Bin’s

A little food stall vendor in the Palama Supermarket.
Soups, salads, and noodles.
I am normally in the mood to eat across the way, today I decided to eat a healthy meal. Fish Bibimbap not what I pictured as a meal. It was Romaine lettuce mixed with other salad and hidden under all of that, 2 types of raw fish. It was a nice surprise. The flavor was not anything until you added the cojujang sauce to it. The dish really shined after that. I was surprised that a good sized portion of purple rice and Kim chi also came with the meal. It’s a great fast meal for $ 8.00.

Sundaegook corner recycles rice. Wonder how they passed inspections. Was a regular customer, but was shouted at, like ‘dont meddle in my business and never come back’ (of course in korean) when I saw the old lady putting the returned rice back into the cooker and I made a remark about it. there was no apology for the rice, but insisted that shes going to use the rice for sikhye, as if there are sections inside of the cooker, huh.

Ok. So I stumbled on this place. I was just walking around Palama super looking for some late lunch and found this place in the food market area. The lady was really friendly. I passed her the first time and she said hello. The second time I walked by, I actually looked at her menu. She’s decently priced considering what she serves. There isn’t a big sign in front, just know that she’s the lady with the awesome soups and food.
I saw beef tendon $ 6 wrapped alone on a bed of cabbage and thought «I’ve never had tendon on its own before.» And she told me to try it. So I did. She gave me sauce with it, and it was to delicious! (If you like beef tendon)
Then I had oxtail soup $ 10. It was delicious also! Reminded me of oxtail with mandoo soup, but I’m always down to try new things.
She has a small shop, but that’s more than enough for her. It is a hidden gem. The lady is super sweet! If you love Korean food, it’s a must try. Remember, the lady has been here all day and its just her, so that tired look you see is just showing how hard working she is. I made her laugh, so Im hoping that I made her day! If your wandering in Palama market, just walk by and try her food. I know I loved it.

OK, my fault.
The booth across the Palama Market Corner opened up recently, and I love to support new ethnic food businesses. $ 6.00 bowl of Mondoo Kook Su (Mondoo Soup w/​noodles), I figured why not? Mama San was cooking, she had a helper, it wasn’t busy.. . right.. . ?
Poor Mama San looked tired, she glazed up when she took my order. I asked her if she got it – «one Mondoo ramen» — cause it didn’t appear she was registering. She smiled, took my money and went to the stove, right in the back of the stall. The Korean lady before me promptly got her food, and so I waited.. ..
I could get past Mama San scooping the MSG right out of a big jar into the soups. I was OK when she grabbed the cold noodles our of the colander with her hands — the unwashed hands that just took my money, Oh heck, I was hungry and understood $ 6 ain’t fine dining. I even closed my eyes when she collected the dirty bowls, swirled some cold faucet water in them, and wiped them with the dirty dishrag that sat on the counter, and served them for the new orders. But as I sat there for over 20 minutes, I was even more certain Mama San forgot me. After the Korean lady before me finished eating and got up to leave, I went up to ask Mama San again. The helper came up, and I asked about my order. She just turned and walked away while I was talking to her, and ignored me. Mama San came over and asked if I wanted something, and I said: «Oh, if you forgot my order, I can just go somewhere else. Can I have my $ 6 back?» She replied, «No, don’t worry, I make your order right now.»
And the soup: some MSG with hot water, a few onions, and 3 skinny Mondoo, an egg and a lot of noodles. I didn’t die or get food poisoning (a day later), but next time I’ll just go back to the Corner.

This is truly a hidden gem, until my wife noticed it when stopping by for our inconsistent soft tofu stew at the Palama Snack Corner (that’s another review update). Then we thought, let’s give it a try.
One thing that really stands out is the kim chee, it’s better than the Palama Snack Corner (which is pretty good to begin with) and almost all Korean restaurants I’ve been too.
We tried the mandoo soup and the handmade noodle soup and both had really tasty broth. The mandoo was mostly vegetables but was nice and refreshing. My wife tried a variation with mandoo and rice cake not as good as the rice cake didn’t really add anything. A screaming bargain as those dishes was only $ 8.
OMG about the shop owner, she is very eccentric and nice, with an emphasis on eccentric. We went to the shop and wanted to order something but no one was there, and lo and behold… she was chatting with her friends at the cosmetics counter next door! She even gave us too much change and we being honest (and it’s bachi) had to give back the extra to her.

The ahjumma who works here is totally chill. Sometimes she is sleeping behind the counter, so you’ll have to wake her up. I’ve tried the «poke bowl» (actually served on a plate) and the steamed mandoo. The poke bowl has a Korean twist to it with some spiciness, but the fish was not bad. Portion is kind of small, but you can get brown «healthy rice» with the beans and other grains mixed in if you ask the ahjumma.

This one of the two places places to get a hot meal in Palama Supermarket. The other place is more popular, but after a year and half of using if as a inexpensive way to get Korean food I have gotten a little bored of it. One day when I was being indecisive, the smell and sizzling of hamburger steak with gravy got me to try this place. The best way for me to describe it is to call it comfort food. It’s not going to win any awards, but it is a satisfying meal for someone tired of BBQ chicken, spicy squid or pork, and Kalbi at the other place. (At this point 4 stars)
I wrote the above paragraph on my phone a while back. Since then, I have noticed that they thaw the frozen hamburger patty that looks like they got from Costcos in the microwave. I lost my appetite for the plate since then. However, if you don’t care about food that gets microwaved give it a try. (Tempted to bring it down to 2 stars, but that’s too harsh.)

I will let you in on a little secret. I am not Korean. Okay so maybe it’s not really a secret but I have a great love for Korean food. So ardent is my love for meat jun, mandoo and all the veggies, that it makes me think that perhaps I was Korean in a past life! That or I was a penguin that migrated to Hawaii. I haven’t quite made up my mind yet.
What brought me to Bin’s was my friend Russ M. A lover of all things yummy, Russ had sealed our forever friendship by frying up for me some mandoo from Bin’s. The way to my heart is truly through my stomach and having me eat a few mandoo was literally like shooting cupid’s arrow to my heart. They are that yummy!
$ 4 for 5 mandoo and they are sold steamed or fried. I prefer to fry them at home because I like them extra crispy! I haven’t tried their other items of pancake and noodles but I’m sure I’ll be back to try it eventually. I want to leave my fifth star for when I’m not under cupid’s spell. Now that my little mandoo secret is out, you can try it for yourself. I think I like them because they are made by a little Korean grandma and have adopted her as my surrogate until my next life.
Unilocal 365 Challenge: #18/​365 (The Arrow To My Heart)