People rarely venture further than Anguk Station’s exit 6 or exit 1. One curves in towards the shops and galleries of Insa-dong and the other towards the hanok-lined streets of Samcheon-dong. So, walking out of Anguk Station, exit 2, en route to the elusive Vietnamese Embassy, I suddenly found myself in an unexplored pocket of the city. Enter the little hole-in-the-wall called Hu’s Table.
Mishka Grobler
Dalk galbi — the spicy sauce, the cabbage and kimchi, the stir-fried chicken; it’s cheap enough for students and tasty enough for anyone. The stuff is just good. And no one does dalk galbi better than Yoogane.
In the heart of Seoul lies a district known for its shopping, street markets and restaurants: Myeong-dong, an area where Japanese is more commonly spoken than English and vendors busily sell their wares.
Here, wedged between racks of clothes and the latest fashions, is Fugetsu – Korea’s answer to the Japanese influence that has survived the country’s history to become a subculture. The restaurant’s specialty is the best that Osaka, Japan, has to offer in culinary art.
Hidden in the alleys of Anguk-dong, Meokswidonna doesn’t look like anything special. But the walls lining the outside of the restaurant hold thousands of notes scrawled by eager diners waiting to get inside.
Droves of people come to queue outside the 20-year-old eatery. Literally translated “Eat, Rest, Pay, Out,” this husband-and-wife-owned hole-in-the-wall attracts crowds for a reason.
Buried in the bosom of Seoul’s business district is a small self-service café. High-rise buildings of chrome and glass and the steady stream of traffic and business suits outside fade into chaos and color when you step into Mamas. Rickety tables, mismatched chairs, bustling servers and random quotes on the walls create a motley collection of European styles reminiscent of an Italian café.
