Darae Sikdang 다래식당

Nobody takes an order here: sit down and a tray of cheonggukjang and pork jumulleok appears for each person at the table. The cheonggukjang, a fermented soybean stew, holds only tofu, kimchi and soft-cooked cabbage leaves, and it is mild and unsalty rather than pungent and thick, which may feel plain to fans of the stronger style. It arrives in an earthenware pot but not boiling hot, and ladled into a steel bowl it eats more like a soup than a stew. Jumulleok is finely cut pork in gochujang sauce under a heap of garlic chives, meant for wrapping in lettuce with pickled garlic and bean sprouts. Stew and rice get refilled, lettuce only once. Parking is awkward because the restaurant hides in a lane between apartment blocks in Sangdo-dong. Peak lunch and dinner bring a line that moves quickly.