Sigol Bapsang

Rating: Very good
Meal: Dinner for 3
Price:  31000 won
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: 1 bottle of soju (small), 3 courses of banchan dishes with rice and soup, 1 coke
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

Banchan are the many small little dishes that you usually get along with your main dish at a real Korean restaurant.  At Sigol Bapsang you can get the banchan as the main course, with some rice and soup to go along with them.  As we love and miss all the banchan, we made it a point to go to this restaurant and get our fix.

Lovely decor...we opted for actual chairs though

The restaurant is small and run by 4 little old ladies (well, ranging in age from a bit over 50 to goodness knows how old), who welcomed us in to the interestingly decorated place and sat us at a table.  They assumed we were there for the main course, which we were, but I looked around and saw they had several other ala cart items you can order if you wish.

Eat your heart out!

I wanted to try Korean soju, a potent liquor that seems like a relative of Japanese shochu (not our favorite).  The Korean drink was a touch more antiseptic in taste, but it was also quite easy on the mouth and so I can see why people can accidentally drink way too much.  My wife and I polished off the small bottle along with dinner.

Which was really fun...there were sooooo many little dishes to try, with several types of kimchi, namul, chapchae, and on and on and on.  We managed to put down almost everything which is amazing considering our son would only eat a couple of the dishes.  The soup was delicious too, and a touch spicy.  I think it was miso soup, but it had thick tofu cubes and large chunks of stewed zucchini.

Definitely a must eat spot, at least once.  I don't know that I would go back often due to the ubiquity of banchan here in Korea, but if you have been missing that, you've got to give it a try.

While walking there, we apparently found the area where all the Middle Eastern restaurants are clustered.  There were sooo many Turkish and other types of restaurants in the area.  Of course we are here for the Korean food this time, but next time (hah!) my wife and I are talking about doing a Middle Eastern food weekend trip!