Chuncheon Dakgalbi Alley

Dakgalbi was cheap food for soldiers and students in Chuncheon in the 1960s - chicken cut up, marinated in gochujang, and fried on a flat iron plate at the table with cabbage, sweet potato, perilla leaf and tteok. It travelled across the country, but Chuncheon is where it comes from and the alley off Myeongdong has a dense row of restaurants doing it. Two things are worth knowing. First, most places have a two-portion minimum, so a solo diner may struggle. Second, the meal has a second half: when the chicken is nearly gone you order bokkeumbap, and the staff scrape the plate, add rice, seaweed and egg and fry it in the residue - skipping this misses the point of the dish. Chuncheon's other speciality is makguksu, cold buckwheat noodles, usually eaten after or alongside. There is also a version cooked over charcoal on a skewer, which is the older form.

Highlights

• The table griddle - chicken and vegetables fried in front of you.
• The fried rice finish - rice cooked in what is left on the plate.
• The restaurant row - a dense alley of places doing the same dish.
• Makguksu - the cold buckwheat noodles that go with it.

When to go

Any time; evenings are busiest. Lunch is easier for a table. Most restaurants stay open late.

Practical notes

Two-portion minimums are normal - eating alone is awkward. It is spicy, and mild versions are not always available. The alley is unglamorous, and the dish is the entire reason to be there.

Nearby

Soyanggang skywalk, Gangchon Rail Park and Nami island are close.