Travel | Seoul 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2014 | Wangbijip 왕비집 @ Myeongdong 명동

When in Seoul, eat BBQ! That was part of the plan, and it was opportune that Wendy's friend would be joining us for dinner. Wendy is someone whom I've known since university days. We were hostel mates, "Wheel of Fortune" (am not sure how many of you remember this!) virtual contestants and basically, one who will remember each other's birthdays, though we only meet twice a year. Wendy was my travel buddy to Seoul, last year.

"Meet at Exit 9 at Myeongdong at 8pm. Don't be late." she warned.

Arrived at Exit 9 wifi-less and mobile phone pretty useless. Time was 8.05pm. No Wendy.

Oh no, did she get mad and left already? She is particular about timeliness after all. Waited for about 5 minutes before running around Myeongdong station for signs of Wendy. No luck. Gave up at 820pm.

Should've asked her earlier where's our dinner venue. Sobs. To head back to hotel, or to roam around Myeongdong? Chose the latter, 'coz already there mah.

Was wandering around aimlessly, feeling cold, hungry and anxious, thinking of whether I should eat the streetfood or head to one of those brightly lit restaurants or whether Wendy was angry, or... when I noticed a familiar looking tote bag. Of all the different paths we could have taken, the time that had lapsed, the many shops that one could've gone into, I bumped into Wendy and her friend. It was a "wow" moment for me.

Hence, she brought us to Wangbijip (she did the research), a Korean restaurant specializing in grilled meat (galbi).

restaurant's entrance, go up the stairs beside the beauty shop

There was a queue and so we waited for 15 minutes before getting a table. The menu was simple. For grills, there's a choice of pork and beef. Wendy doesn't take beef, so we settled for pork belly. One portion each. Plus a kettle of makgeolli.

No problem ordering as the staff is conversant in Mandarin as well.

waiting for our food

side dishes 반찬

spring onion salad with raw egg

we are so ready

Wangbijip's staff will do the cooking, but their attention would be divided as there is no one person assigned on a per table basis. So ours was impatiently flipping the meats then left it over the grill for quite a while as he went away to do the other table. But it was alright, as the pork belly still tasted better in Seoul than back home.

dinner

we're almost there

gorgeous meat

The restaurant was full of tourists actually. To our left, was a family from Singapore and to our right, was probably from Hong Kong. 

The pork belly was so good. Wrapped a hot one with the fresh crunchy lettuces, accentuated by the tangy kimchi and a dab of that gochujang. Yums! 

pot of rice wine

It was a tiny pot, but we poured about 6 to 7 small bowls. My dinner kakis claimed they'll drink, but pssshh, not true lo...

cheers 건배

Did about 3 bowls and feeling a good buzz. Offered one bowl to the Singapore family and that was it. Done.

all grilled pork belly, should taste like this

What was so good about the grilled pork belly? The meat was not frozen and cooked just right. Fatty and oily enough to sizzle, tender and every chew entices even more. 

The meat was about ₩13,000 per pax and the makgeolli was about ₩5,000.

Paid about $20 per pax.