It's time to end the year and prepare for another new year. I often eat out during the New Year holidays due to the hustle and bustle of gatherings, but at times like this, I miss my mother's heartwarming home-cooked meals even more. There are places that fill your stomach and melt your heart just as much as home-cooked meals in cold weather. The main character is “Hundred Year Shop,†which has managed a well for over 30 years. If you ask about the secret of long-established stores that have maintained their reputation for a long time, the answers are consistent. Continuing from generation to generation is to make food honestly without being pretentious. With this kind of honesty, they have captured an era in one bowl, and they have cared for customers with a thoughtful touch.
A total of 59 restaurants were selected as 100 year restaurants this year. We hope to see more places in the future, and we'll introduce 5 of them: Hundred Years Restaurant. Starting with the oldest wu-tang specialty store in Gyeonggi Province, Seonji Haejang Gukjip filled with earthenware pots, grilled eels carefully grilled over a briquette fire, and a place run by Jeju's first bok expert. Let's feel the sincerity conveyed through food.
1. 'An Il-ok' in Anseong, Gyeonggi, a beef soup specialty store with 100 years of history
Image source: soooooyum's Instagram
Image source: bin.__.a's Instagram
“An Il-ok†located in Anseong is a wu-tang specialty store that started in the 1920s. It has such a long history that it is designated as the 5th oldest Korean restaurant in Korea and the oldest Korean restaurant in Gyeonggi Province. In the 1920s, Grandma Jeb Lee Seong-rye, the first generation, sold a slow-cooked gukbap with beef bones, entrails, and by-products from Woo Market in Anseong. The mother of Jeb Lee Yang Gui, the second generation, worked to help her mother-in-law and officially opened a restaurant after the Korean War with a sign called “An Il-ok.†Since then, it has now been operated by the boss and son from generation to generation.
Every day here starts with setting the fire in the cauldron in the early morning. The beef bone is carefully selected for 17 hours to serve a rich flavor of soup. The soup on all menus is the same, but depending on the ingredients, it is divided into seolleungtang, crucible soup, beef gukbap, etc., and everything is called “woo-tang.†The signature menu is “Seolleungtang,†which boasts a refreshing and light soup flavor. It is characterized by the fact that it stays dry even when it cools down. If you order gukbap, you will be prepared with plenty of packed gukbap, rice, pickles, kakuteki, somen noodles, red pepper, and gochujang. Soak pickles twice daily and kakuteki twice a week. In particular, kakuteki, which is cut into large pieces and filled with one bite, has a crunchy and refreshing flavor that is a perfect match for gukbap.
“An Il-ok†means “the most comfortable house in Anseong.†Every customer who visits “An Il-ok†continues to want to eat their fill and go out.
[Tips for eating food]
â–²Location: 20, Jungang-ro 411beon-gil, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do
▲Opening hours: 08:00 — 22:00 every day
â–²Price: Seolleungtang 8,000 won, Gomguk soup 8,000 won
â–²Review (Shikigin Dark Chocolate): The flavor is so traditional that it is called the oldest Seolleungtang in Gyeonggi Province.
2. Seonjitguk's Jonggajip, Incheon Michu Hall 'Booyoung Seonji Guk'
Image source: taijilhs Instagram
Image source: nrjhnr_foodstagram's Instagram
“Booyoung Seonji Guk†is a seonjitguk specialty store located in a quiet residential area in Sungui-dong, Incheon. Jangdokdae, which you can see as soon as you enter the entrance, exudes a rural atmosphere. The owner hopes that the meal at this house, which begins with a warm cup of soju, will be remembered with warmth by all guests.
The signature menu is “Basic Seonji Soup,†which is filled with fresh senji mushrooms, and bean sprouts. You can enjoy it as you like by adding wild sesame powder, black pepper, finely chopped cheongyang pepper, and sauce. The hot soup has a clear yet deep flavor and is in harmony with the savory seonji. “Soyang Seonji Soup†and “Soy Intestine Seonji Soup,†which have a richer flavor by adding soy sauce and sheep, are also popular menus. Seonji and Ugeji can be added for 1,500 won. Pickled peppers and garlic served as a side dish have a sweet and sour flavor that enhances the taste buds.
