Cycle 17 – Item 117

Post 5,961

2 (Sat) May 2026

Mapa Tofu

2.5

at Nishikasai

-Songpa, Songpa, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with W and IZ

Nishikasai is a Japanese-Chinese restaurant.  Purports to offer chuka ryori, but not really.

A couple days ago, Louis Le Pieux suddenly stopped eating, not even his favorite snacks, or even irresistible human goodies like fried chicken or potato chips.  Initial bloodwork at the local clinic was inconclusive.  So we took him to a larger hospital for a CT scan.

While waiting for the results of the scan, we walked across the street for lunch.

The scan revealed a suspicious lump in his gastrointestinal tract.  He will undergo surgery tomorrow to remove the lump, which will be biopsied to determine malignancy.

At just 6 years old, LLP has suffered a fractured leg (see generally 11.198 Spaghetti alla Ragù), cataract (see generally 11.333 Spicy Rice Noodle in Soup), glaucoma + retinal detachment (see generally 14.250 Samseon Jjambbong), and now what might be cancer.

The food wasn’t good.   The mapa tofu was okay, though paled in contrast to the dish in Osaka (see for comparison 13.354 Mapo Doufu).  The rest of the items were entirely forgettable.  Won’t be back for more.

(See RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See HANSIK)

(See BOOZE)