`Charcoal fire house Can` reminds you of old days

You can listen to old pops like Simon & Garfunkle`s ``Sound of Silence`` usually here, but sometimes you will have a chance to appreciate a vocal group`s songs like ``O Sole Mio.`` This is a restaurant specializing charbroiled beef. This is ``Charcoal fire house Can`` restaurant (02-3442-4240) famous for live performance and food of the old days, located in Jamwon-dong, Socho-gu, Seoul. The atmosphere may be good for confession of love, if this is not a meat restaurant.

Featuring is the boiled rice not in bowl, but in yellow tin lunch box. On the rice are four slices of yellow sweet radish pickles that used to be one of the top side dishes for lunch box of student in the past. Beneath the rice is a warm fried egg, reminding office workers in their mid and late 30s of their old school days. They use yellow tin kettle for ``makkoli,`` a traditional Korean rice wine, and the album jackets of 1980s attached to the wall also contribute to reviving the atmosphere of the bygone days. It offers a half bottle of soju for 1,500 won, a special service that can be hardly found at other restaurants.

The special four different sauces of sesame, apple, mustard and garlic for charbroiled meat would stimulate your covet for eating. Your mouth will be soon watering just after taking a piece of the sauced beef or pork wrapped in ``sangchu`` with boiled rice, a piece of mushroom and sliced fried egg. You can enjoy at a mouthful the Pyongyang-style noodle in water kimchi served to help chase the meat taste. The taste is really simple and cool as it is mixed with minced bean curd.

A set of assorted pork, sangchu and rice, noodle in water kimchi and lunch box rice is priced at 28,000 won and is good for two or three persons. Live performance is staged at 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Singers will sing ``Happy Birthday`` to those who celebrate their birthday. It is closed on Sundays, and parking is free.

Cho In-Jik cij1999@donga.com