kinja baeerin (긴자바이린)

kinja baeerin (긴자바이린)
서울 종로구 율곡로 1길 39
tel: 02-734-9765

what was consumed: tonkatsu! and curry udon. and and and ...

HJ's favorite food is curry and/or tonkatsu. so, when she tells me that kinja baeerin (긴자바이린) is her absolute favorite place, who am i to question a local connoisseur? when HJ's friend came to town (a japanese american living in europe), she insisted that we go to kinja baeerin not only because it's her favorite place for tonkatsu and curry, but also because he, living in europe, always had hankerings for asian food (he says it's expensive and the good places are few and far between ... i believe it!). it was also a rainy day, so the crispy-ness of donkatsu and the sort of soothing flavor of the curry was something to look forward to.

in the middle of all the cute cafes and galleries of bukchon is kinja baeerin. the space was, apparently, a former gallery. the decor of the restaurant shows as much as the owner (?) exhibits favorite works of favorite local (?) artists. ok, so i frankly just appreciated the works from afar. i was too busy looking at the menu! kinja baeerin specializes in tonkatsu. and the tonkatsu is so deliciously prepared! the crispy and light outer coating and the

the curry at kinja baeerin also pairs with the tonkatsu so nicely. not too salty, just filled with flavor. i wished for a few more noodles in the curry udon, but the abundance of curry offered the opportunity to dip the tonkatsu as well as mix with some rice. delish!

next time, we'll have to make sure we get there early so that we can order the tonkatsu sandwich, they only make a handful of them, daily. and the bread is special made just for this! must go back. must order more more more! nom nom nom!