Rice plays an important role in Korea's food culture to the extent that there is a saying, “Koreans are good food.†There are restaurants all over the country where you can't envy ten side dishes with just a well-cooked meal. Starting with yukhoe bibimbap served on top of fresh Korean beef, herb rice with deep flavor of gondre harvested by hand, and nutritious stone-grilled rice freshly made with ingredients that are good for the body! Here are 5 of the best rice crackers and rice restaurants that have continued for 100 years.
1. 'Gombo Restaurant' in Samnak-dong, Busan, where the rich flavor of Korean beef comes alive
“Gombo Restaurant†personally prepares fresh beef from Gimhae and Bugyeong livestock factories and presents it to customers. The characteristic of all the meats on the menu is that only Korean beef is used. The signature menu, “Yukhoe Bibimbap,†is served on top of white rice topped with thickly sliced yukhoe, seaweed powder, radish sprouts, pears, and egg yolk.
If you stir in the egg yolk and mix the ingredients evenly, then take a big bite, you can experience a rich texture in your mouth. As you chew, the savory flavor spreads, and the crunchy belly cleans up the aftertaste and goes harmoniously with it. If you order bibimbap, sashimi and seonji haejang soup are served together to add a hearty touch to the meal.
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: 1564 Nakdong-daero, Sasang-gu, Busan
▲Opening hours: 10:00 — 22:00 every day
â–²Price: Yukhoe bibimbap 15,000 won, rib meat 25,000 won
â–²Review (take a break): The store was recently remodeled, and it's very spacious and clean. Using only high quality ingredients such as handon and Korean beef, the food is unmistakable. Grilled beef really melts in your mouth, and yukhoe bibimbap contains half as much meat as half of meat and half of rice, so there's no shortage of meat. Hehe, when I go to a yakiniku restaurant, my clothes always smell bad, but it's nice that they also have a separate styler.
2. 'Oksanjang Stone and Story' in Yeoyang-ri, Jeongseon, the fragrance of gondre that enhances the palate
Image source: minj_eongxoxo's Instagram
Image source: haa__rimm's Instagram
“Oksanjang Stone and Story†is an exclusive meal prepared using local agricultural products from Jeongseon, such as potatoes, gondres, and deok. In spring, gondrenas collected from mountains over 1,000 meters above sea level are rapidly cooled and stored to maintain the same flavor regardless of the season. The signature menu, “Gondorebab Deok-yaki Teishoku,†is a rich menu of about 17 dishes, including gondre rice, dodeok-yaki, acorn paste, potato dumpling, rice crackers, and miso soup.
Rice cooked hot with minimal seasoning of sesame oil and salt on top of the rice allows you to fully enjoy the flavor of gondre, which has soaked in fragrance. You can enjoy the natural flavor of Gondre by sprinkling a little bit of soy sauce on it, and then enjoy a variety of side dishes to suit your taste. After the meal, it's a good idea to take a walk around the chief exhibition hall introduced in Professor Yu Hong-jun's “Exploring My Cultural Heritage.â€
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: 79 Yeoryang 3-gil, Yeoyang-myeon, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do
▲Opening hours: 07:30 — 19:00 every day
â–²Price: Gondorebab Deok-yaki set meal 12,000 won, Korean home meal 8,000 won
â–²Testimonial (Gondrebab Deok): Gondrebab Deok's meal, which was essential for a trip to Jeongseon, was a healing meal. Every dish, from the soba pancake to the potato mochi, was clean and delicious. If you're lucky, you can also listen to the owner's grandmother Jeongseon Arirang.
3. 'Ongpo Villa Garden' in Hallim-eup, Jeju, well known as a presidential restaurant
'Ongpo Villa Garden' is a local food specialty store in Jeju with a long history that Kim Gu and past presidents have visited. It's also fun to enjoy kimchi developed by the boss himself, such as cactus kimchi, which received the first prize at the delicious food competition, and citrus radish, which won the grand prize at the National Kimchi Expo.
