Seoul : Nolboo Yuhwangori Jinheukgui 놀부유황오리진흙구이

1st December 2012.
Seoul, South Korea.

Conveniently located at the Central City Bus Terminal, Nolboo Yuhwangori Jinheukgui was recommended by Seoul food blogger, Daniel Gray. Duck isn’t a daily affair in Korean cuisine as compared to pork and beef and hence we decided to give it a try as the description of a stuffed roasted duck seemed like a departure from the usual red stews and kimchi. This dish is known as Yuhwang-ori-jinheuk-gui 유황오리진흙구이or duck that was slow-roasted in a mud/earthernware bowl with an array of ingredients for 3 hours.

Priced at 61000 KRW per duck (enough for 3-4 people), this dish is considered expensive in Korea but fortunately, it turned out pretty well. My only complaint is that the skin wasn't crispy and certain parts of the duck was a little dry.

For 61000 KRW, you get a rather big roasted duck and the waiter serving you would do the carving in front of you, revealing its generous contents (at least 23 of them) which include gingko nuts, rice, dates, pine nuts and even sweet potato. Despite the visual mess, this was really good. The meat was rather tender and the rice is the best part of the duck.

At the end of our meal, we were being served a cup of chilled sweet cinnamon drink.

After meal, we went for a walk along the Hangang. Nolboo is a chain of Korean restaurants most famous for their Budae Jjigae, there are also other restaurants serving this dish but they might need a reservation in advance.

놀부유황오리진흙구이
Nolboo Yuhwangori Jinheukgui
205, Sapyeong-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 서초구 사평대로 205 (반포동)