[Jeonju] - Gain Makgeolli House (가인막걸리)

Do you know that Jeonju Makgeolli (Milky rice wine) is pride for Jeonju? It's equally famous as the Jeonju Bibimbap, Hanjeongsik, and Kongnamul-gukbap. It's one of top three makgeollis. It contains 10 kinds of essential amino acids and high in protein. Therefore, makgeolli is considered as food not liquor.

There are more 100 makgeolli houses that formed Makgeolli streets in Jeonju: Samcheon-dong, Gyeongwon-dong, Seosin-dong and Pyeonghwa-dong.

 We went to Gain as suggested by Tourist Information Centre when we

checked direction for attraction sites and Makgeolli House around

Jeonju Hanok Village.

Waited for about 30 minutes outside as it's full house! 

We didn't expect that it's so crowded on Wednesday night. One group just went in when we reached there, and we're the second in queue. After a while, another group went in and came out. Not sure whether they reserved and will be back later? or they didn't want to wait and go to another place?

 

Ahh~! maybe the poster behind me explained why Gain Makgeolli house so popular!

Gain Makgeolli was selected as traditional liquor makgeolli for 

Jeonbuk Food Culture Festival in 2012.

~Menu and liquor selection lists~

We just ordered rice makgeolli (쌀막걸리 3병) - 20,000 Won and Stir-fried squid (오징어볶음) - 10,000 Won. 

The real atmosphere inside Gain Makgeolli house... 

They're few groups of youngsters of 3-10 persons. We didn't see any foreigners, they're either locals or local tourists from other cities. They're having much fun... chatting and laughing, while enjoying their foods and drinking makgeolli. It's really noisy inside, kinda topsy-turvy from outside. They must have good soundproof, huh?!

 Walls and even ceiling full of various graffiti... 

헐~!!! They must be so desperate and climb up there to write because no space on the walls?!

Ok, we only waited for about 10 minutes, and two waitress brought a big tray and transfer them one by one to our table, and less than 1 minute...

Wait~ Wait a minute!!! Our table almost full with all sort of seafood!

Did they serve the food to wrong table?!

And here came our main dish... Stir-fried squid!

So?! Did I order hanjeongsik? or mini buffet?

We looked left... we looked right to peep other tables to check and confirm. Wow!!! it's unbelievable to see vast array vast array of side dishes also spreading on their tables. They even asked to refill some of them.

I didn't expect they serve 18 types of anju (안주).  I went to makgeolli houses twice in Seoul. On my previous trip, I went to Chez Maak (셰막) Fusion Makgeolli House with my friend, we ordered 2 main dishes and they served soft tofu and macaroni for anju (side dishes consumed with alcohol).

The second time, we went to Traditional Folk Tavern 월매네. We ordered 2 main dishes too... it came with 1 small bowl of crackers for finger food. 

Chez Maak and 월매네 sell per bottle, and here per kettle.

They poured 3 bottles of makgeolli and served it in this bronze kettle and silver bowl.

Drunk just by seeing these side dishes on the table!

Erh let me think?! Should I put a smiley face or shocked question mark face?!

Just for your info, we'd two bowls of sweet red bean soup (단팥죽) on our way here.

I love to go to buffet as there are varieties of foods to eat. But, I won't waste food,  I only take a bit to sample, then will take the portion that I'm sure that my stomach still have place for it.

If I know that there're so many types of anju, we won't go to eat desserts. We didn't feel hungry, I just brought my hubby as he never been to makgeolli house. How to finish all the food?! 

Rice makgeolli + Stir-fried squid = 

Steamed fish (조기찜) + Snails (다슬기) + Prawns (새우) + Shellfish snails (골뱅이) +

 Silk worm pupa (번데기/Beondegi) + Oyster (굴) +  Octopus + Fermented skate (홍어/Hongeo) +

Hangover Soup (해장국/Haejangguk) + Thinly sliced pork(돼지머리편육/Pyeonyuk ) +

Stir-fried squid (오징어볶음) + Cucumber kimchi (오이소박이 김치) + Marinated

baby crabs (게무침) + Broccoli + Salad + 1 kettle of makgeolli + Orange +

Spring onion Pancake (파전) + Fresh vegetables

Warning!!! there were few Exotic dishes (beondegi, snails, hongeo). According to my hubby, silkworm tasted like braised peanut, silkworm texture just like inari. He said as long as you didn't know or didn't see that it's actually silkworm... it tastes nice. He tasted once at Soraepogu Market in Incheon, so this was his second time eating them. Did I eat? No, thanks I won't... unless I'm drunk and can't recognise them hahaha~!

