'Sonyeo Bangagan' Seoul Forest start-up branch, a healthy and tasty bibimbap restaurant

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Last Modified : 2020/06/13

Travel regions : South Korea

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Do you know Seoul Forest?

It's a park located in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, about 1157024 square meter big.

Originally, there were Seoul racetrack, sports park and golf course. It was to develop this area into a residential area, but it was finally developed into green area modeled after Central Park in New York and Hyde Park in London.

There is a large lawn and children's play facilities, so many people visit this place with their family or date. It's rare to find woody places around the Han river and central Seoul. The accessibility is excellent because of the Seoul Forest station is here. Anyway, the Seongsu-dong alley, which used to be a semi-industrial complex is emerging as a new hot place.

Seongsu-dong near Seoul Forest was a factory zone. In the process of regressing as time changes. Designers and artists began to gather as the Seoul Forest was built during this period.

It is now called 'Seongsu-dong Atelier Street' and has become a new exotic street street by having many restaurants and cafes.

I visited 'Sonyeo Bangagan(girl's mill)' on Seongsu-dong street, where the emotions of 'newtro(retro + new)' are reflected.

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Sonyeo Bangagan is a bibimbap restaurant. The entrance is full of old-fashioned sentiment. Most cafes and restaurants in Seongsu-dong are in remodeled old buildings instead of new buildings. Therefore, there are many places that have been decorated with modern and contemporary architectural styles and interiors of Seoul.

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Today's menu and side dishes are introduced at the entrance. (which means it changes everyday.)

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As I step inside, there is a wider and more comfortable indoor space. Although there are plenty of tables, it's a popular restaurant where you have to line up on weekend.

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There are two or three bibimbaps for each weekdays which made with wild vegetables such mulberry leaves and chwinamul(doellingeria scabra) collected in season. Is there anything we can't eat in the mountains and fields? Even the dandelions that we commonly see from everywhere can be used as herbs and tea. I think Korean forebears were really nature-friendly.

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As soon as I sit, they serve chwinamul tea. It was my first time having chwinamul tea, and the savory scent boosted my appetite. It was different from the savory taste of grain.

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On the other side, there is a corner where you can buy tea and ingredients used here. I didn't buy it at this time, but the smell of chwinamul tea is very good. All of them are natural or organic, so the price is rather high. But if you look at the hand work of processing them, it's not very expensive.

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The kitchen is an open kitchen that looks neat.

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Photos and stories about vegetables are displayed like a gallery on the wall next to the innermost tables. The writings, pictures, drawings here gives friendly old-fashioned feeling.

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This is the default table setting. The left side is Chamyeongran(pollack roe) bibimbap and the right side is Sannamul(wild edible greens) Bibimbap. Three basic dishes and jangguk(soybean soup) come out as a neat one-person meal.

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Eggs, light salted pollack roe, small green onion, dried seaweed flakes, and sesame oil make the best taste together. The finely chopped green onions keep the texture crisp.

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The basic dishes don't taste strong but they keep the original taste of ingredients well. There are not many restaurants to eat with children, but Sonyeo Bangagan can be enjoyed by elderly to the children.

The salad with beetroot, top shells and fresh water snails was unique. The quail egg jangjorim(boiled down in soy sauce) also makes me crave for it. This would be the most favorite if there were children with me. Kkadugi(cubed radish kimchi) also refreshes me with the sweetness and the freshness of the radish.

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This is sannamul bibimbap. It's basically seasoned, but if it's too bland, you can add a little bit of fish sauce. The basic dish has a certain amount of seasoning, so it's good for me to eat with the bibimbap. It's a mysterious taste that combines wild greens filled with smell of the land and the fish sauce filled with smell of the sea. Of course both taste are mild and the more I chew, the more I can enjoy the change in taste.

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This is Gimbugak(fried seaweed). It's a very popular menu these days. The seaweed flakes here are very crispy and savory. Uniquely, there is citrus syrup on it. That makes it feels more like a dessert.