Gaeseong Traditional Dumplings (Mandu) House

We woke up to a bright and sunny but breezy day in Korea, the weather was perfect. However, it was one of those days where we had not planned in advance, where to go for breakfast. Our nice boutique hotel did offer the simplest form of breakfast in the likes of cereals, toasts and juices, but we decided that we needed something more satisfying to fill our tummies with.

Heading out, we made our way to Insadong, which is just 5 to 10 minutes away on foot. We walked along and into the many alleys of Insadong, and were undoubtedly thrown into a state of confusion. The place was like a labyrinth consisting of lanes, twisting, turning and intertwining with one another. On top of it all, they were filled with eateries, souvenir shops, art galleries and tea houses galore. It made it even harder to decide on where to go for breakfast.

Fortunately for us, we noticed a steady stream of Ajummas making a beeline into one of the alleys. They walked in a hurried and excitable manner, chattering amongst themselves under bated breaths, it had almost felt like they were on their way to dig up lost treasures.

Our instincts told us that this could be good. So we picked up on their trail. A few turns in the alleyways and the ladies lead us to the door of Gaeseong Traditional Dumplings House. We decided to concede with the old adage that, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

We were NOT disappointed.

Upon entry, the restaurant was already filled with Ajummas, interestingly enough, we were the only two blokes in the establishment. We stuck out like thorns in a rose garden. Luckily, there were seats available for us as they were just cleaning up after a pair of patrons who were done. Quickly enough, we were ushered to our seats.

The wooden beams and simplistic decor made it all, a very homey experience.

Sitting on floor mats while dining made the experience even more casual and relaxing. As you can see, the place was filled with adorable Ajummas; colourful, loud, friendly and full of life. Not a single male counterpart in sight, well, except for us.

We had some trouble ordering the food as they did not have an English menu available. After a bout of charades, gesturing and pointing around, we managed to order a Mandu stew for two. It also came with some side dishes – pickled radishes, good ole kimchi and a cold kimchi soup which I had thought, tasted a little rad.

When the stew started boiling up, I fished up a mandu and promptly dissected it for a picture. Partly, I was starving too and couldn’t wait to get one of them, plump, bigger than usual dumplings into my pie hole. The server noticed what I had done and gestured hastily that I was not supposed to eat the mandu at this stage. Through her frantic hand movements, I figured that we had to wait for the stew to boil down before consuming them. Fair enough, we whacked at the greens and let evaporation takes its course before the gorge-fest. But I must say, at this stage, the mandu which was inappropriately sacrificed for the photo shoot, was already very delicious.

And so we did as we assumed we were told and consumed the vegetables first. What really surprised us was that even as the dumplings have sat in the stew for almost an hour while the stock was boiled down to a thick creamy broth, they still held their shape and didn’t tear when picked up with chopsticks. When bitten into, the mandu skin was still springy and chewy which was delightful at every single bite. Typical dumpling skins would not be able to have withstood simmering in the heat for that long without disintegrating or coming apart. And having simmered for the entire duration, the fillings were soft and juicy, making it incredibly succulent.

Some breakfast that was!

For more information on how to get there and operating hours, click on the link below.
www.koong.co.kr