신신 辛辛 (ShinShin)
서울특별시 중구 남대문로 64
02-773-4842
64 Namdaemun-ro
"You sure? It's really spicy" She said
quickly glancing at Lee and his full-scale (glittering) paleness. For a minute,
I wasn't too sure myself. Could Lee really handle level 3? A level they said
corresponds to 3 times the spiciness of Shin-ramen? Then I thought why not - it would be incredibly racist of me if I didn’t
subject my boyfriend to his fair share of spiciness right? Plus he did manage
to eat level 2 without weeping or breaking down…
I’ve
returned to 신신 (辛辛) – ShinShin (Chinese character for
spicy) in myeongdong couple of times, always seeking that thrill and odd sense
of release you feel after sweating through a meal. Unlike other restaurants
specializing in spicy food, which sometimes I find totally lack any other flavors besides the painful burning sensation,
ShinShin’s beef stew has a good blend of flavors and delicious to eat!
If
you choose to go for the spicy beef stew / 매운갈비찜 (M (35,000) for 2-3 , or
L(45,000) for 4-5), there are 5 levels of spiciness
you can choose from (1 – equivalent to Shiramen, 2 – 3 times Shinramen , 3
– Imagine Shinramen with Extra chili flakes
+ Chilies and so forth). Last time we had gone for the level 2, which
was still surprisingly spicy but enjoyable for the both of us (although I admit,
lee is better than lots of Koreans with spicy food).
The
stew come to the table ready to eat with fresh scallions piled on top. Usually the server removed the bones from the beef and even cuts it into bite-size pieces too! I think shinshin's portions are proportionate to the price you pay, as you get a fair share of beef as well as copious amount of bean sprouts, scallions and other vegetables. I usually end up pretty full by the end of the meal (although it may be the beer we chug down as a necessity to alleviate the spiciness). The best way, in my opinion, to eat this is by making a mini sweweed-roll, radish roll (무쌈) or throw it all in roll. The owners refill the seaweed and side-dishes without a fuss so don't worry about asking for more. If you're feeling extra adventurous, you can dip the beef into the hot-sauce they give (because... well if you're going to tear up you might as well go all the way).
By the time we're half way through our table is usually littered with beer and tissues. We usually begin fishing for beef / bean sprouts in the sea of ominously red soup and soon after Lee begins to dive into the path of self-destruction by 'attempting' to drink the soup. Despite the schadenfreude i feel watching him sweat, this is usually when I intervene and ask the owners to take the soup away and make us fried rice.
After waiting for few minutes during which you partially regain control of your tongue nerves and begin to sweat slightly less, the fried rice arrives (with the big bowl of left over soup). The fried rice is surprisingly not spicy at all (or it may just be our numbed taste-buds) so we usually pour some of the soup back and eat it together.
Shishin is definitely one of my favourite dinner/lunch places around this neighborhood to go to. Despite being centrally located in Myeongdong, it's never really too crowded (but always occupied) and still has that sense of your secret weapon to show off to naive visitors who think they are good with spicy food.
By the time we're half way through our table is usually littered with beer and tissues. We usually begin fishing for beef / bean sprouts in the sea of ominously red soup and soon after Lee begins to dive into the path of self-destruction by 'attempting' to drink the soup. Despite the schadenfreude i feel watching him sweat, this is usually when I intervene and ask the owners to take the soup away and make us fried rice.
After waiting for few minutes during which you partially regain control of your tongue nerves and begin to sweat slightly less, the fried rice arrives (with the big bowl of left over soup). The fried rice is surprisingly not spicy at all (or it may just be our numbed taste-buds) so we usually pour some of the soup back and eat it together.
Shishin is definitely one of my favourite dinner/lunch places around this neighborhood to go to. Despite being centrally located in Myeongdong, it's never really too crowded (but always occupied) and still has that sense of your secret weapon to show off to naive visitors who think they are good with spicy food.
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| The Aftermath |
Sounds fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSimon