Sindorim Korean restaurant weekend lunch: half-and-half jokbal set

Made it back from my work trip alive... (barely.....)

The trip wrapped up in the morning, so I rushed home, showered, did my makeup again, and — nyoo nyoo nyan nya ♪ — came out to actually enjoy the weekend.

The weather's so nice~~~ ♪ Cool and properly autumn-autumn~

Getting to Sindorim Sambaekga by bus from Mullae

I thought, my first meal after this trip absolutely has to be pho or banh mi!? But then I suddenly decided on a Yeongdeungpo-gu outing instead. Decision made, bang bang bang.

My boyfriend's office is near Mullae Station, so I like dropping by sometimes, but 'don't hang out near each other's office' is the golden rule!! Weekends are the exception though, so let's go~

We parked nearby and wandered around the flea market at Mullae Neighborhood Park going "what should we eat, what should we eat," and somehow ended up taking a bus all the way to Sindorim Station. (Why did we even bother parking first.......haha)

Arrived at 'Sambaekga,' right across from D-Cube City! Right, when you're unwinding it's gotta be meat and drinks!! (I tried not to go for Korean food but of course Koreans can't live without it!)

— This is Sindorim Sambaekga, a Korean restaurant near Sindorim Station! —

Lunch menu on weekends too, and plenty of solo diners

Since it was lunchtime, lots of people had come in groups of three and four to eat, and we scanned the kiosk to order too — looked like everyone was here hunting for good Korean food near Sindorim Station.

Sambaekga must go wild during Sindorim lunch hours~~ since the lunch menu runs even on weekends, I could see plenty of solo diners there too.

Ordering the half-and-half jokbal makguksu set at Sambaekga

I opened the kiosk thinking jokbal and bossam, and somehow the half-and-half jokbal makguksu set got ordered without either of us quite deciding it — ironic!!

The kalguksu set comes with barley rice too, but today it was just makguksu — next time I definitely have to try the kalguksu + barley rice combo!

Persimmon geotjeori and dried radish, refilled twice

After ordering, we poured ourselves a self-serve welcome drink and waited

and out came the side dishes, just right to go with jokbal~ [You can also see it at the self-serve bar, but apparently they only serve geotjeori (fresh kimchi salad) made fresh that day, with persimmon mixed in. Wow!]

(Wow, you really shouldn't judge this radish side by looks alone — it's genuinely delicious. I refilled it twice.) Why is it so good, you ask — apparently they use clean Jeju radish, low-temperature aged, to get that deep, refreshing flavor.

A bottle of Seoul Jangsu makgeolli after the work trip

I really wasn't going to drink, but to protect 'Seoul's Future Heritage,' I had no choice but to order the original of originals — Seoul Jangsu makgeolli! The jokbal came out right after, but my boyfriend poured the makgeolli first with a flourish, spilling half of it everywhere, haha

Thanks, you goofball. Cheers! One glass down~ ahh, well done, well done~~~~ ahh, well done~~~

Seasoned and plain jokbal: why alternating bites works

Next, turning attention to the jokbal

Honestly, at first glance I thought, "hmm... looks pretty plain...?" then picked up a piece

and this seasoned jokbal is genuinely delicious. There's a smoky char flavor that hits your mouth full force. One bite and straight to the makgeolli — really good despite how it looked~!!?? Not plain at all~~

Next, trying the plain jokbal,

and right on cue the makguksu arrived, so I mixed it up

eating makguksu together with jokbal (delicious + delicious), and honestly I like the seasoned jokbal more than the plain one, but as I kept eating

plain ▷ spicy (seasoned) ▷ plain ▷ spicy (seasoned) ▷ plain ▷ spicy (seasoned) ▷ plain on repeat turned out to go perfectly together

wrapping everything in lettuce and perilla leaves too, protein plus vegetables — perfect food for a work-trip afterparty.

Complimentary cold jokbal salad and rice balls at Sindorim Sambaekga

Right when we were eating along at a good pace, the owner brought over 'cold jokbal salad,' which apparently just comes standard with the meal. The cold jokbal salad has a slight yangjangpi (cold jellyfish salad) sauce vibe to it — tangy and delicious. Perfect for when you want jokbal on a hot day.

My mood today wasn't really "tangy" (X), more like "spicy spicy" (O),

so I took a bite of makguksu, wrapped some jokbal in garlic sauce, and did a little shoulder dance. Right around when the seasoning started making my tongue tingle a bit, out came the rice balls

Rice balls formed by hand, packed tight

and topping the rice ball with seasoned jokbal like this — 'how good could that possibly be~~~~~~~' I said, and my boyfriend immediately copied me, haha

I mean, eating like this, how do you NOT drink makgeolli

Ooh~ getting tipsy~~~~~~~~~~~~ at some point I noticed I'd been pouring makgeolli into two glasses all by myself, haha (why do I have two glasses...?)

Finished it all off with the green grape candy at the end. Sambaekga — if you're looking for good Korean food near Sindorim Station, just walk in without hesitating.