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| And the Award for Best Name goes to ... 정말 맛있는 집! |
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정말 맛있는 집
Very Delicious House
But sometimes I just don't order well. I have been known to go to a steakhouse and be quite peeved about the quality of my casserole. I stubbornly ordered fish at every restaurant in Nashville before I admitted fish is not one of the South's specialties (do not speak to me of the bottom-dwelling catfish). And so it was with Very Delicious House.
With the Mr. off teaching over-schooled Korean youngsters that Columbus does not deserve a national holiday (Chungdahm's reading exercises are wonderfully revisionist), yours truly is often left by her lonesome during the hours the hagwon is open. Therefore, I must feed myself. Or, rather, I must choose a restaurant to feed me. One day, I chose Very Delicious House.
Dining alone in Korea is as awkward as dining alone in America, but choosing your restaurant well helps. Very Delicious House has booths separated by screens for optimal privacy. That way your shame can be shielded from the innocent accompanied diners. Also, Very Delicious House is, as I mentioned, across the street from my apartment. It is literally about ten yards from where I compose this blog post. Therefore it would appear to be a capitol spot to eat alone.
I took off my shoes, sat on a thin pillow on the floor, and examined the menu on the wall. Stuff was expensive. I didn't want a ₩12,000 dinner for one. I am not that extravagant. I ordered the cheapest thing on the menu: 누룽지탕, for ₩5000. I had no idea what it was, but I knew it was cheap.
The waitress brought this:
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| Not the 누룽지탕 I ate. Another blogger's 누룽지탕. But mine was similar. |
This is just burned rice and hot water. I like rice, but I'm the kind of person who always puts something on the rice. I think it's bland by itself. Drowned in hot water without spices, vegetables, or meat it's ... well, I ordered wrong. I forced myself to eat the blandest food I have ever had in my life. I made it through the meal, paid my ₩5000, and memorized the word 누룽지 so I wouldn't order it again.
I knew the fact that I ordered something I did not like was not the restaurant's fault, so I braved going back. Very Delicious House deserved another chance at earning its name. I sat down in the same spot and carefully ordered 우거지탕. I didn't know what that was either, but it was only ₩5000 and at least I knew it wasn't 누룽지탕.
Well she brought me 누룽지탕 again.
And I was mad. I knew the two soups have similar names (nurungjitang and ugeojitang), and that she probably misheard me, or my pronunciation was too foreign. This happened in Venezuela when I ordered a mojito and I received a gin y tónico. When you speak a foreign language, your tongue becomes a giant raw potato in your mouth. But ex-pat frustrations aside, what was I going to do with this mushy rice before me?
Both times I ate at Very Delicious House I received eight colorful side dishes with my burned rice soup. This time, instead of punishing myself with rapidly-cooling watery burned rice, I mixed the spicy, flavorful side dishes (especially the kimchis and the sauces) with the rice soup. And low and behold, it was good. I ate all the rice. I asked for more side dishes.
I am now full. I have this euphoric feeling Anglophones cannot describe with an adjective. We resort to a phrase we seldom use: I have eaten well.
Although I have only had one dish at this restaurant, and the waitress misheard me (or I misspoke), and one meal was miserable, I have to give this restaurant props for breaking down the walls I erected between myself and bland well-being food. Very Delicious House changed my mind. I now understand why 누룽지 is a beloved Korean comfort food.
Very Delicious House: ★★★
View 정말 맛있는 집 (Very Delicious House) in a larger map
Make your own 누룽지탕 by following this recipe.
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