Today, I visited NamyeongTak with some friends for dinner. It’s been open for two years now, and I’ve always been curious about the place as it’s always very popular. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait when we arrived here.
Head Chef Oh Jun Tak worked at Yard Bird and Ronin, two Hong Kong restaurants known for their yakitori, where he learned a lot about how to cook chicken.
At NamyeongTak, he used Korean-style chicken, slow-roasted over wood, with a variety of spices and sauces from overseas to give it a different flavor profile. There are various concepts, such as ‘Oriental Chicken’ with mala sauce and ‘Western Chicken’ with basil pesto sauce, and so on.
We chose to try the ‘Western Chicken’ and the combination of moist chicken and the fresh sauce was interesting. We also ordered the ‘stir-fried knee cartilage’ and the softness of the cartilage was delightful. The sides like pickles and wonton noodles are also very popular. If you write a Google review for the store, they offer their signature side dish, “Tom Yum Mala Yukgaejang Cup Noodles,” which we also enjoyed.
I’d like to come back a few more times to try other types of chickens. As the place is not too noisy and has a good atmosphere, it is certainly a good spot for relaxed conversation. They also have whiskey and wine menus! But today we just had beer.
????NamyeongTak (남영탉)
????12, Hangang-daero 80-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea
????Oriental Chicken (24,000 won), Western Chicken (27,000 won), Mhak Chicken (28,000 won), Penking Chicken (26,000 won), Yukgaejang Cup Noodle (5,000 won)
????Mon – Sat 5p.m.-1a.m., Sun Off
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