Budaechigae 부대찌개 - a "poor man's stew" created during the famine years of the Korean War made with leftover meat that was thrown away or handed out from the US army bases. 

a.k.a. mine and M's most favorite thing to eat ever. 

It's the most satisfying concoction of ramen noodles, Spam, kimchi, and spicy broth. If you're feeling fancy, you can throw in some mushrooms and rice cakes, but there's really no real rhyme or reason to it. Kind of like a one-pot wonder. That's what makes it so great! And I've found the cream of the crop right in the middle of Sinchon.

My brother Eric passed along the deets about this place when I told him how much M loved budaechigae. It's called Original Budaechigae and it's located near the giant church by Yonsei-ro across the street from Outback. If you know the area well enough, this should make sense to you. If you don't, click here! 

It's not a chain restaurant, so you know it's gotta be good... The sallow wallpaper and old beer ads are testaments to how long this place has been around. The menu is pretty simple with only three kinds of budaechigae and the more pricier Agujjim 아구찜. 

It may look empty now, but that's only because we walked in just before dinner time. A few minutes after we were seated, this place was pretty much packed. I guess it's a local favorite among the college kids. Where have I been all these years?!

What's great about this place is that they pre-cook the stew in the back kitchen so once it's out, you can tuck in straight away. Waiting for your food to cook in front of you is pretty high up there on my list of methods of torture, especially when you're just about ready to devour an entire cow. I think that's one of the biggest things I hate about barbecue... Back on topic, this was perfect for us cause I don't think we've had anything to eat all day! 

No joke, we inhaled that in 10 minutes. 

The look of satisfaction. Dinner was a success!!!