In addition to seonjitguk, it is a place that offers a variety of menus, such as “beef rib soup,†“beef gukbap,†“beef steak,†“seonji tempura,†and “seonji butchimjeon.†They also have sunjitsukuk and beef rib soup for kids, so it's a great place to visit with kids. “Deep-fried rice crackers†can be ordered along with “beef steak†or “steamed back ribs with shiraegi,†and reservations must be made before visiting. Please note that Sunjitsukuk can be packed for 2 or more servings.
[Tips for eating food]
â–²Location: 20 Jangcheon-ro 14beon-gil, Michuhol-gu, Incheon
▲Opening hours: 09:00 — 16:00 every day (package sales available until 19:00), closed on Sundays
â–²Price: Basic Seonji Bureau 6,500 won, Soyang Seonji Bureau 7,000 won, Shaojang Seonji Station 8,000 won
â–²Testimonial (Food is sweet and sweet): Seonji-guk is famous as a place with unrivaled fame in the Incheon region. I want to go back to Seonji Guk to eat.
3. 'Gold Medal Restaurant' in Muan, Jeollanam-do, where you can enjoy the taste of redfish artisans
Image source: gahee815's Instagram
Image source: foodexplorer_min02's Instagram
“Gold Medal Restaurant†is a restaurant specializing in red fish dishes run by an owner from Jeolla-do. Not long ago, this place, which only handled high-quality female redfish from the Heuksando region, began selling redfish from other regions of the country in order to reduce the catch of Heuksando's redfish and maintain the tradition of redfish cooking. Recently, the restaurant operated in Mokpo moved to Namak New Town, the capital of Jeollanam-do Province, and they are trying to promote the taste of redfish to more and more people at a reasonable price.
Store your own deconstructed redfish in a redfish aging room that maintains 18 degrees of image. They stick to the traditional method of aging pesticide-free rice straw and redfish alternately in earthen pots. The signature menu is the “Redfish Full Course,†where you can enjoy a variety of redfish dishes one after the other. Unlike the strong initial scent, steamed red fish, which has been boiled and has a chewy and springy texture, boiled pork with sour jelly and shredded redfish that has been aged for about 2 years, and steamed red fish, which has an attractive sweet and spicy seasoning, is a menu where you can enjoy the soft flesh of redfish and the subtle scent of ammonia that spreads softly. At the end of the course, red fish soup made by adding miso paste and simmering it to a savory consistency. The cool yet rich soup is perfect to go with a glass of sake or as a haejang.
For customers who are not comfortable with redfish, they will be served according to the degree of sharpness of the redfish. The unique appeal of this restaurant is that anyone can enjoy redfish dishes. Redfish sashimi offers online ordering and delivery services, and all prepared menus can be packed.
[Tips for eating food]
â–²Location: 20, Daejukseo-ro, Samhyang-eup, Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do
▲Opening hours: 10:00 — 22:00 every day
â–²Price: Redfish full course (2 to 3 people) 200,000 won, red fish ribs (3 to 4 people) 200,000 won
â–²Testimonial (Princess Pink): Jellyfish and pork in a thick, well-cut redfish sashimi b. It was eaten locally with salt instead of soy sauce, and it was really delicious lol
4. 3rd generation freshwater eel dish, 'Penglai Diner, 'Changwon, Gyeongnam
Image source: ggoo927's Instagram
Image source: food_yolo_ on Instagram
“Penglai Restaurant†has been making freshwater eel dishes for 52 years. It is a place that focuses only on domestic freshwater eels, and showcases grilled eels that have been prepared and carefully grilled with care. Freshwater eels that have been cleaned clean are grilled on a briquette grill and have a rich flavor and a thick, chewy texture. It is a place loved not only by local residents but also by tourists as a health care restaurant because you can enjoy both taste and health.
