Holiday Journal

• Start
•  
• Mt. Mireuk
•  
• Miraesa Temple
•  
• Haean-Nurigil
•  
• Dala Observatory
•  
• Chungmugimbap
•  
• Hansando
•  
• Myulchi Maeul Sikdang
•  
• Dongpirang Village
•  
• Jungang Market
•  
• Finish

The original Chungmugimbap with 60 years of history – Somunnan Samdae Halmaegimbap (Famous 3^rd generation grandma's gimbap) 소문난3대할매김밥

The first results I get when I search for 'good restaurants in Tongyeong' are these Chungmugimbap restaurants. In old times, seamen packed gimbap for their meals on the boat due to its convenience when they didn't know how long they were going to stay on the ocean so they started to separate gimbap (laver-wrapped rice roll) from dishes. Maybe that's why there are so many original chungmugimbap restaurants in front of Tongyeong Ferry Terminal, a starting point to a distant seaway.



It was late that every store was closed except for Chungmugimbap(Chungmu-style Gimbap) restaurant waiting for customers with the lights on.



Among many others, there are a few famous ones and I chose Somunnan Samdae Halmaegimbap to have late dinner.



This one must be living on the street around here. Probably the cats here are so used to people giving them food because it was running towards me so that I had to run away from it.



It must've been aired a few times on TV. It's silly but I feel relieved a little that I came to the right place.



I guess they received the top of top award in Chungmugimbap domain. I hadn't expected much but then I did.



This is a menu that you could see in any Chungmugimbap restaurant. They don't serve other cuisines like the ones in Seoul/Gyeonggi-do, only one menu, Chungmugimbap, so some restaurants there don't even own a menu. You don't have to find a menu once you get in, you just tell them how many do you want!



This is for two people. It was already prepared so after we ordered and took a look around the restaurant, there it was. On a white paper, rice wrapped with gim, a few common dishes, and two toothpicks for two people! So this is THE Chungmugimbap.
Are you surprised? It doesn't have to look pretty but they could at least give us chopsticks and this looks so rude? As I explained earlier, Chungmugimbap is just a gimbap wrapped with paper for fishermen in old days who were leaving home to work far away in the sea when they didn't have a proper lunch box and they still use paper to serve it like those times.
Even if you order it to go, they don't pack it in plastic ware, only wrap it with white paper. It looked crude at first but after a few times, you think 'yes this is how it's supposed to be' somehow.



Gimbap is literally white rice wrapped with non-fried gim(laver) and cut into pieces for one bite. Hard boiled rice that is chubby or even chewy wrapped with gim goes with common dishes we had. Chungmugimbap is famous enough for everyone to try it at least once in Tongyeong but there are people who get disappointed by their plain look and small number of ingredients served.

After a few trials, you will notice differences in how hard boiled rice is, what kind of gim is used, and what to choose between spicy, sweet or salty sauce in every restaurant with its own characteristics even with same ingredients. Plus, it is the plain taste that attracts people whenever they visit Tongyeong.



The common dishes are radish kimchi(mukimchi), seasoned squid(ojingeo muchim), and seasoned fish cake. The radish kimchi tasted sour because it was fully cooked but crunchy at the same time, seasoned squid seemed to be semi-dried, and neat seasoned fish cake was not greasy for they didn't fry it.



This looks very red, which I assumed very spicy, but it wasn't spicy at all and the sauce was plain, not spicy nor sweet.



This is Sirakguk, which is a perfect match with Chungmugimbap. Sirakguk is a dialect in Gyeongsang-do that refers to Siraegi Deonjang Guk(soybean paste soup with dried radish leaves). In every gimbap restaurant in Tongyeong, they serve this soup which has quite unique taste as it was boiled with anchovies. The common dishes were not as spicy as I had expected so this salty Sirakguk tastes so good with them.



If you are worried how you are going to eat this gimbap with a long toothpick not using chopsticks, you don't have to, just poke one gimbap and one dish with it. If it makes you choke up because of its size, have one sip of Sirakguk and everything will be okay!!
You won't get a spoon by the way, so you should just drink it from the bowl. It looks quite uncomfortable at first but you could see how the fishermen used to live in old days and get a deep taste of simple ingredients from Chungmugimbap!! This should be one must-eat meal you can't miss when you go to Tongyeong.

Address : 177-360, Seoho-dong, Tongyeong-si, Gyeongsangname-do (경상남도 통영시 서호동 177-360)
Telephone : 055-649-2336
Opening hour : 04:00 a.m. - 23:00 p.m. (no holiday)

Original Tongyeong Kkulppang (honey bread) sold out as soon as the restaurant opens – the head shop of Omisa Kkulppang 오미사꿀빵

Kkulppang is as much famous as Chungmugimbap in Tongyeong. It's bread with bean jam in it, fried, and covered with honey. You could find honey bread with or without famous brands easily these days.
However, the original honey bread is called Omisa Kkulppang that a baker at a famous bakery in Tongyeong started to sell it on a stand with no brand in the early 1960s. It was hard to find sweet snacks back then, and it started to be popular on everyone's tongue, and people started to call it Omisa Kkulppang after Omisa Laundry next to the stand. The Laundry disappeared later but the owner officially put up a sign with a name of Omisa Kkulppang, named by Tongyeong citizens.



You're going to have to go early to buy it because it's sold out at 11 a.m. normally.



The head shop is so famous but it is still small and maintains the same look as old times. It's small to bake Kkulppang so there's no hall for people to eat and they only sell for take-out.



He could've bought a fancy menu written '8,000 won for one pack (10 Kkulppangs)' but he chose to write it down himself, which is friendly.



Kkulppang sold in the head shop is 100% hand-made so the amount is limited. Normally it's sold out around 11 in the morning so you'd have to hurry and if it's sold out already, you could go to another branch in Bongpyeong-dong. However, I recommend you to try at the original restaurant because it is fun.



I luckily made it around 11 and tasted it at the beach of Hansando Island, Tongyeong.



For your information, they didn't sell them in pieces, only pack of 10 Kkulppangs. We also bought one cup of Americano coffee to drink it with sweet Kkulppang and sat on the beach.



It's the size of a baby's fist but I assume it is full considering the weight.



It had full of bean jam inside the thin flour bread. That's why it was weighty. I guess 60% of the bread was adzuki bean paste, and I think adzuki beans did not contain much sugar because it was not that sweet. Even though the surface of the bread is covered with sweet honey, adzuki bean which is the biggest part of ingredients tastes properly sweet and a little salty. With Americano coffee, sweet and soft adzuki beans tasted sweet just right and it made me want to eat it more and more.



It had full of bean jam inside the thin flour bread. That's why it was weighty. I guess 60% of the bread was adzuki bean paste, and I think adzuki beans did not contain much sugar because it was not that sweet. Even though the surface of the bread is covered with sweet honey, adzuki bean which is the biggest part of ingredients tastes properly sweet and a little salty. With Americano coffee, sweet and soft adzuki beans tasted just right amount of sweet and it made me want to eat it more and more.



I've tried other brands in Tongyeong and they just tasted similar to Omisa Kkulppang. You could have this sweet and tasty Kkulppang as dessert after fishy seafood or buy some for a gift to people who couldn't join you in the trip.

Address(The head shop) : 270-21, Hangnam-dong, Tongyeong-si, Gyeongsangnam-do (경상남도 통영시 항남동 270-21)

Telephone : 055-645-3230
Opening hour : 08:00 a.m. - 06: p.m. (sold out around 11, closed on Sundays)