[Gourmet spot] Grandma¡¯s Haejangguk house in Yangjae-dong

It is not an easy job to find a restaurant in Seoul with a history of 10 years or more. If an eatery stays in business for five years or more, it is considered successful. Yet, few of the owners of such restaurants are willing to hand them over to their children. Most of them sell their establishments to others or quit the business.

When it comes to "haejangguk¡¯¡¯ (soup to chase a hangover) house, people tend to think of restaurants that have a bit of history. "Grandma Haejangguk House¡¯¡¯ in Yangjae-dong, Socho-gu, southern Seoul, is one such place. The owner`s son rolled up his sleeves to run the restaurant at a young age and the father eventually turned over ownership. It is now in its 10th year of operation at its current location.

Haejangguk has tastes different depending on the region of origin and how it is cooked. In general, there are three different kinds -- "sunji (cow-blood) haejangguk,¡¯¡¯"kongnamul (bean sprout) haejangguk,¡¯¡¯ and "puko (dried Pollack) haejangguk.¡¯¡¯

This restaurant is famous for sunji haejangguk. Cow bones are boiled in a big kettle from morning to night, and "baechu (Korean cabbage),¡¯¡¯ "doenjang (bean paste)¡¯¡¯ and powdered hot pepper are put in the kettle to be boiled through the night.

In the early morning, the soup is taken out of the kettle and boiled again with sunji (cow`s blood), garlic and meats to be served along with sliced big green onions. People are apt to imagine a somewhat spicy taste from haejangguk, but this house¡¯s soup is different.

Once a customer takes a seat, a waitress brings a bowl of haejangguk to the table without asking what he or she would like to order. The soup is served together with kimchi specially made with baechu and radish. It is neither salty nor spicy, apparently because "sollongtang¡¯¡¯ (beef bone and tripe soup) is used.

On the menu there are only two dishes: haejangguk (4,000 won) and sollangtang (4,000 won). The restaurant is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day except Sundays. On holidays, it is open until 5 p.m. Cars may be parked along the street. For more information, call 822-574-2641.

Kim Jae-Chan, dentist