Baeksojeong Donggukdae 백소정 동국대점

Students and Chungmuro office workers form the lunch queue right outside Dongguk University's main gate. Maze soba, brothless thick noodles tossed with minced meat and a concentrated sauce, ends with a small scoop of rice stirred into what is left. Cheddar cheese katsu wraps salty cheddar inside thick pork; asking for the regular tonkatsu sauce on the side cuts the richness. Thick, crisp loin tonkatsu ordered with zaru soba alternates hot fried pork with cold buckwheat noodles. Every dish comes with a small rice cake drizzled with condensed milk, and cold barley tea replaces water. Ordering and payment happen on a table tablet, and dishes arrive one at a time.