I know I said I’d finally post my report today on our meal at Tenant in Minneapolis at the start of the month. But I really do need to wrap up my reports from Seoul: it’s been three months now since we left the city. Luckily, I have only four more reports to go. Two this week, two next week and I’ll be done before the month ends. Of the four remaining reports two are of places I ate at for the first time on this trip and two are of places I ate at on my solo visit to Seoul in March 2023. Both of the latter were places I particularly enjoyed and knew I was going to go back to for sure with the family in tow. One, of course, was Gwanjang Market (which we indeed went to multiple times); the other was Wonjo Agujjim. I’ll close out my Seoul reports with a Gwanjang Market wrap-up. Here first is a look at a larger meal at Wonjo Agujjim than I was able to manage on my own in 2023.

In my 2023 report on Wonjo Agujjim I noted the broader difficulty of eating alone in Seoul—a city whose food culture is optimized for dining out in groups—and the particular difficulty of doing so in a restaurant like Wonjo Agujjim. This because their specialties are two dishes, the smallest sizes of which can feed 2-4 people. In 2023 I held my own against an unfeasibly large “small” vat of haemultang but felt during (and afterwards) like I was going to die. This obviously also meant I could not try the dish that is in their name: agujjim or braised monkfish. Nor could I try their pajeons or pancakes. This time, however, I had a group. I was accompanied by the family and a friend. Between the five of us we managed to eat an order of agujjim, an order of haemultang and an order of haemul-pajeon (seafood pancake). We got small orders of the first two and we still couldn’t finish it all. And we still felt like we were going to die afterwards. Well, we didn’t but if we had, we’d have died happy.

The haemultang was as good as it was in March 2023 (and I suspect it has been and always will be that good) and as stuffed with a variety of sea creatures and their various bits. The agujjim was excellent as well as was the haemul-pajeon (one of the best I’ve ever had). There’s not really very much else to say about the dishes. They were hearty and made and served with equal care. I mentioned in my report last year that despite our not having much language in common, the owner had looked after me very well. On this occasion I asked the missus to thank her on my behalf and tell her I’d enjoyed it so much that I’d wanted to come back with the family. Yes, she said in response, I remember him, he sat at that table over there  (pointing to the table I’d sat at). She took very good care of all of us on this occasion as well. For example, after we’d ordered she brought us over a small bowl of a mild soup, concerned that the kids would not be able to handle the haemultang. As it happened they ate the haemultang with great gusto but it was a lovely gesture.

The small restaurant was once again full for almost all the time that we were there. It was a mix of groups of older and younger people, all of whom seemed like they were probably on their way from work to home. It’s not a trendy place and the people eating there are not very trendy either but the atmosphere is one that most trendy places would love to be able to approximate.

For a look at what we ate, click on an image below to launch a larger slideshow. Scroll down to see how much all of this cost and to see what’s coming next.

All of this plus a couple of small bottles of soju (another perk of not eating alone) came to 120,000 won or just about $87. Crazy good value for the quality (and quantity).

Alright, what’s next? I’ll post another Seoul report this week, probably on the weekend. That’ll be of a place in a very different genre. In between the two Seoul reports I’ll probably post a report from this current California trip (we’re currently on the Central Coast, making our way up to the Bay Area). That means I’ll punt the Tenant report to next week.