The signature menu is “abalone stone-grilled rice,†which is served with plenty of abalone, sweet pumpkin, and flying fish roe on top of rice that makes the most of its flavor with abalone entrails. The combination of chewy abalone and popping flying fish roe adds to the fun of chewing on the rice, which boasts a light flavor. The rice crackers made by removing rice from an earthenware pot and then pouring water are perfect to keep your mouth refreshed after a meal.
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: 24, Hallimsang-ro, Hallim-eup, Jeju-do
▲Opening hours: 10:00 — 20:00 every day, closed on Tuesdays
â–²Price: Stone-grilled abalone, 15,000 won, stewed pork ribs with jelly (2 people) 90,000 won
â–²Testimonial (Shikigin is evolving): There were well-decorated trees on the way to the store, so the atmosphere was very nice. Abalone stone-grilled rice also contains a lot of abalone, so every time I take a spoonful of abalone, I get abalone in my mouth. The seasoning is on the side, but it's perfect to eat it with salted fish and kimchi that come with it.
4. A local food from Andong that has continued for the third generation, Andong Sanggyeo's 'Wasted Magpie, Blackberry Duck'
Image source: Carrot9's Instagram
Image source: daily_food_hy's Instagram
From CEO Seo Jeong-ae, the founder and master of traditional culture preservation, to his daughter-in-law and grandson, “Hutjesabap, a black-hole restaurant†has preserved the traditional taste of Andong for the third generation. The interior and exterior of the store, which uses wooden furniture to make use of the feel of a hanok, create a cozy yet warm atmosphere.
The signature menu, “Hutjesabab,†is prepared with 6 kinds of seasonal herbs, 9 types of noodles, soup, kimchi, and Andong sweet sake along with rice. With the exception of kimchi, all menus are seasoned with directly soaked Korean soy sauce instead of red pepper powder, so you can enjoy the natural flavors and flavors of the ingredients. The sweet sake made by removing radish, ginger, and godoo rice for 72 hours has a mild, spicy flavor that cleans the mouth after a meal.
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: 203 Seokju-ro, Andong, Gyeongbuk
▲Business hours: 11:00 — 20:00 every day
â–²Price: 11,000 won for wasabi, 20,000 won for yangbansang
â–²Testimonial (Flower Pattern Honey Jar): The brass bowl filled the food, and it felt so luxurious. Soy sauce also comes from beating rice, but I liked it because it was spicy and not irritating. If it's fresh, they serve gochujang separately, so you can grate it and eat it. Hehe, I added ground mackerel to the rice bowl menu, but I was satisfied because the mackerel was so big and moist and cooked well than I thought.
5. Jincheon Baekgok-myeon “Rice Restaurant Gomganaeâ€, the best flavor made with quality ingredients
“Rice Restaurant Gomganae†is so proud of its rice that it won a gold medal in the 'House with a Good Rice Taste' category at the Chungcheongbuk-do Local Food Contest. For 24 years, we have maintained our commitment to quality ingredients, such as vegetables grown directly in the garden, and soy sauce made using traditional methods, including jincheol rice.
The signature menu, “Gomjin Jinsang,†features freshly prepared nutritious stone-grilled rice, sweet and spicy grilled hwangtae, chewy smoked duck, savory cheonggukjang, and about 11 side dishes that seem to be curving. Nutritious stone-grilled rice, which enhances the palate with its glossy visuals and savory flavor, is excellent for its chewy texture and subtle sweetness that spreads as you chew it.
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: 835-8, Baekgok-ro, Baekgok-myeon, Jincheon-gun, Chungbuk
▲Opening hours: 09:00 — 20:00 every day, closed on Mondays
â–²Price: Gomjin Jinsang 15,000 won, rice set meal 10,000 won
â–²Testimonial (I heard it while eating): I heard it while eating, and I felt that they were very concerned about every ingredient, starting with the rice. If it comes out of an earthenware pot and pours water on it, it's fun to scrape off the rice crackers at the end. Hehe, the side dishes were neat and delicious, and the cheonggukjang made from homemade meju also had a deep flavor, so I ate them all without leaving anything.
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