I don't really like to eat seafood, because they're just too troublesome to deshell, and I'm allergic to crab, not fancy of oyster or shells. I love sashimi most... no need to deshell or debone, just put it in your mouth and munch it. 

It's a horror and traumatic moment to my mouth when a piece of Hongeo landed in my mouth. I looked like normal sashimi. That's real shocking experience to mouth, my tongue and my nose! What's that stinky ammonia smell like public toilet in my mouth?!! Even after i took it out, that smell still unbearable, that I had to drink makgeolli and haejangguk (remedies for hangover) to cleanse and purify contaminated area! I swear that I'll be very careful and never ever put this smelliest sashimi (fish) in my mouth again!!! 

I recommend this place if you want to experience the Jeonju style makgeolli and get drunk the local way. Better if you can go with a group of friends, the more the merrier! Then get drunk in 4 different ways with Jeonju Makgeolli:

1. Drunk on the ambiance and excitement of makgeolli.

2. Drunk from the generous side dishes.

3. Drunk from the extraordinary taste

4. Drunk with its low price.

That's exactly how we got drunk in Gain Makgeolli House. Nostalgic atmosphere that brought me back to my childhood days to see so many dishes and the staking plates...

Padang cuisine restaurants in Indonesia also served various dishes, 

you can eat and refill whatever you like. Just that, after you finished the meal, 

they'll come to check and you pay whatever you ate (not free of charge) :P

Did our best to clear the food, but still unable to finish them and wasted half kettle of makgeolli. My hubby suddenly stopped me to drink and told me that we need to leave the soonest possible. The reason was he felt that his vision was a bit blurry, slower in thinking and a bit difficult to talk. Aigoo... Aigoo~!!! 

Sadly, we'd to end our makgeolli session. My hubby afraid that I've no strength to carry him if he got really drunk. Not easy to find taxi, and he knew that I didn't know the direction to go back to hotel. 

Ok, no worry... we'll be back again next time after I train him how to gulp Makgeolli like drinking water, since  I still have few bottles of makgeolli and soju to clear at home :P

건배... 건~배! 건~배~~!!!

with my best friends with Soju, Makgeolli, Insamju (인삼주 = ginseng wine), 

and Bokbunjaju (복분자주 = Korean fruit wine made from black raspberries).

가인막걸리 (Gain Makgeolli)

전북 전주시 완산구 풍남동2가 35-1번지

  35-1 Pungnamdong 2(i)-ga

Wansan-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Korea

Incheon - Soraepogu Traditional Fish Market (소래포구 어시장)

Ms Kim was so nice to drop us to Incheon with her cute baby blue mini Cooper after Fusion Hanbok photo taking. Actually, they're heading to Lotte World, but she's driving us to Soraepogu instead of Oryu-dong station just because she knew that I love to go to beach.

"The sun hangs on the flags of ships returning to a port leaving behind the sun. You might think the ships are carrying the sun. At that moment, let's turn to the railroad bridge... Lean your body towards Siheung and Wolgot, and then turn your head to the right and hold your breath. You would enjoy the sun setting in Sorae that paints the small mountains and the sea with beautiful colors" (Source: Soraepogu Map)

Fishing boats at Soraepogu Traditional Fish Market (소래포구어시장) 

Though it's near to Incheon metropolitan city, Soraepogu still maintaining the atmosphere of an old fishing village. 

Our top priority was to hunt for food as we're starving to the max! I might had took out the red bean breads that my friend bought for breakfast when tidy up my bag... 

Luckily, we still have some strawberries for breakfast!

From Soraepogu Station, we walked and asked direction to the beach. And what we found was this traditional market near the fishing port. 

Busy Soraepogu alleyways with stalls selling fresh seafood, various types of Kimchi, 

Crab Marinated in Soy Sauce (간장게장) and street food.

