Mokmyeoksanbang — Restaurant in Seoul

Overall, had a satisfying lunch here! Recommend their acorn jelly salad + kimchee cheese pancake. Their acorn jelly’s consistency is uber creamy & on the denser side (the mouthfeel was similar to rich Cuban flan I had before), and no discernible aftertaste. There was a good balance of mild heat from the pre-mixed gochujang salad dressing + refreshing crunchy cucumbers, carrots, white onion slices, and Korean lettuce in the acorn jelly’s salad too. Their kimchee pancake was crispy on the outside with oodles of soft gooey cheese (probably mozzarella) on the inside. My only regret is that I didn’t try to try to eat this stellar combo as a self-hand-made pizza (ie top a slice of kimchee cheese pancake w/ the acorn jelly’s salad). I think it would have had a great synergy in textures and flavors all in one bite. But since I was worried eating this combination pizza-style might be a bit messy, I settled and used a spoon to eat of a bit cheesy pancake + acorn salad with each eat bite. It was wonderful. On the other hand, the chicken and poached egg bibimbap was not as notable. It was fine, but didn’t have much outstanding features taste-wise. The pumpkin dessert soup was also fine (ie 50-50 chance I’d order it again). Mini tip: napkins can be found either near the self serve tea/water dispenser or in the side drawer under your table. Also, this restaurant is on a hill-so if you’re walking here from Myeongdong station you’ll likely get a bit of a workout going uphill. Or you could probably take exit 9 of the Myeongdong station, where a bunch of taxi’s are lined up in front of the L7 hotel and ask to take a short ride or just taxi over from your original destination. The walk down to down tho is a relatively easy & short 10 min walk to the Myeongdong station. Lastly, I believe their last order for dinner is 7:20 pm (although they close at 8). Food came out pretty quick on a Monday lunch...

Mokmyeoksanbang was definitely worth that 15 minute uphill trek to the restaurant (no big deal if you are accustomed to the South Korean walking culture). I ordered the traditional Bibimbap and the Kimchi/Mozzarella pancake. The Bibimbap was wonderful, freshly made ingredients and a refreshing quality with the view of the mountains nearby adding a calming quality.

The wait time was pretty long, I suggest arriving 2-3 hours before closing time, especially with a larger group, to allow for enough time to order and eat before they close. The staff seemed a bit overworked and verklempt about the crowds. They did have a variety of linguistic expertise and I was able to speak in English/Spanish/Korean to order my food. It is very popular, the line was out of the door when I arrived and I waited about 25 minutes to put in my order. It was worth the wait and it is something to keep in mind with the sweltering summer heat.

As a solo traveller and eater, the atmosphere was comfortable inside and it was a very lively, international scene. I did feel a bit rushed as there were so many people waiting to get into the restaurant - I wish there were more 1-2 person seating arrangements. All in all, I would highly recommend adding this to your Seoul...

Hardly a Michelin star experience

Had to order from a self serve kiosk with buzzers

Staff look angry and detached

We didn’t get to try the items that we went for, since they were out of food

We went for the vegetarian options and the only thing on the menu was bibimbap which they had precooked

So that’s what we ordered

They quickly spooned out some cold veggies and rice and we collected it like a school cafeteria

The staff were inattentive, and cold, it felt like they didn’t want us there

It was not Michelin star bibimbap nor was it a high end experience

But the price was pretty cheap

I’ve had much better food and service already from other vegetarian restaurants in Seoul with far less clout

We went to order more of their soft boiled eggs (which are served cold) at 6:30, but they had turned off their self serve kiosk

We travelled to eat here and this is the experience we received

At the end of our meal the server walked over to tell me to with a straight unfriendly look to clean up our trays and put them on their used tray shelf - she then promptly ran back to the kitchen

Perhaps the Michelin star is from years ago and they now just use that for...