December's things to do

As soon as you set foot inside, you can feel this restaurant’s 50 years of history with its interior design that looks like something out of the last century. This restaurant’s spicy offering is gobchang jeongol, a tripe stew. Mushrooms, tofu, lotus roots, dumplings, pumpkin, beef tripe and rumen (the first part of a cow’s stomach) are served in a large pot. The tripe and rumen are separately boiled and marinated in a secret concoction of spices, which is very important in seasoning the stew as they do not salt the meat. They add beef broth and then boil the ingredients all together. This zesty, savory stew is great as a stand-alone meal and as a hangover cure (or the opposite and enjoyed with some adult beverages). It tastes even better during Seoul’s summer monsoon season. Their Pyongan Province-style beef stew, eobok jaengban (buckwheat noodles in broth with beef and vegetables on top, served in a brass pot) steamed galbi and gejang (crabs marinated in soy sauce) are also popular.

Its modestly polished Japanese exterior awkwardly stands out in the monotonous neighborhood, instantly giving you the belief that this place is going to be one decent Japanese eatery. Stepping inside, it gets even more modest, with the small restaurant simply lined up with dark brown tables and chairs. But if there is one thing that catches visitors' attention, it’s the wide open window into the kitchen showcasing how the udon noodles being made, chopped and dipped into boiling water. This place is Gyodaiya, a Japanese restaurant specializing in udon noodles in Hapjeong. In the menu, a section indicates where the ingredients come from and how the noodles are made with the traditional Sanuki method of stepping and slapping the dough by hand and aging it for 24 hours. The result is thick, chewy, glistening white noodles to slurp on. The menu mainly consists of a variety of udon dishes, including both warm and cold bukkake udon. Both bukkake types are served broth-less, allowing you to pour in as much soy-based sauce as you'd want, along with chopped scallions, grated daikon radish and as a finishing touch, tempura flakes. The hot bukkake udon comes with an egg that you must immediately crack and add into the steaming hot noodles to add a rich and creamier texture to the dish. The egg in the cold bukkake udon is exchanged for a slice of lemon, which adds a light refreshing touch to the taste. Both dishes are extremely filling and maybe a little overwhelmingly rich, especially w