Jiho Hanbang Samgyetang
$$ • Restaurant
Most Recent Reviews
I am not celiac, only gluten intolerant. I decided to try this place out thanks to the review on this website when I was in Korea 2 weeks ago. The food was delicious and I did not get sick! I left full and happy.
The staff was very kind despite my extremely limited Korean. I ordered the Healthy Samgyetang - the first image on the visual menu they provided (upper-leftmost). It was my first time trying this soup and it was yummy. Chicken, ginseng, garlic, rice, and medicinal herbs.
The serving was large - a whole young chicken in a broth that came out still bubbling and steaming. I could see the large chunks of ginseng, jujube, milkvetch, mulberry, and angelica root. The broth was rich and delicious.
I knew that this soup was supposed to come with rice, so I was confused when I poked around my pot with my spoon and didn't see any. I thought that maybe I was supposed to have ordered the rice separately as a side if I wanted it, so I waved the staff over to ask "Bab?" Bab = 밥 = cooked rice. The staff told me "Inside!" and I realized that the rice was inside the body of the chicken just like stuffing in roast turkey. I was sheepish but he was all smiles haha.
Because the soup is served as a whole chicken, you'll need to remove the bones. There is a small metal canister on the table lined with a plastic bag to dispose of them in. This is relatively easy to do because the meat is so tender. Well, I assume it is easy to do if you have basic chopstick proficiency (I do not). I was using my spoon, my metal chopsticks as skewers, and embarrassingly, my hands to do the job. I'm not above that but because the soup was so bubbling hot, I was admittedly struggling. The same man who enlightened me about the rice came out from the kitchen with a slight bow, offering me two forks with both hands. So polite and thoughtful. Thanks for taking care of bumbling me, Jiho Hanbang Samgyetang!
I lived off this stuff when I was in Seoul. Traditional Korean soup made with chicken stuffed full of sweet rice and garlic in a bone broth with ginseng and ginger.
They have multiple locations and do delivery. The ingredients are really high quality the broth is excellent, even turns to gelatin in the fridge from the collagen.
I don’t know much about their English skills since my Korean mother in law placed the orders for me. If you want to place an order ask for 건강한방삼계탕, although any of the 삼계탕 dishes should be gluten free (confirm if possible though).
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