A Pinoy Lunch at Hyehwa-Dong

I finally had a good reason to go back to Hyehwa-dong today:  my friend Polly has never had a Pinoy lunch there!

So I met up with her at the Exit 1 of the Hyehwa Station (where we could already hear some Tagalog being spoken) and walked to the Pinoy Market, while checking out the shops and cafes along Daehangno. We got there past 1PM on purpose. Why? We would have been starving by then and, by that time, there would be less crowds at the Pinoy restaurants since the Holy Mass at the Catholic Church starts by 1:30PM. Most Pinoys would have been inside the church already. 

And after passing through the Pinoy market and marked the goodies we wanted to bring home, we crossed the street and went up to one of the three Pinoy restaurants.

With choices of Kare-kare, dinuguan, papaitan, adobong atay, sinigang na baboy (and what else?), we had a yummy Pinoy lunch!

With two choices of ulam and a rice for the price of W5,000, it was worth the trip!

And after stuffing ourselves while chatting, we went back to the Pinoy market to pick up our goodies: bananacue, empanada and a cassava delicacy that tasted like alupe!

And we weren't at all surprised that even non-Pinoys hovered, shopped and enjoyed the Pinoy dishes and delicacies at the market. 

And while carrying our goodies, Polly and I walked around Daehangno to see the back streets and theaters before getting on a train back home.

We will definitely go back there again, siguro during warmer temperatures. And when we do, I will try the menudo and the pancit and the pinakbet and the....