E-bab

The restaurant’s name is short for “rice (bab) that does good for you;” though it is impossible to fully translate because of its roots in Chinese characters. It is a cozy spot serving rice balls in Gye-dong, and is one of the last of its kind. Kang Young-joo quit his stable job of over 10 years to buy E-bab when he heard the previous owner was closing it down. The restaurant was sold under the condition that it would continue to serve food that is healthy and “does good for you.” Looking at the rice ball with fried nuts and fragrant chwinamul and the one with shiitake mushrooms and hijiki, it’s fair to conclude that Kang’s kept his promise. If you order large amounts of rice balls for catering, E-bab will serve them in cute wooden baskets instead of disposable containers, looking out for both the health of their customers and the earth.