Mindalay Restaurant in Yangju, Bibimbap

2011_03_23 Mindalay

 

So tonight we went to Mindalay Restaurant in Yangju with some friends. The restaurant is located just off of highway 3 in Yangju. Walking up to the restaurant it looks like a small cottage, more like something you would find in Germany. Inside there are large wooden tables (any restaurant that has tables is a huge plus) and dark wooden floors, really giving you the quaint tavern feel. They specialize in Bibimbap which translated means “mixed meal”. Basically you take all these side dishes that come out and mix them in your bowl of rice; then add Gojujang (red pepper paste) and sesame seed oil to taste. Mix it all up and eat it.

The meal started out with a glass of Red Lambrusco wine and some pre-meal side dishes; mushrooms soaked in soy sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds, candied figs (which were EXCELLENT) sweet and sour pork with onions peppers and carrots, grilled beef with onions, carrots and green peppers, a leafy vegetable that was coated with Gojujang and soy sauce, and pumpkin soup. Once we were done with the pre-meal sides the main side dishes and spicy bean soup were brought out. While we were finishing the Bibimbap they brought us out the cooked rice water which was boiled water that was added to the rice cooker to loosen the remaining rice; this is a Korean tradition that is not used much in homes due to teflon coated rice cookers. At the end of the meal we were brought out a “refreshing” drink (plum drink) that was supposed to sooth the mouth from the strong food tastes and pepper paste. It tasted like a cool tea that was very light and had the color of a green tea. We were also served Korean style coffee (instant cappuccino with hot water added).

All in all this is one of our favorite bibimbap restaurants; it is slightly expensive for the amount of sides and portions that you get but we give it two thumbs up for sure. Mainly due to the fact that we liked ALL of the side dishes and items. Total cost 54,000 Korean WON KRW (for 4 people) about $12.00 per person, and this is the TOTAL price since you don’t leave a tip in Korea. We will absolutely be returning here especially if we are showing new people to the area.