굴다리식당
Kimchi always reminds me of my mother
Living in Amsterdam before the influx of exchange students and toursits, my mom and I made Kimchi from scratch with chilli peppers sent by my Grandma and chinese cabbage we sourced from a korean farmer in Germany.
Squatting on the kitchen floor making Kimchi from scratch was one of the strongest and most proudest link I carried throughout my childhood away from Korea.
I've eaten countless kimchi soups and kimchi (as side-dishes) around Seoul, but they never quite had the home-cooked taste that I craved. It was most of the times overly spicy or sometimes even sweet but always screaming with strong bold flavours that are not natural to home made kimchi.
That's why my friend, overhearing my numerous complaints on the matter, suggested I check out the 3 restaurants that were apparently thought of to be Seoul's 3 top restaurants for Kimchi Soup.
굴다리식당 was first on the list being closest to home.
It's located close to exit 8 on Gongduk line (Naver Map, Google Map), and has 2 locations fairly close to each other. The restaurant is a little tricky to find as it doesn't show the name of the restaurant but rather a big sign that says 김치찌개 (kimchi soup).
The menu is also straight foward with limited choices.
Most people usually go for the Kimchi Soup (7,000won) or the Spicy Stir-fried Pork/ 제육볶음 (10,000KRW). The portions are not too big but usually people fill themselves up with rice that goes perfectly with the soup and the spicy sauce.
I think whether you like the soup from this restaurant or not really depends on what Kimchi means to you. It's unlike the other kimchisoups in that it doesn't really have that crazy spiciness or that overwhelming instant flavour. Some might say it's a little bit bland, but to me at least it has that perfect blend of pork broth and properly aged kimchi. It reminds me of the huge pot of soups my mom used to make whenever our kimchi got too fermented. My brother and I always wanted her to add more pork as we loved to, with her admonishment, fish them out of the bowl.
It's a place for all to visit if you want to taste what Kimchi-soup is all about. It's a unpretentious dish made by mothers and grandmothers with overfermented sour kimchi that should never be wasted.
