You think it's been cold here this winter? You should try spending some time over on the Korean Peninsula. Those bitter gales from Siberia take no prisoners. Not to worry -- as long as you're somewhere with under-floor ondol heating and plenty of that chili-laden food, you'll survive. You may even enjoy it, if you can access a regular supply of nourishing kamjatang stew, the way they make it at Sonamu.

Wind chill may be less of a factor in the back streets of Ebisu, but the appetizing aroma of garlic and chili that hits your nostrils well before you arrive at Sonamu is no less welcome for that. Simple, no-frills country cooking is the name of the game here, and the bright, friendly farmhouse decor puts you in the right frame of mind straight away.

Rough-hewn planks and rustic wooden doors mark the entrance. One wall of the dining room has been given the daubed-mud look, not with the understated refinement of a Japanese tea house but using a coarse mixture of chaff, straw and barnyard grit. Clusters of garlic and dried sweet corn hang in the corners, sandals and bags of woven straw adorn the far wall, next to a women's chogori jacket. A haphazard arrangement of bamboo rods covers much of the ceiling.