South Korea Voyage: The FOOD (Part 1 con't)

HAHA’s RESTAURANT

We also specially paid a visit to the BBQ restaurant opened by Haha and his friend, Pal Ja Mak Chang (팔자막창). We did not visit Gary’s restaurant because he is not in town (we went on the week where LeeSsang is in US having their concerts). 

If you need directions to Haha’s restaurant, click here: hellosihui or storyofoursummers.  

Signboard

I am guessing that the restaurant’s specialty is pig’s intestines because (1) this is the first BBQ restaurant that I encountered that sells intestines (2) the name of the restaurant when translated using Google Translate reads as “Ol Rectum”. I really have nothing to say about the aptness of the name. The restaurant is not very big and it is packed. Anyhow, we have researched before the trip and read reviews that the food is nothing to shout about. It is standard and average. The reason why we are there, and why so many other people are there (we waited for about 30 minutes to get a seat), is attributed to Haha’s fame. Hey, fame is the name of the game. Besides, this is Hongdae (stop at Honggik University station), where all the youngsters hang out. I doubt good-tasting food is their priority. 

The crowd.

Since the meat is not its specialty and is nothing to shout about, I will focus on the intestines. We ordered two types of intestines. One is boiled intestines and one is green intestines. What are green intestines you may ask? Well, it is simply raw, uncooked intestines. I assumed they termed it ‘green’ from the association with fresh green vegetables, 青菜. So ‘green’ probably means ‘raw’ or ‘fresh’. The difference between the boiled and green intestines, besides the states of ‘done-ness’, is that the green intestines has ‘stuffing’ in it. The ‘stuffing’, a kind of white mush, reminds me of mashed bean curd skin. Honestly, I think it is just what is leftover in the intestines that are not cleaned. You know, the leftovers in your own intestines when you are having a bout of constipation. Just that the ‘stuffing’ is white. But hey, don’t take my word for it. I don’t work there, so I really have no idea. And I am definitely no expert in Korean cuisine.

Boiled intestines on top left-hand corner.

Personally, I preferred the boiled intestines (not because of the lack of ‘stuffing’). It came out better on the grill and tastes better. The green ones came off the grill burnt. As it is raw and filled with juices, it tends to get burnt easily. Also, it took a longer time to cook, which also meant getting burnt. But be assured that none of us suffered from any stomach ailments after eating the green intestines.

Rows of green intestines at the bottom, pig skin at top right corner.

Oh, in above picture, the item on the top right corner of the grill is pig skin. It could have been mouth-wateringly delicious, it could have been heavenly, but because it is of a level of spiciness that none of us could take, it was left there to BURN. Tsk, what a waste of what could potentially be an awesome juicy chewy feast of fats and lard.  

Korean nasi lemak

We also tried this little bento that came in an adorable tin can that reminds me of army food long ago. The bento is described by my travel companions as 'Korean Nasi Lemak', because it tastes like one. Interesting. 

The other interesting thing about the restaurant are the toilet signs.

Yeoja

Namja

Doesn’t take a genius to tell which is which.

This is the end of South Korea Voyage: The FOOD (Part 1).