Eat-all-you-can Buddae-jji-gae!

Buddae-jiggae is one of my favorite Korean dishes.


'Buddae' meaning 'army base', and 'jiggae' which means stew, got its name during the Korean War when, during that time, due to the scarcity of food, Koreans made a stew out of leftover sausages and Spam from the U.S. Army base, and then mixed with noodles and vegetables in a huge pot to make a stew. Thus, buddae-jjigae, or Army stew.


And today, at lunch, I went with my friend, James, and visited a neighborhood restaurant which serves an EAT-ALL-YOU-CAN buddae-jjiggae!


So, we got a table with a stove and they gave us a pan filled with jiggae broth, which we then filled with ingredients from the 'buffet table': mandu (dumplings), tteok, sliced sausages, sliced spams, noodles and an array of vegetables!


I like this dish because of the variety of ingredients that go with it, even though it's a little bit spicy.


So in case you're in the neighborhood of the Yongsan Station, the restaurant is on a small street to the right of I-Park Mall (if you're facing it). It's on that alley behind the NH Bank building.


A buddae, that's 'bu-ppe' (buffet).


Ciao.