Jingogae 진고개

Coarse chili flakes, ginger and plenty of sesame oil set the yangnyeom gejang (raw crab in spicy marinade) apart from the usual version, and diners mix the leftover sauce into rice. Galbi-jjim, braised beef short ribs, comes brothy with a faint medicinal-herb note and big chunks of radish cooked soft in sweet soy. Both are served as set meals; solo diners also have mild galbitang (short rib soup), an eel rice bowl and bulgogi that is not overly sweet. Open for more than 60 years near Exit 6 of Chungmuro Station, the room still looks like a 1980s restaurant, with low chairs that get uncomfortable over a long meal. Prices are high and climb each year.