Seven panchan, six of them vegetarian. Can you spot the odd one out?
Looks alone don't offer much of a clue, but the texture offered a hint, and a diner at the next table provided the I.D.: The orange shreds are sweet-and-spicy dried cuttlefish. The Kunjip, as do many Korean restaurants, brought a full spread of these free side dishes to my two-top even though I was dining solo. Between the panchan and my soondae guk ($9.95), a substantial soup featuring chunks of the namesake blood sausage (soondae), tied bundles of buckwheat vermicelli, and whole perilla leaves, lunch turned into my big meal of the day.
The Kunjip
32 West 32nd St. (Broadway-Fifth Ave.), Manhattan
212-216-9487
www.Kunjip.net
(Note: Previously, at its old digs down the block, the restaurant was known simply as Kunjip. Its website still lists the former name and address.)
