Here, only about four months after my return, is my last dining report from my trip to Seoul in March. It features the third and fourth of four dinners in a row eaten at Gwangjang Market, my absolute favourite place to visit on this trip. As you may recall from my first dining report from the market, at my first visit I ate dumpling soup; and on my second, I ate yukhoe tangtangi (seasoned raw beef with the chopped tentacles of a recently dispatched octopus). By the time of my third visit my overeating had been catching up with me. I’d eaten a deep-fried lunch at Namdaemun Market that day and so was in the mood for something light and fresh. Accordingly, I honed in on the stalls selling hwe or sliced raw fish and sat down at the first one that had empty seats. The following night I happened on the stall of an international celebrity but passed on the dish she is most famous for, in favour, once again, of something light and fresh. Details follow.

As you can see in this Reel, the two shorter of the four large “alleys” that make up the main eating drag at Gwangjang Market, have a number of stalls that specialize in hwe. The menus and prices are generally identical or close. Most also have a bindaetteok/mung bean pancake operation attached but having just eaten bindaetteok for lunch, I was not in the market for that. I sat down at a counter that had open seats and ordered the raw seafood combination. I was also easily persuaded to order a small bottle of soju: soju and hwe is a great combination.

Everything was sliced to order and came out attractively arrayed on a platter. I can’t be sure of everything that was included but there was salmon, abalone and octopus for sure—and, also, I think, amberjack and shaved conch. The fish came on a bed of lettuce along with sliced garlic and green chillies. On the side were a number of seasonings and a small head of perilla/shiso leaves to wrap the fish in. It was all very good, and at 20,000 Won for the seafood combinaton, a very good deal.

The next night was cold and a bit wet and I arrived on the late side at the market. Unsurprisingly, it was quite empty, even in the main drag. By which I mean not only that there were very diners compared to the previous three nights but also that many vendors were closed. As to whether that’s a regular Sunday night thing or an artefact of the weather, I don’t know. However, it did mean that I could actually sit down at the counter of the vendor who is the best known to non-Korean foodies of everyone at the market: Cho Yonsoon, famously featured on Netflix’s Street Food Asia, serving her kalguksu or handcut noodles to an adoring public.

Her stall is usually mobbed and when I had surveyed the market on my first visit, I had not even caught sight of her. Having eaten excellent kalguksu at Namdaemun Market, I had not been particularly disappointed—especially as I do not enjoy standing in line. But on my last night in Seoul, hers was one of very few stalls open and there were seats galore to be had. And so I sat down. I was very pleased to discover that her stall has heated seats. Well, most/all of the others may too—they had not been needed on the previous three nights. Doubtless due to her Netflix-fueled global fame—which is prominently marked—she has a number of assistants now who seat customers, take the orders and handle payment. She meanwhile presides over the making of noodles and the rest of the dishes and banters with the Korean-speaking customers.

Though kalguksu leads off on the menu, and is clearly the most-ordered item, there are other things on offer as well. As on the previous night, I was in the mood for something clear and bright and so I passed on the famous hand-cut noodles and opted instead for the chilled, vinegary mul naengmyeon. Some may consider this folly but a) I love mul naengmyeon, and b) I’ll be back for six weeks next February/March. At any rate, the naengmyeon was top rate. I had and have no regrets.

For one last look at the market and what I ate, click on an image below to launch a larger slideshow. Scroll down to see what’s coming next.

Well, this wraps up my Seoul reports. I still have a LOT of reports to post from the Italy trip, which comes to an end tomorrow. I’ll try to get two of those out each week so I can hopefully be done with them by the time we get back to Minnesota in August. Of course, by that time I’ll also have accrued a bunch of reports from Dublin, which is where we’ll be for the next six weeks (but that’s work, not vacation). I also still have two reports to post from New York and one from Goa in January that I’d completely forgotten about. Will those ever see the light of day? Let’s see.

Anyway, on Tuesday I’ll have my first report from Rome.