Mukjung — Restaurant in Seoul

The best meal we had in Seoul for our anniversary dinner. Truly truly underrated which is why I feel so compelled to share our experience.

They’ve managed to put a modern and unique spin on Korean food, elevating it while still staying true to traditional ingredients. The food is made with special fermented pastes (Jang) Chef Austin developed in Jeju — you get to taste it before the meal starts!

After the meal, we couldn’t help but order ANOTHER main course because everything was SO delicious. (Definitely get the abalone rice!)

The staff were VERY surprised and asked if weren’t full 😅 We said we were full, but just wanted to give the pork a try.

No regrets — the pork was incredibly flavourful with a lovely crisp surface and melt in your mouth middle. Went so well with all the ssam and kimchi.

Note that all their kimchi is incredibly unique to the restaurant, and unlike those served anywhere else e.g. kale kimchi, coriander kimchi…

Even the ssam was a different assortment of veggies from the usual, and each leaf was so fresh and perfect 👌🏼

The staff were very kind and did their best explaining the dishes to us in English.

Chef Austin himself came to check if the food was okay during the meal, but what truly left an impression was when we bumped into him again while leaving the restaurant.

Chef asked what our plans were and basically spent time recommending a suitable spot for us to go after.

He personally called a nearby bar he liked, to get us on the waitlist. It was eventually too full for us to enter but we appreciated the thought so much :)

Thanks Austin and Mukjung team! We’d never get this level of food and service at this price point...

Had an amazing experience at Mukjung, from the staff, the atmosphere, the food, to even the drinks, everything was on point. The chef, Austin, made sure to explain every single dish to us, including even the side dishes, it really showed his passion for the food and the restaurant. I loved the focus on healthy, fermented dishes, it was my first time trying this type of fermented dining and it was all delicious. We tried so many different dishes and I recommend all of them, but if I had to choose my favorites, it would be the 5-layered Pork belly, Abalone rice, and the shaved ice. The kombucha to start was also great, and I really enjoyed the Ellyeop Pyunjoo (fermented rice wine), it paired along well with all the food. If you are in Seoul, I definitely recommend visiting Mukjung, you...

Amazing unique experiential small class & fabulous dinner. Focus on Korean fermentation food paired with delicious seafood, meat, vegetables - how they are part of the return to traditional healthy foods and away from ultraprocessed foods. Chef Austin Kang and his team gave a hands-on class to make three recipes to take home. This was followed by an incredible curated 6-7 multicourse dinner- shiitaki mushroom shrimp, horned conch escargot, sea bass, 4-6 hour smoked pork belly, brisket, shaved ice with red bean paired with Jae Park's soju, and many more fermented vegetables such as 5 yr kimchee. We ate every last bite! The entire experience exceeded our expectations. Very limited exclusive event with lots of personal...