You’re here. Menu open. Still deciding.
You don’t pick the dish first. The dish picks you.
There’s always something you pause on.
Usually, it’s tteokbokki.
Hot, slightly bubbling, coated in sauce.
When you take that first bite, it’s soft, chewy, and full of flavour that stays for a second before you go in again.
Then you realise you want something to go with it.
Kimbap fits in easily. Soft, clean, light.
Or japchae. Smooth, slightly sweet, easy to keep eating.
Then you hear it.
That first crunch from another table.
That’s when you add Korean fried chicken.
That light crisp. Then the juicy inside.
Yangnyeom if you want sweet-spicy. Kanjang if you want something deeper.
Then you add one more thing without thinking.
Corn dog, mandu, or hotteok.
Warm, crisp, soft, sweet.
Somewhere between the first bite and the last, it clicks.
You stop thinking about what to order. You just enjoy.