Comfort Restaurant in Seoul

During my first week in Seoul, I went to a baseball game with my friends. We had a good time and whatnot, but that's not what's important here. We got back to Sinchon late, and were ravenous for food. The place we found on NaverMaps was closed, so we roamed looking for another one. We ended up at a stir-fry place: "Gangnam Bulgogi and Rice Set". I fell in love that night.

The week after, I was deciding where to eat with two of my friends after class. The spicy stir-fry pork I had immediately popped into my head, but I also realized I didn't know what it was called. I went through extreme measures to find it. I searched the area on NaverMaps, GoogleMaps, and even tried to track my own location of that day on Life360. I then arrived at the simplest solution, which was asking my friends I'd gone with if they had written the name down. My friend came to my rescue. We ate there again. And I fell in love, again. 

The restaurant is conveniently located next to a 24-hour study cafe, and it's also in the heart of Sinchon. Whenever I'm in the area, I can't help myself from going there again. It started to become a "comfort restaurant". I ordered the same thing every time, it was always as delicious as the last, and I knew what to expect from the atmosphere (loud chatter, servers calling out orders). For less than $10, you get the stir-fry dish, rice, a fried egg, sides, and soup. I've shown the place to many friends because anyone that I like deserves to eat good. 

Something special happened last night.

Maybe not so cool or special, but it meant something to me. I walked in (with my partner this time--who is visiting) and was seated almost immediately like usual. But this time, instead of asking me what I wanted, the lady looked at me with a cheeky smile and asked (in korean), "spicy pork, right?" I couldn't bite back my smile as I said yes and thanked her. After coming here at least once a week or once every other week since my first week in Seoul, they had remembered my order. Maybe it doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, but being able to find familiarity and comfort in a place so far from home (a place that is also bustling with people and so fast-paced), really had me smiling the rest of the night. 

Exploring is good. Finding as many delicious restaurants in Seoul as you can is fun. Sometimes I feel like I should be finding more places instead of falling back on my favorite ones when I need the comfort. But, becoming a "regular" is pretty cool too. 

If you decide to go to Seoul, please go to this place. You can say I sent you ;) (jk, I'm not there yet with them, but we'll see!)