After a lovely visit to Chungdeokgung Palace in the rain, and rather damp, Anna and I headed off to find something to eat and a good glass of wine. Anna has been in Seoul for about 2 months, so she has started to do some exploring and find her way around. The two little streets of Insadong, all lined with tiny little traditional Korean restaurants (and the occasional motel), are one of her great finds.

The bus from the palace took us the short distance to the area we were looking for. We could probably have walked but to be honest it was quite nice to be out of the rain. By this stage the heavens had opened and it was pouring and rather cold.

We got off the bus, walked past the immigration office and headed down a little alley. One of the things you learn fairly quickly in Korea is that some of the best spots are down a little alley – and that the alleys are safe enough to wander down. This little alley opened into a little pedestrian street of restaurants. The first place on the left had a few chairs and tables on the veranda. We looked for a second and then there was another place on the other side of the road. And another and another. We looked into widows and doorways, at water-features and tiny indoor gardens. Although it was only about 3 in the afternoon, the sky was dark and low with rain and cloud and the lights of the places we passed were inviting but we decided to look around.

About half way down the first little road, we stopped to look at the signboard outside one little restaurant. Anna’s words of wisdom that we should pick a place with pictures and prices outside being a good bet, we were looking for a place like this. At the time, however, the fairy lights outside one of the restaurants further down the little streets lured us on. We kept walking, enchanted over and over again by warm glimpses through doorways.

Down the road and around the corner, we wandered back up a parallel road, filled with more of these delightful little places. On the right, we passed the entrance to an indoor market, filled with lights and people on a Saturday afternoon. There was also a wine bar with tables and chairs outside looking forlorn on a rainy afternoon. At the the end of the road was a place almost totally hidden by creepers and trees and flowers, except for a little doorway, and a place with a large sign proclaiming it a vegetarian restaurant.

After walking for a bit in the rain and the cold, we found ourselves back outside the first place with the pictures and the prices. It seemed that this was fated to be our stop for the afternoon. It was a good choice.

The restaurant was delightfully small but all wood and warmth with two chandeliers. The waiter (or perhaps the maitre de) asked if we wanted a room or a table, simultaneously letting us know that we didn’t need to take off our shoes. We followed him to a little table for two, next to a row of floor to ceiling glass windows looking out onto a rainy garden with lights scattered through-out, a wild garden with plants climbing over each other like a place enchanted.

We ordered some wine (which turned out not to be as lovely as we’d hoped – more proof that Chilean wines are not to the taste of South Africans) and sat chatting over a glass while we considered the menu. Eventually – it really did take us a while to get around to it – we ordered bossam. As usual in Korea, the meal began with many dishes being delivered to the table – soups and side dishes and dipping sauces and, of course, kimchi. After that, the main dish – steamed pork with leaves of lettuce and sesame to wrap it in – arrived.

We ate slowly and enjoyed the conversation and the wine (a little). The meal was good but, as with most Korean foods, the combinations of flavours are sometimes a little odd. This is not to say we didn’t enjoy it but, as my friend pointed out, it’s not necessarily a cuisine that could be called delicious. It was good enough, when combined with a red wine on a rainy autumn day and the wonderful conversation of a good friend, all in the beautiful little corner of the world that is Insadong, to make for a delightful afternoon.