If You’re Craving Namsan Donkatsu, Sanchaejip Is a Place Where Everything on the Menu Is Delicious

Thick-cut tonkatsu with a crispy fried coating is delicious, but there are times when I find myself craving the flatter kind, the one covered in plenty of sauce so the breading turns soft. When I want what’s commonly called old-style tonkatsu, I always seem to head to Namsan. Namsan is famous for its tonkatsu lineup, after all. There were times when I didn’t know which of the many tonkatsu places to go to, so I would just pick the oldest one. But now, when I say I’m going to eat Namsan tonkatsu, there’s a place I look for. It’s Sanchaejip. Sanchaejip is located right next to the Namsan cable car line, so it’s easy to find, but there are so many restaurants packed closely together that you could still walk right past it. Still, there’s no way I’m passing by a good restaurant.

The name Namsangol Sanchaejip already gives off a certain kind of vibe, doesn’t it? It makes you imagine a place where you can enjoy fresh mountain greens and side dishes. And sure enough, when I looked at Sanchaejip’s set menu, bibimbap was on it. It seems like you really can’t ignore the image a name creates.

We could have ordered a set menu, but we wanted dishes that weren’t included in the set, so we ordered individual items instead.

After ordering, yeolmu kimchi and chili peppers are served. These side dishes were available to take freely from the self-service corner. And the doenjang served with the peppers is said to be made directly by Sanchaejip, so it really felt like a place where you could eat with confidence.

A king-size tonkatsu usually comes with a set, right? The soup!! It was a cream soup that had an old-fashioned feel. You hardly get to taste this anymore, so it was nice to have it again after such a long time.

The old-style tonkatsu goes well with the soup, and as expected, it came generously covered in tonkatsu sauce. So the fried coating isn’t crispy, but that soft, slightly soggy texture has its own appeal. Since old-style tonkatsu is served in a state where you really do have to cut it with a knife, we did just that. I sliced it all at once so it would be easier to eat. Namsan tonkatsu, enjoyed after such a long time, was just as delicious as I remembered.

Namsan Sanchaejip is introduced as a tonkatsu specialty spot, but if you look closer, it’s really a place where every other dish is delicious too. Leaving behind the restaurant’s famous chive pancake, we ordered the cabbage pancake instead. Based on the image that cabbage pancake brings to mind, I expected cabbage to be fried whole, but this version came packed with cabbage cut into bite-sized pieces. It was softer than I expected, and the cabbage’s natural sweetness came through, so it was quite good. I think I actually preferred it to a whole-cabbage version.

As we ate the dishes we ordered, makgeolli naturally came to mind. At Sanchaejip, all alcohol is limited to one bottle per two people. It seems like no one would be leaving this place completely drunk. Because it was bokbunja makgeolli, the color had a pretty pink tint. I was told the color wasn’t made with dye to give it a bokbunja-like look, but rather that it was brewed using real bokbunja. Maybe that’s why the fragrance and flavor of bokbunja weren’t especially strong in the makgeolli, but that also felt like proof it was the real thing, which gave it a wholesome impression.

At the end, I had to choose between bibimbap and bossam, and I went with bossam. While eating, I kept saying what a smart choice it was. There was no odor from the bossam at all, and it was incredibly tender and soft.

It was cut into appropriately thick slices, so it seemed like a small amount for a small serving, but once we started eating, it was plenty.

I came because I was craving Namsan tonkatsu, but if you only eat tonkatsu fried in oil, it can start to feel a little tiring halfway through. But since there were so many other dishes to enjoy besides the old-style tonkatsu, I could eat without getting bored and enjoy everything properly. When I ate the bossam with the white kimchi and shredded radish on top, I couldn’t help thinking, yes, this is the taste. Usually, side dishes served with bossam aren’t refillable, but I liked that refills are available at Sanchaejip.