Sansumyeongsan: Mt. Odae Wild Greens for Veggie Haters
I've been an incredibly picky eater since I was a kid. I absolutely refused to touch namul (seasoned wild greens), and kimchi was pretty much the only vegetable I ate. Honestly, it wasn't just wild greens—I didn't eat sea cucumber or sea squirt, I hated seaweed and kelp, and don't even get me started on lotus root or carrots. I lived with this childish palate until I went to college. As I started drinking, surprisingly, I began to eat some of the foods I used to avoid. Cucumbers, carrots (I still don't like them and will pick them out if I can), gamjatang (pork bone stew—I usually hate pork broth), and quite a few other things became acceptable while drinking. But there was one thing I still wouldn't eat, no matter how much alcohol was involved: namul.
But today, without any mental preparation, I went out for dinner only to find every restaurant closed. I was faced with the ultimate crisis: having to eat rice with wild greens.
Sansumyeongsan
The reason I ended up at Sansumyeongsan wasn't anything special. Since it's a mountain village in Gangwon-do (a mountainous province), almost all the shops close by 8 PM. I had drank a lot the night before and took a nap at the hotel, which meant I had to eat a very late dinner. I thought about just eating at the hotel, but since I came all this way, I wanted to try the local food. After searching frantically, I found Sansumyeongsan, which was open until 10 PM.
The restaurant is located right in the middle of a national highway, making it an awkward place to walk to. A car seems absolutely necessary, which means the unfortunate driver won't be able to drink.
When I arrived at the restaurant, a Chinese tour group I had seen at the hotel was busy tearing into some chicken. Because it was late and they had a large group, the staff told me they were completely out of ingredients for dak-bokkeum-tang (spicy braised chicken). At this point, I still had no idea what the food here was like, so I just ordered two portions of the hwangtae-gui (grilled dried pollock) set meal, which was something I could eat without being too picky.
About five minutes after ordering, the kitchen staff came out in full force and laid out a massive spread like the one below.
With wild greens taking up 90% of the table, there was really nothing I could do. Fortunately, they had myeong-i namul (pickled wild garlic leaves)—the only green I actually eat—so I tried a piece first. Wait a minute... it wasn't too salty, and it was actually good!
The staff setting the table kept telling us, 'You can leave everything else, but make sure you finish the greens,' and 'These are rare wild greens that grow at an altitude of 1,000 to 1,500 meters.' Plus, the kimchi was seasoned perfectly, unlike typical salty countryside kimchi, so I picked up my chopsticks, deciding to give it a real try.
I didn't even know the names of these wild greens, but they were all incredibly edible. Some were so delicious that I completely cleared the plates. With every single bite, I found myself marveling, 'Wow! What is this, and why does it taste so good?' The flavors were so fascinating that I made sure never to eat two different greens at the same time, and I didn't rush to mix them with rice. The reason I usually hate wild greens is because of their unpleasant texture and overpowering scent, but I have no idea how they managed to prepare both of these aspects perfectly to my liking. I ordered another bowl of rice and ambitiously tried to eat at least two bites of every green so I could remember them, but my darn stomach got full way too quickly.
I wish I could name each wild green and describe its flavor, but since I only know myeong-i and deodeok, I can't really write about them. But this is a truly fantastic restaurant. With food this good, I'm now super excited to try the spicy braised chicken I missed out on. If I ever come back to Mt. Odae, I'm absolutely eating dinner here.
On January 2nd, while driving to the East Sea for a trip, I got so hungry that I suggested we just grab lunch anywhere. Coincidentally, we were right near Mt. Odae. Since we had a car and Sansumyeongsan was only about 10km away, we immediately turned the car around and came back for a late lunch.
Since I had already taken pictures before, I focused entirely on eating today, but I still couldn't finish everything. The owner looked disappointed and said I really needed to finish the greens. When I told him there was just too much, he advised, 'Next time you come, put all the greens in a large bowl and eat it like bibimbap. Then you'll be able to finish it all.' Ah... if only he had told me earlier, I could have had a seriously delicious bowl of bibimbap. What a shame.