“We serve authentic North Korean food from the Hamheung region located on the east coast, which also happens to be my mother’s hometown. People come for a variety of local dishes, but our most popular dish is garit gukbap 가릿국밥, a Hamheung specialty that’s somewhat similar to both galbi tang (beef short rib soup) and haejang guk (hangover soup). What differentiates our garit gukbap though is the inclusion of rice, pieces of radish, tofu, shredded beef, green onions, thinly sliced egg, and seonji 선지 (congealed blood) in a beef bone based broth. Although it looks simple, it’s a hearty bowl that will fill you up. If you like cold noodles, make sure to try the seokkeum myeon 섞음면 which is half bibim (sweet, spicy sauce) and hwe (fermented skate) with noodles made from 100% sweet potato starch, giving it a different texture than other naengmyeon varieties. I’m confident you’ll enjoy both of them.” ~ owner (left) and his head chef

Food: ★★★★ ½ out of 5 stars

Service: ★★★★½ out of 5 stars

Ambiance: ★★★★ out of 5 stars

Value: ★★★★ out of 5 stars

Banryongsan 반룡산

Daechi-dong 894-4, Gangnam-gu (대치동 894-4, 강남구)

Hours: Open every day 11:00 am ~ 9:00 pm except major holidays

Phone: 02-3446-8966

Website: http://www.banryongsan.com