Myeonghwadang Myeongdong 1st 명화당 명동1호점

This second-floor snack shop has been in Myeongdong since the 1980s, and nearly everything on the menu leans sweet. The Myeonghwadang gimbap is rolled with rice seasoned in soy sauce and vinegar, which pushes it closer to inari sushi than to ordinary gimbap. Here it gets dipped into the sticky, sugary sauce of the rice-cake tteokbokki. The dish people argue about least is naembi-guksu: anchovy broth with plenty of beaten egg, small dumplings and fried tofu. The jjolmyeon is heavy on sesame oil and buried under seasoned greens, so anyone expecting a clean, tangy-spicy bowl will be disappointed.