Continuing KY Speaks’ recent holiday in South Korea – when in Jeju, eat as the locals do! Prior to taking a hike to Seongsan Ilchulbong, or Sunrise Peak, the writer and his family stopped by one of the local eateries, Bujeon Restaurant, for breakfast.
Like many small restaurants on Jeju Island, this establishment has a homestyle ambience, with seating for approximately 20 pax, staffed by a senior lady who is also the cook, server, cashier and dishwasher, all rolled into one.
Unless you speak Korean, it’s easiest to order by pointing at items on the menu, which, luckily, has Chinese characters and photos. Only about a half-dozen choices are on offer, making your selection a breeze.
Then you can chit-chat among yourselves or take photos while the lady goes off to the kitchen to cook. If you’re lucky, you might find yourself conversing with customers at the neighbouring table, as the writer did:
“We’re from Malaysia!” “Ohhh! Malaysia OK! China, no no no no no no!”
Despite being a one-woman show, the food is likely to arrive all at once within 15-20 minutes.
The pancake with scallion (13,000 KRW) is yummy, which isn’t surprising given that scallion is one of the more well-known agricultural products of Jeju Island. You might find it to be a little on the oily side, but this doesn’t take away from its deliciousness.
The seafood stew (13,000 KRW) comes boiling hot with plenty of seafood, including mussels, crab, prawn, clams, and, of course, abalone; while the bibimbap (10,000 KRW) is good as well – a hearty mix of beansprouts, seaweed, pickled radish, and other vegetables.
Lastly, a rather unique dish you might not have tasted before is sea-urchin noodle (13,000 KRW). The sea creature adds a sweet flavour to the udon, augmented by a decent amount of kelp and sesame seeds.
It might be unusual but it’s certainly lovely, especially if it’s cold out!
Pricewise, these offerings amounted to 49,000 KRW or about RM168, which might seem on the high side but is to be expected in these parts.
Also, judging by the scribbles on the menu prices, inflation has not spared Jeju Island.
Bujeon Restaurant
178-4 Seongsan-ri, Seongsan-eup,
Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea
Read the original article here. Trying to influence your cravings since 2005, Kar Yeong was Guest Judge on Versus 1001 Rasa Baba’s 2018, R.AGE Food Fight Judge 2015 and NTV7 Foodie Blogger 2014. To read more about Kar Yeong’s food journeys, visit his blog at KYspeaks.com.