On my short list of things to do before I came to Seoul included having Galbi Jjim. Galbi Jjim is braised beef ribs, in a sweet and savory sauce. I first had Galbi Jjim from a small place in Los Angeles called Seong Buk Dong. And I fell in love with this tender beef dish. So, when we were able to finally go to Gangnam-myeonok (I have no idea how to pronounce this) in Sinsadong (신사동) – I was ecstatic. I giddy with joy!
My past experiences with non-Korean Beef ribs weren’t all that great. But after my Seong Buk Dong, I realized how juicy and tasty it could be. The braising of the beef allows the meat to become tender with the infusion of the sauce. Understandably, beef is not popular dish because of the rarity of the cow on the peninsula. Beef has to be imported from Australia or the US.
At Gangnam-myeonok, there are three different offerings – small, medium, and large portions. We selected the large portion without thinkings. I think our bellies did the thinking and deciding. Yet, after the hub cap sized plate arrived with the beef ribs – I realized that perhaps we were in for some hurtin’ later. They gave us tongs and forks to help us devour this cow . . .but I didn’t use them, personally. The meat would fall off the bone with little effort. My teeth were an effective knife replacement. I believe the three of us were beasts who were celebrating a kill with this fabulous feast.
The three of us – yes only three, attempted and successfully finished the 18 beef ribs. I was told that Gangnam-myeonok also had noodles and dumplings – which didn’t peak my interest. I do remember the beef consume/soup that they served as if it was a tea or drink. I liked that. Amazingly, we still had dinner and a late night snack later that day.
What to Order: Seriously don’t order anything else except Galbi Jjim
What not to Order: everything else on the menu
Rating
3 Pigs
Price Range 2 $/¥/NT
강남면옥
Gangnam-myeonok
서울 강남구 신사동 588-9
588-9, Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
+82-2-3446-5539
Popularity: 23% [?]
So the Thirsty Pig has asked me to fill in the blanks where he neglected to take notes. I mean, what kind of self-respecting food blogger doesn’t take notes and leaves it to his buddy to fill in the blanks?
So, ya this was way more than any 3 guys could handle. Under ordinary circumstances, this is a dinner spot where you throw back a few bottles of soju with the meal. This was our lazy Sunday brunch. lol. Anyways, the broth in the cup is beef broth that’s slightly seasoned (육수) and is generally used as the base for their cold noodle dish (“mool-neng-myun”)(물낸면). Basically, they take the left over beef parts and throw it in a pot and make a broth out of it. The dirty secret in Korea is that you should never order these noodles from a place that doesn’t already sell some sort of famous beef dish or soup because it means they buy the broth from a third-party source, which is usually Chinese. God forbid! It’s a well known fact that Chinese broth produced for the Korean market is full of bad illegal stuff and not handled under the most sanitary conditions.
Anyways, maybe the Thirsty Pig doesn’t like social commentary in his blog. lol.
The only blank to fill in here is that the ribs are made from American beef and if it was Korean beef, it would have cost probably twice that. $50 is already steep enough.
uh. . . thanks
The Thirsty Pig recently posted..Galbi Jjim at 강남면옥 Gangnam-myeonok in Seoul