2016 taste trends
Chinese tavern
Written by Ji Ji Sang (food columnist), photo by Park Eun-gyeong
In the 1960s and 70s, Chinese food in this region was synonymous with “blue cuisine.†Made on the day my dad had a thick paycheck bag in his chest, or my mom split my living expenses and poured a penny or two It's a dish that I was able to find as a special meal on a day when I was riding my money. Dad , who was taking his family to a Chinese restaurant or a Chinese restaurant, shrugged his shoulders unknowingly high in the sky, and The children who followed closely behind them hummed with excitement. Mom's face was full of happy smiles when she saw such a backside view.
Jajangmyeon was definitely the most popular menu among children in this area at the time. “Mom said she doesn't like jajangmyeon ~ ♬†is like the lyrics of GOD's song, jajangmyeon contains the grief of being poor, but in elementary school It was also an essential course not to be missed at the graduation ceremony.
As Chinese food entered the 1990s, it was overtaken by Western food such as pizza, spaghetti, and steak, and Chinese restaurants became “iron bag tags,†synonymous with food delivery. . It has a status as a simple meal where you get rid of it while packing or unpacking your luggage , and a trivial snack where you put down the queue table and eat it for a while at the billiard room where you missed the time It was a sudden crash.
As it turned out, for a while, the choice for lunch was a high-end Chinese restaurant that continues the reputation of a cheong cuisine restaurant, or an iron bag table Chinese restaurant located in a local alley. In terms of price, if it's 50,000 won or more per person, it's at the level of 5,000 won. In a nutshell, it was the concept of “all or nothing.â€
Recently, however, a new type of Chinese restaurant has appeared between high-end Chinese restaurants and teppanyaki Chinese restaurants, making it close to our tastes. The quality of the menu was at luxury hotels and high-end restaurants, and prices dropped by 20 to 30%. The interior is a so-called “Chinese tavern,†which is more luxurious than an ironclad Chinese restaurant.
A Chinese-style izakaya where you can easily grab a cup of high-volume sake on your way home from work
Let's take a quick look at a place called 'Jin ' located in Seogyo-dong, Seoul. On the way home from work around 6 p.m., two teams of young people who wanted to have a light drink came in, and the table was quickly full. The menu they order is very different from that of traditional Chinese restaurants. Order “menbosha,†which can be called a Chinese-style shrimp toast. It's a bite-sized sandwich and the price is 18,000 won.
It's roughly like this. If you look at the menu, there's no jajangmyeon or champon that always comes to mind when it comes to Chinese restaurants. However, there is no need to be afraid. On the contrary, you can only be happy because you feel like you've flown deep into the land of China on an airplane. This is because there are plenty of local Chinese cuisines that are “unseen and unheard of.†They also serve raw Chinese ramen instead of jajangmyeon, and there are also places that prepare sharp-flavored tantan noodles with red pepper and peanut sauce instead of champon It's there. Dumplings are also not one-size-fits-all grilled gyoza. Both the steamed dumplings and the water dumplings were made directly by the chef in the kitchen. Even though it's clunky, the sincerity of the taste and the pleasure of chewing are alive
Dried pear shrimp dumpling soup
The interior decoration does not deviate much from red lights. As the night deepens , the red light becomes even more enchanting in Paiju , China. Strangely enough, there are a lot of women in Chinese taverns. Also, career women in their 20s and 30s are the main customers. As the number of trips to Greater China , such as China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, has increased, women who have experienced authentic Chinese food are the main customers of these places that enjoy local flavors It's an analysis. This is a starkly different aspect from the customer base of high-end Chinese restaurants that focus on middle-aged men.
These Chinese taverns are mainly located in places such as Yeonhui-dong, Yeonnam-dong, and Seogyo-dong. It is creating a new style of Chinese food by linking with the Chinese cultural areas in Yeonhui and Yeonnam-dong . It's also because famous Chinese chefs, including CEO Lee Yeon-bok, are gathering here one by one in the “Foodie†program these days.
Here are a few Chinese-style taverns and Chinese restaurants in Yeonhui and Yeonnam-dong areas where you can enjoy a light cup of high-volume sake.
A restaurant where you can choose according to your taste
Gunil Bae
The most popular Chinese chef these days is definitely Lee Yeon-bok, the owner and chef of Mokran Yeonhui-dong. There is already a line of early food adopters just because of the rumor that he made a menu. It's an indelible izakaya where a cup of Chinese paiju is perfect for sipping on your throat. There are only 6 to 7 tables, so it's nice to sit and drink in private.
