Oneuldong in Gunja-dong, a decent bowl of Tendong but lacking 2% to be a 'Gourmet Restaurant'

Previous Next

I visited a Tendong place called ‘Oneuldong’ while looking for a meal near Gunja-dong. I usually love Tendong so much that I visit any new place I see, so I was curious about this one. Instead of fancy modifiers, I want to write down exactly what I tasted and felt, and the parts I found lacking.

Oneuldong Ebi-Tendong Composition and First Impressions

#

After ordering Ebi-Tendong, I first checked the condition of the fries. Overall, the batter was not too thick and coated well, so the texture itself was quite crispy. In particular, I felt that the shrimp and shishito peppers were fried just right to bring out their natural flavors.

Surprisingly, the most memorable thing was the ‘Fried Seaweed’. Usually, seaweed in Tendong is often bland, but here it seemed like they used seasoned seaweed? It had a slightly salty taste and was very crispy. I really enjoyed the fried seaweed. It was also a good point that the batter didn’t get soggy immediately even though sauce was sprinkled on it, maintaining its crispiness.

Disappointing Harmony of Onsen Tamago and Sauce

#

Personally, I think the standard for delicious Tendong is a sauce (tare) with a good balance of sweet and salty, and an Onsen Tamago that spreads softly when mixed with rice. However, these parts were a bit disappointing in Oneuldong’s composition.

First off, the Onsen Tamago should have the white and yolk burst softly to coat the rice, but here it was closer to just a standard ‘soft-boiled egg’. The white remained in chunks so it didn’t mix well with the rice, and the texture became somewhat sticky. On top of that, the sauce itself wasn’t strong and was quite ordinary, so the result felt like eating bland soy sauce egg rice. If you expected the deep savory flavor unique to Tendong, this part could be a bit disappointing.

Texture and Moisture Control of Fried Pumpkin

#

The part of the composition that made me tilt my head the most was the fried pumpkin (kabocha, sweet pumpkin). I don’t know if the frying time was too short or if the ingredient itself had too much moisture, but it felt too mushy when chewed.

Rather than the feeling of pumpkin juices bursting inside a crispy batter, it felt unpleasantly watery, like eating just boiled vegetables rather than fried ones. It’s important for Tendong to appropriately remove the moisture from each ingredient to bring out the flavor, but such detail seemed lacking in the pumpkin.

Oneuldong Tendong Overall Review

#

Overall, Oneuldong’s Ebi-Tendong can be summarized as “a decent taste you can eat anywhere”. The crispiness of the fries and the charm of the fried seaweed are definitely there, but there are clear regrets in terms of the sauce taste, the cooking state of the egg, and moisture management of ingredients, which determine the completeness of Tendong.

It might be a not bad choice for a light meal in Gunja-dong, but it seems a bit of a stretch to expect a ’life restaurant’ worth traveling far for or high quality. I thought it was a decent place to visit without high expectations when you crave Tendong sometimes.