In Buddhism, eating food is part of the process of reaching enlightenment. Balwoo Gongyang honors the Buddhist tradition of Korea’s unique traditional food. Since it was opened in 2009, this Buddhist cuisine restaurant received one Michelin star for three years from 2017 to 2019, contributing greatly to popularizing temple food, which had been more or less unknown outside of Korea. The restaurant has been offering simple yet exquisite monastic dishes made of fresh organic ingredients and temple-made gochujang (chili pepper paste), doenjang (soybean paste), and ganjang (soy sauce), with zero animal protein. The traditional recipes passed down from the ancient temple combined with healthy ingredients create a mild yet distinctively savory flavor.
* This column was last updated in November 2022, and therefore information may differ from what is presented here. We advise you to check details before visiting.
