When some friends that work in the restaurant industry asked me to show them around, I had was excited to do so. Although, I regularly do food tours, with people in the restaurant industry, I am able to go a bit more extreme and go to places where I really enjoy going. One of my favorite makgeolli places in Insadong is Yeojaman which is known for their excellent seafood and their rice wine. It is an old place that has been around for over 10 years and the first restaurant is in the basement along the main drag (sorry, I know where it is but I can't describe it because it would sound like gibberish. Let me say this: it is near the hotteok shop on the corner that also sells the walnut red bean desserts). The restaurant has another restaurant on the Insadong main drag as well, but I like the rustic feel of the first restaurant.

The food here is not cheap, but it is expertly cooked. We had the 꼬막무침 which is a plate of  marinated cockles. The soy-based marinade on the shellfish was delicious enough to drink and the cockles were fresh and flavorful. Since it was oyster season, we also got some pan-fried oysters. The oysters tasted like a chicken that took a swim in the ocean and then fell into a vat of oil. The light egg batter sealed in the freshness and the pop of the sea oysters. Yum.

We washed this all down with some green tea makgeolli (which just tasted like rice wine) and some citrus, "yuja" liquor.

Yeojaman
1-1 Insa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
South Korea
02-725-9829

Egg battered Oysters

Yeojaman

Friendly atmosphere at Yeojaman

Here is the past article I wrote on this restaurant:

Double Entendre Makgeolli at Yeojaman 여자만