Saemaul Sikdang is one of The Born Korea’s brands represented by famous Korean chef Baek Jong-won.
It is popular for selling food with good cost-effectiveness.
Above all, the most characteristic is that it is cheap, and it provides an appropriate taste.
Saemaul Sikdang has more than 110 restaurants nationwide.
It can be said that there are one in the downtown area of Seoul.
It is also located in the Hongdae area where many foreign tourists visit, so it will be easy to find.
It depends on the branch, but there are also places with Baek Jong-won’s picture.
The image taken before the Corona Pandemic has now increased the price by 1,000 KRW.
When you order food, the basic side dishes are as above.
Miyeok Guk(Korean seaweed soup), green onion salad, ssamjang, kimchi, lettuce, onions, garlic, perilla leaves, and peppers are served.
Yeoltan Bulgogi
I always order Yeoltan Bulgogi when I visit Saemaul Sikdang.
The thinly sliced pork is mixed into the sauce.
Yeoltan Bulgogi continues the concept of seasoned pork grilled in Yeontan(coal briquettes).
Until the 1970s, Korea used Yeontan(coal briquettes) to heat homes.
Koreans grilled meat and other things on Yeontan(coal briquettes), which can be said to have continued the concept of this time.
The problem is that the use of Yeontan(coal briquettes) generates toxic gases.
So now the briquette-baked restaurant is disappeared.
Yeoltan Bulgogi is not Samgyeopsal.
They use pork front legs, which are cheaper than Samgyeopsal.
The sauce is used to compensate for the taste of the front leg meat less than Samgyeopsal.
When baking Yeoltan Bulgogi, you have to flip it hard so that it doesn’t stick to the grill.
You need to be careful because it burns because of the sauce.
It is also good to grill onions, cabbage, or green onion salad served together.
7-minute Kimchi Jjigae
What I always order with Yeoltan Bulgogi at Saemaul Sikdang is 7-minute Kimchi Jjigae.
7-minute Kimchi Jjjigae is not a special kimchi Jjigae.
Kimchi Jjigae with pork is the name given because it is the most delicious when boiled for 7 minutes.
Strictly speaking, 7-minute Kimchi Jjigae is not a Jjjigae.
It doesn’t taste special and it’s very salty.
Nevertheless, the reason why it is so popular is because it is mixed with rice.
Place chopped seaweed on top of the rice.
Then you can add 7-minute Kimchi Jjigae and mix it.
Can I recommend Saemaul Sikdang?
Yes.
It is a Gogigib(meat restaurant) that you can enjoy cheaply.
Of course, the quality of the meat provided by Saemaul Sikdang is not good.
The taste of the meat itself is not excellent either.
But the sauce itself tastes good and kimchi stew mixed with rice is also good.
It makes sense considering the price.
There is something to note when using Saemaul Sikdang.
It has a strong despotic taste.
In other words, it can be salty.
In my case, I usually drink somaek(cocktail made with soju and beer) when I visit Saemaul Sikdang.
And I eat a lot of vegetables. (especially lettuce)
Finally, I do not order other menus except for Yeoltan Bulgogi and 7-minute Kimchi Jjigae.
Other menus are recommended to be eaten in other restaurants.
In the case of Saemaul Sikdang’s Hongdae Univ Seogyo, it was really popular with foreign tourists before the Corona Pandemic.
In some cases, they lined up to enter.
As the number of foreign tourists increases, it is expected to gain a lot of popularity again.
Saemaul Sikdang Official Website (Only Korean)