The signature menu is “grilled eel,†which can be enjoyed in 4 flavors: salt, soy sauce, gochujang, and spicy gochujang. The popular dish, grilled with soy sauce, goes through a total of two grilling processes. At first, roast without seasoning to remove enough oil. Then move to low heat, apply the sauce 3 to 4 times, and cook slowly. It's a job that takes time and effort, but you can enjoy the true taste of grilled eel as the oil is drained and the seasoning slowly seeps in. The special sauce made with various herbal ingredients such as soy sauce, burdock root, jujube, ginseng, and cinnamon is not irritating and attracts the taste buds with its sweet flavor.
The refreshing fresh kimchi and water kimchi served as side dishes clearly capture the flavor of freshwater fish that you can feel. In addition to grilled eel, the “eel bowl,†which is warm rice topped with seasoned grilled eel and egg yolk, and “hot radish bibimbap,†which is eaten by putting cold, thin Gyeongsang-do ginger miso paste on top, are also popular. Please note that we have a large parking lot with a courtyard.
[Tips for eating food]
â–²Location: 15 Sadong-gil, Jindong-myeon, Masanhaappo-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do
▲Business hours: 12:00 — 21:00 every day, closed on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month
â–²Price: Grilled eel 35,000 won, eel bowl 15,000 won, eel soup 15,000 won
â–²Testimonial (older brother of Shikigin Lotto): Even though the eel is thick, I don't feel it because the seasoning is delicious. The best part is that you don't have to bake and eat it while emitting smoke. It's nice to be able to eat it comfortably.
5. Jeju's leading pufferfish restaurant, Jeju Seogwipo, 'Hyangwon Bok Jip'
Image source: Cminky's Instagram
Image source: miiiiin_mong's Instagram
Opened in 1966, “Hyangwon Bok Restaurant†is a bok cuisine specialty restaurant that has been in operation for 52 years over 2 generations. The current boss inherited the family business after obtaining a pufferfish cooking certificate in 1996 in order to succeed his father, who was famous as the first bokshimi cooking expert in Jeju Island. They are presenting unchanging flavors based on the long preparation and effort that began with their father, such as maintaining quality ingredients in any environment, and the current boss's thorough principles that follow them.
All of the pufferfish dishes in this restaurant are made using only natural domestic pufferfish. The signature menu is “chambok sashimi,†which can only be enjoyed in Jeju. As soon as you order bok sashimi, cut it so thin as a sheet of paper that all of the plate's patterns are visible. The feature is that it comes with a sauce that has an attractive yuzu flavor. This special sauce, which uses Japanese-style ponzu sauce, enhances the umami of bok sashimi. The “pufferfish course†is also popular, where you can enjoy all of the bok sashimi and pufferfish sushi that contains the flavors of rich people, deep-fried pufferfish deep-fried in clean oil, bok sukyu, which boasts a light meat, and fukujiri, which has an excellent combination of the refreshing flavor of the soup and crunchy bean sprouts as it is boiled.
In addition to course meals, you can also enjoy a variety of bok dishes as a single item, such as bok jiri, bok maeuntang, soba pufferfish soup, bok shabu-shabu, bok suyuk, and steamed bok.
[Tips for eating food]
â–²Location: 43, Budu-ro, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do
â–²Opening hours: 09:00 – 22:00 every day
â–²Price: Shambok sashimi (1 kg) 150,000 won, blackcurrant sashimi (1 kg) 120,000 won, shambok geese (1 person) 20,000 won
â–²Review (2 shikigami couples): You can enjoy pufferfish sashimi as thin as a sheet of paper! The boss's knife skills are amazing.
Hundred Years Store Magazine collaborates with the Ministry of Small and Medium Venture Enterprises and the Small Commercial Market Promotion Corporation.