Quite similar to Jumunjin Fish Market in Gangneung, you can also buy fresh seafood at reasonable price here. It's just more crowded and busier here... maybe because it's Saturday and near to Incheon and Seoul.

Wow~~~ Surprise! see what we found here?!

Locals were sitting on the mat and having their freshly cut sashimi just in front of the stalls. It looked quite fun and you won't experience this everyday (no such place to dine like this in Singapore). 

This type of place is kinda nostalgic for me because I grew up in Indonesia... Occasionally we'll dine out outskirts in open spaces like this at fishing villages or fish farms. But they didn't serve sashimi, you can opted to grill or fry or steam the fish. Normally they serve it with boiled vegetables (lalapan) like cabbage, long beans, tapioca leaf (daun ubi), papaya leaf (daun pepaya) and belacan (terasi).

We went to one of the stall to select seafood (fish and sea squirts). Then looked for a place to sit and wait for Ajumma to prepare our food.

some random photos while waiting... ㅋㅋ

You know?... sitting on the floor when eating can prevent you from over eating. Your stomach is pressed by your legs making it virtually impossible to eat full. It is better for your health~^^

Cheers~!!! 

 Super Fresh Sashimi - 20,000 Won

잘 ~~~ 먹겠습니다! ^^

It's nice to sit and  mingle with locals and enjoy our sashimi here with seagulls singing and cold sea breeze blowing to you.  Oh~ love it! 

Chrysanthemum-shaped bread filled with red bean paste (Gukhwappang = 국화빵 )

Blame the cold weather, I need something hot to munch. We found a cart selling this traditional street snacks. We bought Gukhwappang and my hubby tested the taste of boiled silkworm larvae (번데기 = Beondegi)... yiuuks~! 

Outside Soraepogu Fish Market.

Strolling around the city...

 Seafood restaurants along the street.

Fisherman (어부) sculpture.

 Sauna, hotels and motels...

 Map of Incheon Metropolitan City

Key Attraction: 

~ Incheon Bridge (인천대교)

   The world's 5th largest bridge, selected as "10 Wonders of the Construction World"

   Incheon Bridge, the "Red Carpet" towards the world is an offshore bridge which connects the

   New Songdo City to Incheon International Airport.

~ Incheon Open Port - Chinatown (개항장 - 차이나타운)

   The fist Chinese Street in Korea with 120 years of history. The "pai-loo" (gate) at the entrance

   was recently built to celebrate the area based on Chinese traditions. 

   The neighborhood Samgukji Mural Street featuring major scenes from "The Romance of the 

   Three Kingdoms" along the street to Jayu Park.

~ Songdo Central Park (송도 센트럴공원)

   Eco-friendly park provides relaxation and entertainment with sculpture park, terraces, artificial

   waterways, water taxis and a moving stage.

  

   Visitors can ride the water taxi Michuhol in Korea's first sea park built with waterways.

~ Ganghwa Dolmen (강화 고인돌)

   There are more than 100 dolmens (Jiseokmyo) in Ganghwa area, both the southern and northern

   styles are mixed together. 

   Bugeunri Dolmen located in Dolmen Park is a typical northern style dolmen. It's designated as 

   UNESCO World Heritage site.

~ Baengnyeongdo Island (백령도)

   Baengnyeongdo is the closest island to North Korea. Originally it was the 13th largest island in 

   South Korea with size of 46.35 km. Now it is the 8th largest because of the reclamation project

   that connected Hwadong and Sagot Beach.

~ Soraepogu (소래포구)

Lively Soraepogu city.

So sad that we didn't catch the breathtaking golden sunset in Soraepogu...

need to go back to Seoul to meet my friend.

Upss... trot songs stopped me to go in to subway station...

Everybody~! Let's sing and dance!!!

1 Nonhyeon 1(il)-dong Namdong-gu Incheon

Direction by subway (32 stations): 

Seoul Station -> Oidobound (Line 4) -> Oido Songdobound (Suin Line) -> Soraepogu station

(about 1 hour 30 minutes)

Related Posts:
~ [Gangneung] - Jumunjin Fish Market

~ Namdaemun Market - Cutlass Fish (갈치조림) Alley