The menu that customers always look for is persimmon meat (twice-boiled meat, 15,000 won). It is a dish in which pork ribs are deep-fried and lightly steamed again. This dish, which has a rich soy sauce flavor , is eaten wrapped with broccoli, Vietnamese pepper, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, etc. My hand goes to the temple after drinking. Shrimp dumpling soup and deep-fried ribs are also snacks you can't find at other restaurants. In fact, I think I can drink any number of bottles of beer even if I only have cabbage pickled in soy sauce or stir-fried peanuts as a side dish . 29, Yeonhuima-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. 02-333-1009.
Taiwan Night Market
As usual, it feels like a night market. Dozens of menus appear brilliantly, starting with the menu under the scarlet red light. Still, if you look at the price, it's very cheap, starting at 3500 won per plate. If you think it's expensive, 10,000 won. Less than a year after opening the first “Taiwan Night Market†store in Yeonnam-dong last year, it was so popular that it opened up to 4 stores nearby Collecting.
Taiwan Night Market Red Light
The unusual menu here is sweet and sour pork. In other places , when you eat sweet and sour pork, you think about “whether to pour in the sauce to eat it†or “whether to eat it with a dipâ€, but there's no need to do that here . This is because the sauce itself doesn't come out at all. Instead, the sweet and sour pork is lightly sprinkled with soy sauce and stir-fried. It's a pity that the crunch disappeared as time went by, but I was comforted enough by the fact that Socha was only 5,000 won. . The dumpling soup called “huntuntang†is a great snack to soothe those surprised by the strong goulangju. There are jajangmyeon and champon here, and Taiwanese jajangmyeon is served with a slice of cheese. 210 Donggyo-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul. 0230144-0278.
haha
In fact , this is a dumpling shop that Chinese people living in downtown Seoul loved when they thought about their hometown in Shandong, China. They make delicious grilled dumplings , water dumplings, whole dumplings, and king dumplings in local Chinese style. However, along with gyoza, the menu includes a variety of side dishes that can only be enjoyed at home in China. A typical example is stir-fried pork ears. It's like eating pork offal dishes that can be found in our market, but with the unique flavor of China, you can experience a new world Yes, you can.
Haha stir-fried eggplant
Stir-fried potato greens is a dish of finely sliced potatoes sautéed in a sour way. Although it was said to be stir-fried, it's a pleasure to chew it crunchy because it wasn't cooked to the point where it came out after a slight fire. I recommend it as an appetizer that enhances the taste. Since I was operating in a small space, there was an inconvenience where customers had to line up every time, but recently I went to a three-story building right next door It is said to have been expanded and relocated.
263 Donggyo-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul. 023037-0211.
Jinga
“Strong confrontation between China and China.†This is a popular Chinese food battle program that was recently broadcast on a cable broadcast. Chef Jin Sengyong, who appeared in this broadcast, set up a Chinese tavern named after his last name (Chen). It offers Chinese cuisine made with high quality ingredients that were previously made in express hotels. The menu that most customers comfortably order is gyoza (8000 won). It uses mackerel fillets and chives as dumpling, and is filled with the bitter scent of the sea. The dumpling skin is thick and has a chewy flavor. I think it would have been a lonely taste in the middle of the ocean if it weren't for the mustard shooting area. It can also be eaten with roasted peanuts to help soothe the fishy flavor of the fish.
Head of Jin Ga, Chef Jin Sang Yong
Jinga dumplings and Chinese beer
Another delicacy here is chicken fried rice (7,000 won). As if the grains of rice were fried one by one, it's fun to be crunchy one by one. It's a completely different level from the fried rice I've tasted at other Chinese restaurants. The egg soup that comes with it relaxes and soothes the stomach. 12, Donggyo-ro 34-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul. 02-3 26-1668.
Jinjin
It is run by Chef Wang Yoo-sung, who has 40 years of experience in Chinese cuisine , and is leading Chinese food in Yeonhee and Yeonnam-dong. There are a variety of menus that focus on snacks rather than food and meals.
Jin Jin Menbosha. Chinese style shrimp toast.
There are no jajangmyeon and champon, but menbosha (18,000 won) and stir-fried snow crab meat (20,000 won) that appear in Chinese dinner dishes, etc.
We offer over 10 unique menus.
Menbosha is a Chinese-style toast made by putting minced shrimp between slices of bread and deep-frying them in oil. The crunchy texture of white bread and the soft touch of shrimp make me desperate to think about a strong cup of high-grade sake. Stir-fried snow crab is a thick dish that feels like snow crab meat is being sucked right into your mouth. It's a food that even older adults will love.
In Jinjin, coriander is served as a side dish.
Indeed , if you sign up for a membership (30,000 won for a lifetime subscription), you can get a 20% discount on membership here. 123, Jandari-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul 070-5035-8878