait, but they ended up lolling around for a lengthy post-prandial chat – MtG, now a restaurateur, informed me with a deep grimace that chatty middle-aged women are the worst group of customers: they don’t eat much, they don’t drink much, they do talk much.

The dubu wanja (deep-fried doufu balls) has always been one of my favorites items here, at long last debuting as a featured dish on GMTD.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

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