Restaurant Review!

Good Restaurant l Yeouido l Seoul

The other day, I had a complimentary sauna session and lunch at a complex in the “Manhattan” of Seoul; Yeouido. The public bath was inexpensive and relaxing. You first sat down on a little stool and scrubbed yourself down. You could then sit and soak in a hot bath or heat lamp dry sauna. It was full of men just coming down for an hour or so just to unwind. Afterwards, you put on a robe and headed to tidy yourself up and relaxed by a big screen TV.

Lunch was even more pleasant when we sat down for Shabu Shabu. Thinly sliced beef with assorted greens, peanut sauce, soy sauce and Kimchi. Everyone had their own boiling pot of stock where they would dip the meat and veggies. First you took some veggies out of the boiling broth, dipped the cooked beef in the peanut sauce, wrapped the beef in the veggies, dipped it into the soy sauce and enjoyed. There was something really contemplative about this whole arrangement and the wide range of veggies made all the difference as it constantly afforded you a new taste. The personal hot pot gave it a dignity that contrasted sharply with the communal hot pots to which I was accustomed. A fairly different take on the hot pot but one of my favorite. In fact, I usually dislike going out for hot pot to be honest with you.

Finally, a warning: I haven’t mastered reading Korean yet and the only English I saw was a rather large sign that said “good restaurant.” In retrospect I think this might have been some sort of seal of approval. The sign is right though; this is a good restaurant.