If you ask me what was one of my most memorable meals during my recent Korean trip, I’d say it’s a bowl of Ramyun I had in the Industrial district of Guro-gu (literally translated as “Nine Old Men”) in Seoul.
It was new year’s eve, and I had been all wired up since morning anticipating the tattoo session later in the afternoon. So much so that when a restaurant waiter looked at me weirdly when I went in alone in Hongdae, wanting to eat Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Stew) for lunch, I chickened out and left to wait for Fafa in the hotel, who opted to have a burger.
By the time he returned, and we went for our tattoo appointment at Guro-gu, I was famished. Since we reached early (thanks to the clear direction written by RYSE’s concierge that we passed to the taxi driver), we walked around to feed my grumbling tummy.
Dodo Han Gimbap
That’s when I saw pictures of Gimbaps (seaweed rice rolls) at the entrance of Dodo Han Gimbap eatery. The thing is, even though I have had my share of Gimbap during this trip, I have wanted to try Al-Bap. Al-Bap is fish roe gimbap famous in the coastal cities in South Korea. So, I went in, hoping I’d finally get to try it in a restaurant with “Gimbap” in its name.
But as the title said, today’s story is about Ramyun, not Gimbap. Yes, the eatery has wide varieties of Gimbap, from spicy beef to crab, but they didn’t have Al-Bap. So with a tiny disappointment, I turned to another page on the menu and saw bowls of instant noodles, Ramyun, the Korean Ramen.
I hesitated a bit. Eating Ramyun, an instant noodle, in a restaurant seemed like a waste when I could just buy it from the convenience store. And I did buy and had it for dinner only a couple of days before when we stayed in Hanok. But it was freezing that day, a cold that felt could be chased by what looked like a beautiful bowl from the picture on the menu. And it was only 5,000 Won (6AUD).
I caved and asked for Ramyun to the helpful English-speaking waiter. Then, a few minutes later, I added an egg to the order for an additional 1,000 Won.
To be honest, I didn’t expect much. I only hoped the gravy wouldn’t taste sweet-and-spicy, the kind you get on Tteokbokki.
While waiting, I took a cup of what I thought would be hot tea from the side table. It turned out to be a clear soup and a small plate of yellow radish Banchan. There was also Kimchi, but as I have mentioned, I have yet to warm up to the classic Kimchi.
The Ramyun
Finally, my Ramyun came, and I took a slurp. Oh my lord, it was so good!
The instant noodle was al dente, just like I liked it. The just-spicy gravy was rich and flavorful. Oh, apparently, the original order already came with an egg. So the Ramyun came with two eggs. Half floating, half sinking beautifully in the warm dark orange liquid, ready to be shredded and slurped.
It was perfect.
It took me back to the rainy days and eating Internet ━ Indomie Telur Kornet (Indonesian Instant Noodle topped with a fried egg and corned beef) on the roadside in Jakarta.
In the midst of ingesting while trying to convince Fafa to try it, I got reminded of some advice from a Korean friend:
If you want to eat good food in Korea, find a restaurant filled with old men.
So I looked around and found only one old man. From then on, I consider seeing one old man in a restaurant a good enough omen for having a delicious meal in Korea.
Seeing the pictures and thinking back about this random meal that turned out to be so memorable made me smile. It not only fed and warmed my body and heart. It also gave me enough gusto to get the planned tattoo appointment done—all thanks to a simple bowl of Ramyun.
Dodo Han Gimbap address: 272, Achasan-Ro, Seoul, South Korea.
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