The temptation of something chewy Myeongga Wangjokbal

  

 

 

Yeonsu-gu Restaurant Story

The temptation of something chewy Myeongga Wangjokbal

 

Writer Lee Hyeon-Ju
Photographer Jeong Dong-Myeon 

 

 

Many Koreans point to pig trotters as a dish they want to recommend to foreigners. They imagine that gelatin-rich pig trotters and their chewy taste would suit well a foreign appetite. Koreans think of pig trotters as being an outstanding dish for skin beauty and anti-aging. And in fact, European countries such as the Czech Republic and Germany also enjoy pig trotters. Here, we introduce a pig trotters restaurant with a unique boiling technique, menu items that you can’t find anywhere else, and an endless line of customers.

 

 

 

 

Do you know what "boiled meat pig trotters" are?

 

"Myeongga Wangjokbal," located in Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, is so famous that it often has to turn back customers. It’s been only one year since its opening, but it is already renowned for its "unique cooking methods" and its "kindness."

The pig trotters commonly found in the market are "oriental herbal pig trotters," which use herbal ingredients to remove the odor of the pork. This restaurant, on the other hand, boils its pig trotters with a method that it developed itself, hence the name "boiled meat pig trotters". Moreover, while most restaurants use frozen trotters, this place uses chilled ones. Even without using deep-flavored herbal ingredients, any pork odor is eliminated. "Boiled meat pig trotters" are boiled with fruits and vegetables inside. The green onions, onions, apples and pears give them a more original taste than the strongly flavored herbal ones.

"Customers say that our flavors aren’t jaded, that they are addicted to their mild taste. We have customers who say that after their first visit, they were back for more within a week.'

The restaurant's owner Chae-Man Lim says that the secret to the light, plain taste is "removing the grease". This place does not slice the pork like other restaurants. Instead, it removes all the layers of fat, tearing them off by hand and serving what remains.

"Removing the fat reduces the amount served, which, naturally, would disappoint the customers. So to keep portions big, we use only large trotters." Although they are more expensive than small ones, the owner Lim insists.

 

                                                                 

A CEO who is happy with the operation of his pig trotter restaurant

 

CEO Lim always greets customers with a smile on his face. He previously ran some other businesses, one concerning green vegetable juices, another with chicken, but this one, he says, is much more interesting and exciting. The former restaurants were all franchises, and therefore, did not suit him. Owner Lim likes to be more generous to his customers.

So he closed his thriving franchise businesses and set up his own restaurant. He experimented with trotter after trotter before he found his own special recipe, one with a genuine taste. As he likes to say, "We are not going to make pig trotters that our children cannot eat." His food is honest and clean.

The generous portions and elaborately prepared food has the restaurant's guests returning as regulars. Owner Lim says that he is motivated by the thought that a happy table will be set with pig trotters for a family. Even today, in the commercial district of the World Mark 1st Complex, there is a small restaurant that boils warm pig trotters with the seasonings of love and happiness.

 

 

Myeonga Wangjokbal

 

- 20-22 Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, 032) 225-4600
- Operating hours: 1:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
- Menu: Boiled meat pig trotters, fire pig trotters, oven pig trotters, half-half trotters
- Supplies of pig trotters are limited and the restaurant often runs out before days end. Advanced phone reservations are recommended.