Food and Drink
해장국 Haejangguk must have walked past Haejangguk restaurant in downtown at least a hundred times in my time in Gwangju. It was probably after having walking past it 40 or 50 times that I thought I should check it out. Thus in early May I finally dined there with a friend.
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I like gukbap restaurants because they are purveyors of dishes for one person, unlike BBQ restaurants which require a group of people to dine at. Thus if you happen to be out and about by yourself, or just with a friend doing whatever, you can find a kuk bap establishment and have a quick, cheap, and more often than not, tasty meal. My friend and I got to Haejangguk and stopped outside its façade so I could take a picture. It was around 7:45 p.m. and we were a little disconcerted to see that there were no patrons inside; a full restaurant is usually the sign of a good restaurant. We went in anyway, as I had definitely seen people in there before so maybe it was just a rare occurrence. We walked in and got the obligatory o-seo-ose-yo, as a man came out of the kitchen at the back of the long rectangular room. The restaurant had a homely feel with wooden tables, and the interior decoration suggesting that the place is older than your standard shiny new kimbap franchise. There were both western style tables and chairs, and traditional Korean floor seating at the back of the room; we opted for western style seating. The menu was relatively small, which is something that I always like. It suggests that the restaurant is dedicated to making a small number of dishes well. They had both meals for one person, such as kimchi jiggae and bibimbap, and a few dishes more appropriate for groups, such as gamjatang. The man came and took our orders before we had
taken our seats – quick service by any standards. I got kongnamul gukbap (콩나물국밥); a very light dish comprised of bean sprouts, and a poached egg in a delicious boiling broth. Rice accompanied it and I put some of it in the broth. My friend got bibimbap. We did not have to wait long for our meals, and they looked like standard issue variations of our respective dishes. I ate a fair amount of the kimchi and the other side dishes that accompanied our meals while I waited for my broth to cool down. My friend did not have such problems, and tucked into their bibimbap immediately. They found it like any good bibimbap and I asked if I could have a little taste. I also enjoyed it, but then I always like bibimbap: the delicious gochujang paste, mixed in with rice, a fried egg, and vegetables is a wonderful combination. My kongnamul gukbap was also delicious. I felt like something light as I wasn’t feeling famished, and it hit the spot perfectly. I liked the broth as it had plenty of flavour, and the simplicity of the dish as it had only three primary ingredients. In this case less was a good thing. While we were eating, a couple of different groups came in and took tables, quelling our initial fears about the place being empty. One group, sitting at a table next to us, ordered something that I thought looked like gamjatang. Whatever it was, it looked pretty good. Haejangguk (해장국) is located downtown next to Toda Cosa, the perfume shop, and only a few metres from Baskin Robbins (the one in the middle of downtown, not the one next to the YMCA). Our meals were cheap as mine only cost 5000 won and my friend’s 6000 won. Next time you’re downtown around lunch time on the weekend, or dinner time on a week night, and need a quick, cheap, delicious meal I can recommend Haejangguk as a nice change from going to a run-of-the-mill kimbap joint. My friend and I enjoyed the homely experience of the place, while the food was both satisfying and reasonably priced. Story and photos by Gabriel Ward
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Gwangju News June 2011