명동보리밥 MyeongDong Boribap~

     I've whined for ages and my dislike for rice has been pretty clear, when it comes to that grain, I steer the other way. My 비빔밥 has been stripped of it's rice partner and joins me singly as "비빔." What am I doing in Asia then, let alone Korea? An aversion to rice and inhabiting these Seoul-lands is ironic...brown rice has been suggested, but I just can't (don't want to) do it. I'm not a grain lady, not a fan of any grain-focused meal, quinoa I can do, but sparingly. It doesn't come from pure pickiness, I have a very hard time digesting rice. brown or white, or black, or yellow, etc. Imagine polishing off a keg of beer, three pasta pizzas, and a pound of potatoes~ that's my stomach after just a little rice.
     I love 비빔 too, assorted veggies snuggling into one another, coated in spicy 고추장, I'm happy with that- I'm all for salads. This past week though has been including a little bit more than that, a great substitution for the 밥~보리밥 or barley. I've mentioned this before, but from my understanding (thanks to the tales of Mama VeganBeats) barley was introduced and used for the Korean people due to struggles in the past. The war forced many people to go poor and in that, feeding themselves and their family was very difficult. Barley filled up tummies and kept people full, even though it is low in calories and easier to digest.
     Korea being really into the "health title" turn to 보리밥 and these restaurants are popping up all over the place. The past week I've had 보리밥 twice, Alex is here and my family, as accepting and supportive as they are, while kicking it in Seoul-town are craving some traditional Korean noms. Though, on Saturday my mama beats was wonderful and treated Alex and I to this healthy plate at 명동보리밥 near my 이모's house.

photo taken by VeganBeats

There was a decent spread of 반찬 that you're supposed to throw into your barley and mix up with 청국장, a soybean tofu stew that is literally just soybeans and tofu, and 고추장. I like this option because I can construct a bomb salad!

반찬~ (photo taken by VeganBeats)

반찬~ (photo taken by VeganBeats)

청국장 (photo taken by VeganBeats)

my 비빔 and no 보리밥~ (photo taken by VeganBeats)

This meal went well with the pained heads Alex and I were lugging around.

There are several of these places all over Seoul, the one I went to is by Olympic park.
Directions:
강동구청역 (line 8) 4번 (exit 4)
Walk straight for about 5 minutes, cross an intersection, then pass by Lotteria on your right, the restaurant will be on your right side!

Enjoy~