Munchies: Yeolbong

After school today a friend and I headed over the Gangnam to visit Se7en's steamed chicken restaurant, Yeolbong. We actually wanted to go last night, but apparently we got there too late because it was closed. I guess it closes early on Sunday (unless they aren't even open on Sunday?) since we got there around 930 & their twitter page says they should be open until 11pm. I was slightly disappointed, since we walked around forever trying to find the place.


But we went again today, got there in record time since we knew exactly where it was, and this time it was open. yay!

The Setup


The first thing you notice is the infamous Se7en cardboard cut out that greets you by the entrance. Many a person, both famous and otherwise, have taken a picture with this cutout, including yours truly ;)

It's actually super, duper small. The seating area is pretty much "L" shaped with tables along the walls and in the middle. We had to sit down in the middle tables since everything along the walls was taken.

The restaurant may be small but it's really handsome. Along the length of one of the walls is this really pretty white tile, and a shelf that housed all the pictures of the YG Fam & other celebs who have visited Yeolbong. On the shelf there were these less attractive white rocks & various chicken figurines. Along the opposite wall was a different kind of tile, almost like limestone, and I loved the contrast. All the furniture was the lovely dark and heavy wood I adore so much, and the light fixtures were these white wired "nest" things. All in all, it provided a cozy and warm sort of atmosphere, intimate but casual.


Of course, right when you walk in there's that crazy tree that has peppers hanging from it, as well as pictures of various celebs & YG fam that have visited. Yoo In Na seemed like she went the most. Followed by the members of Big Bang: GD, TOP, Daesung & Taeyang.

Yoo In Na & Taeyang sitting in a tree... ^_^

The food

The usual set up. A soup to start (this one was cold broth with bean sprouts) & banchan of radishes.

The menu pretty much has two kinds of chicken you can order. You can determine the level of heat (one pepper, two peppers or three peppers), as well as size (small, medium, large). There are a few other things you can order on the menu, which are primarily side dishes of rice with tofu and seaweed, or a tofu dish.


To be honest, I don't remember what our dish was called. But we ordered the small, heat level: one pepper. The size was perfect for two people & we ordered some rice to go along with it. The chicken came out in this amazingly flavorful sauce that had stewed potatoes, carrots, and red pepper. Also in the sauce were clear noodles & greens.

I mentioned earlier that we opted for our food heat being only one pepper. I don't think I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy things, but my friend and I were practically dying, it was so spicy. But we kept eating, because it was so good. When our water started to become ineffective against the spice, we decided to order some juice. Mostly because we saw that everyone had some juice on their tables, instead of milk like we were used to. There was pineapple juice available, and something at the time we thought was like cloudy apple juice. We opted for the cloudy applejuice because we thought it was yogurty/dairy and might help with the heat.

heaven sent.

We stumbled upon the most pleasant of discoveries. It wasn't apple juice at all, but rather peach juice & let me just say that it was heaven sent. Delicious and helped in all the ways a drink should help you when you eat something incredibly spicy. Much to our dismay, the korean girls around us clearly had dishes made of 2 or 3 peppers, and were having no trouble getting through it! I was astonished, because for a while I was on the verge of tears!

The whole thing came out to be roughly 23,000 won for two people. Decently priced for a wonderful atmosphere, good food, and the possibility of celebrity watching! There were all sorts of people in the restaurant, and I saw more than one person taking pictures of the pictures on the walls. I had heard, though, that you aren't allowed to take pictures inside the restaurant--this was debunked when I took pictures right in front of the woman working the register. She didn't seem to mind that I was openly fangirling! Oh, and the music that was playing inside the restaurant was nothing but YG artists.

Ninja video, since I wasn't sure I could take pictures inside. Plus, I didn't want to be that girl.



Directions to Yeolbong:

- Gangnam (line 2), exit 7 (<---fitting, right?)
- Go straight out of the exit until you reach a store "POOM" & turn right going up the little hill (if you've hit the UNIQLO then you've gone too far)
- At the first intersection on the little hill, turn right
- Take the first left down side road, it will be on your left hand side, 2nd or 3rd store down (Se7en will be there to greet you