Macchan (Photos by Takahiro Takiguchi)
If you live in Japan and want to experience Seoul without taking a trip to South Korea, visit Shin-Okubo in Tokyo.
Shin-Okubo is known as a relatively new Koreatown in Japan. When Japan opened its doors to foreign students and laborers in the 1980s, many Korean immigrants flocked to this town because of its cheap rent and the willingness of landlords to accept foreign tenants.
A walk through this busy district will show you crowds of people shopping for Korean products and enjoying Korean snacks and sweets from the many street vendors. While a lot of women have their eyes on Korean-made cosmetics, there are also many Korean food supermarkets, including Seoul Market, where you can buy virtually any ingredient needed to cook Korean dishes at home.
If cooking isn’t your strength but you still want to enjoy an exquisite meal, choose one of the hundreds of restaurants in Shin-Okubo serving traditional dishes and modern ones like yangnyeom sweet and spicy fried chicken. Or stop into one of the many trendy cafés that sell picture-perfect coffees and desserts.
For an authentic Korean lunch at a reasonable price, I went to Macchan near the station for quality barbecue samgyeopsal pork belly.
Macchan is down some steep stairs in the basement of a building near Shin-Okubo Station. The tiny interior will transport you to an old, mom-and-pop restaurant in Seoul’s Namdaemun Market District. The walls are covered with posters of Korean movie stars and colorful menus advertising the specials.
(Macchan)
(Macchan)
(Macchan)
(Macchan)
I ordered the samgyeopsal lunch set for 1,000 yen ($6.50), which includes pork belly and side dishes. I sat at one of the seven tables set up with an iron pan and smoke-suctioning air duct.
Soon after I placed my order, the server returned with the raw meat and started cooking it on the iron pan at my table. The spicy, crisp aroma of the meat and kimchi reminded me of the last time I visited Seoul 15 years ago.
(Macchan)
(Macchan)
(Macchan)
(Macchan)
I sampled small morsels of the pork topped with kimchi and miso and wrapped in a lettuce leaf as the server cooked the rest of the meat. It was really delicious!
I devoured my meal and was surprised that after the meat was gone, the server returned to cook kimchi fried rice in the pan using the leftover pork juices. The flavorful dish was a delectable way to end a satisfyingly inexpensive meal.
(Macchan)
(Macchan)
Though the samgyeopsal set is the shop’s recommendation, they also offer plenty of other lunch options like sundubu Jigae (a spicy tofu, fish, kimchi and vegetable stew) for 880 yen, seolleongtang (a simmered beef and ox bone soup) for 990 yen and samgye-tang (ginseng chicken soup) for 1,280 yen.
Take a break from shopping in Shin-Okubo for a taste of delicious Korean dishes at Macchan.
Macchan
Location: 1-15-19 [B1F] Hyakunincho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Hours: 11 a.m. – midnight (lunch: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
Tel: 03-5338-8776
*Macchan has two more restaurants in Shin-Okubo district. Check them out on the website.
