All Banchan Dining
Banchan, or side dish, is ubiquitous in Korean dining experience. The sheer variety is breathtaking. When you order grilled beef, for example, before the grill is even hot, your table will be filled with numerous little dishes of delectable kimchi, vegetables, seafood, salad, noodles, and etc. Sometimes I got full before the mains arrive.
Nowadays, there are many restaurants that specialize in banchan only menu. Customers pay a fixed price of between 10 - 20 U S dollars per head, and are served a table full of side dishes, sometimes up to 40 of them, and refill is possible. At the height of its popularity, certain restaurants boast of serving more than 100 side dishes per table. That went away after complaints of food wastage. Here is an example of a moderate banchan meal, about 12 U.S. dollars.
