Cycle 14 – Item 306
7 (Tue) November 2023
Palbochae (and Other Non-Chinese Dishes)
3.0
at Il Il Hyang
-Seongsu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-
with SL, dbBOOKS staff, et al.
Il Il Hyang is a Korean-Chinese restaurant. One step above a neighborhood delivery joint in quality, though the menu options are the same. Part of a chain that currently includes 17 locations, mostly in and around Seoul.
The Nonhyeon branch was covered but barely mentioned during Cycle 6 (see generally 6.350 Nanja Wans).
The Seongsu branch is located within walking distance of the office. This is the first time being covered, even though I’ve had lunch there many times.
SL, Asia sales manager for Hachette Book Group, is back in town for her twice-yearly visit to Korea.
After a quick sales pitch meeting at our office, we went out to dinner.
The choice of cuisine had been made 8 months ago, on her prior visit. Over lunch that time (see 14.071 Chorizo(less) Asparagus (and Squid) Pasta), we were discussing the local food scene, and I’d lamented the lack of authentic Chinese food in Korea. Although SL has been to Korea many times over the years, she’d never tried Korean-Chinese food, not even realized that it was a thing (I’d bet most people would assume Korea to have Chinese food). Hailing from Hong Kong, now based in Taipei, she was curious to try it and see how much it differed from the real thing, so I’d promised to take her next time.
We ordered an array of dishes that best represent the Korean-Chinese tradition. Starting with tangsuyuk, SL was amazed at how entirely foreign the flavors tasted to her – certainly not Cantonese or any other traditional Chinese styles that she was familiar with. She noted that Mandarin had a dish featuring “8 treasures” but none of them aligned to the components in palbochae. She did enjoy the jjajang myeon and fried rice, while emphasizing that they did not resemble anything in China.
Just as amusing were the shocked reactions of the others at the table, all Koreans, who had always assumed Korean-Chinese food to be Chinese.
Anyway, the evening was both educational and entertaining for everyone.
(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)
(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)