Baekmanbae Arirang Bossam

Tucked away in Bongcheon, Baekmanbae Arirang Bossam specializes in bossam made with pork collar (gabrisal). The meat is sliced so finely and cooked so tenderly that a single piece nearly dissolves as soon as it hits your tongue. It comes plated with spicy kimchi bossam and crisp cabbage bossam on the side, and the whole thing tastes nothing like the bossam I was expecting -- it's a different experience from the usual version.

The crab and clam knife-cut noodle soup turns out to be the perfect partner for the bossam. It arrives still bubbling in the pot, packed with blue crab and clams, and the broth is bright and briny enough to work as a natural finish to the meal. Ordering bossam first and closing with a bowl of that soup is a routine worth repeating.