restaurant review #6: 명동교자 (myeondgong kyoja)
the start of epic food coverage.
an introduction
well, well, well! look who’s finally not jet lagged and gotten more than 3 hours of sleep. it’s me! hopefully y’all didn’t miss simmer with sally too much the last couple of weeks while i was gallivanting my silly ass around korea - but it’s ok if you did.
originally, i thought i was going to have time to write while on my trip. but if you know anything about me and my virgo ass, it’s that i try to do The Most on trips - and if you’re out from 8am to 10pm most days for 2 weeks straight, you just might not really have any fucking time to do anything. so here we are.
let me give you all a quick little breakdown on what the next couple of weeks are going to look like re: korea food content.
NOTE: for these reviews, i will be referencing most food items in korean, with the first reference of food items including an English translation and description of the food item. this food deserves its full respect in korean, i hope y’all understand.
this week: a review on a michelin bib gourmand spot
next week: a review on some scrummy grilled abalone and abalone potted rice
the week after: an ode to korean barbecue
the week after that: miscellaneous food recommendations around seoul, suwon, gyeongju, and busan
there may be an additional food review (or two) in future weeks that’s added on top of the korea content, but i haven’t decided yet. if it’s worth writing about (good or not), you bet your ass that you’ll be hearing from me more than once in the next few weeks.
so this week, the spotlight is on 명동교자 (myeondgong kyoja), a michelin bib gourmand spot in the heart of 명동 (myeongdong), THE shopping area in seoul.
before we start, a quick reminder on how my food reviews are structured:
a quick, 5-sentence review that summarizes my entire experience, along with a numerical rating out of 5
a more detailed, in-depth review that spills ~all~ the tea
cool? cool.
the tl;dr 5 sentence review
명동교자 is a restaurant focused on 칼국수 (knife-cut noodles in hot broth) and 만두 (dumplings) in the myeongdong neighborhood of seoul, south korea. sometimes, you can’t help but wonder if a michelin reviewed spot is overrated, but holy shit. the first slurp of the 칼국수 and bite into the 만두 made it clear why 명동교자 deserves its place on the bib gourmand list. this restaurant is also picky eater approved - a huge win! if you can get the timing right on eating here, it’s a no-brainer nosh spot.
rating: 4.8/5
the hot and juicy deets
before we get into the nitty gritty today, it’s important to note that 명동교자 is a michelin bib gourmand spot, and NOT a michelin starred restaurant. you can find more information on what the different ratings mean here on the michelin website, but for the tl;dr - the michelin bib gourmand honor is given to restaurants that offer damn good food for not a lot of $, and must be priced below a maximum amount determined by local standards. this list allows folks interested in food to explore incredible locations without declaring bankruptcy trying to pay for a meal. given how good this restaurant was, a shoutout on the bib gourmand list definitely doesn’t seem like a consolation prize by any means.
with that out of the way, let’s get into what y’all came for.
the reservation.
명동교자 does not have a reservation system available. yep, you read that right. this spot is in-person, first-come first-serve only. and trust me, if you try to come here at normal eating times, you’re going to be shit out of luck waiting in line for a minute.
troy and i walked past this spot on a few different occasions while shopping in the area, and without fail, there was a huge ass queue of people waiting every single time. we decided to bide our time and strike at the right moment. we struck gold on a rainy saturday at around 3:30pm. we were seated right away, but on the 2nd floor (the 1st floor was popping off with customers). even without a wait, tables were full and there was a steady stream of patrons coming in and out of this joint our entire time there.
the location, getting there, and accessibility.
명동교자 is located right in the heart of all things shopping in myeongdong, right off the main street area filled with stores and food street vendors. troy and i were lucky to be staying close by (in fact, you can see our hotel on the map - nine tree premier hotel, myeongdong ii) so for the most part, we were embarking on a 10 minute walk whenever we wanted to be in this general area.
if your hotel isn’t close by, or if you’re traveling in, i would strongly suggest using public transpo. yes, again, you read that right. seoul has one of the best public transportation systems in the entire world - it’s clean, expansive, and efficient as hell. and if you take a peek on the map, there’s plenty of bus and metro stops that will get you pretty damn close to the restaurant. the closest metro stop is the myeondong stop (though 명동교자 is only a short walk away from either euljiro 1 or euljiro 3), and there’s bus stops aplenty (the 100, 101, 103, 104, 105, 140, 143, 421, 463, 471, 472, 507, 6000, 6015 stop nearby just to start).
unfortunately, the issue here is accessibility. 명동교자 is located in a tight and narrow alley that’s incredibly pedestrian dense that would make it hard for anyone who isn’t able-bodied and / or in a car to navigate. it’s slightly claustrophobic no matter what time of day you’re walking around this area, but it’s even worse at night when the food market is in full swing, so just beware.
the vibes.
명동교자’s overall vibe and aesthetic reminds me of no-frills, no-nonsense korean food spots i used to frequent with my parents and family growing up. their decor and overall vibe’s retro (in a good way). i know i’ve knocked food spots in previous reviews for not doing enough with the vibe, but all rules go out the window i guess when you’re coming to eat at a bib gourmand spot. here, i almost liked the fact that there wasn’t much to look at around the restaurant, because it would have most certainly taken away from the amazing food. speaking of….
the food, price point, and value.
the menu, price point, and value.
the menu at 명동교자 is simple. there’s only 4 menu items that you can choose from:
칼국수: kalguksu, or knife-cut noodles. this is a signature dish item at 명동교자. it comes in a chicken-based broth, topped with ground beef and smaller pieces of 만두.
만두: mandu, or korean-style dumplings. this is another signature item here. one order gets you 10 plump ones filled to the brim with pork, veg, and sesame oil.
비빔국수: bibimguksu, wheat noodles that come with a spicy sauce (made of soy sauce and 고추장, spicy pepper paste) with cucumber garnish
콩국수: kongguksu, a cold wheat noodle dish with soy broth and cucumber garnish. this menu item is offered only during the warmer months.
price point and value may be the best here out of all of the spots reviewed thus far on simmer with sally. our entire meal came to a grand total of ₩23,000 (~$17 in USD at the time of writing). yeah. 10 mouthwateringly meaty, juicy, bigass dumplings and a huge delish bowl of noodles for under $20. my wallet was incredibly pleased.
troy and i ended up ordering the 칼국수 and 만두 to keep things simple. our food came out expeditiously (i’m talking maybe a 5 minute wait, maybe less) with 김치 on the side.
the 김치 (kimchi).
i didn’t know this at the time of my visit, but it turns out that 명동교자’s 김치 is pretty renowned for its unique taste. i definitely liked it, but don’t know if i would say i outright loved it? the 김치 here is overwhelmingly garlicky, and spicier than most kimchi i’ve personally had. the added garlic flavors were incredible (coming from a garlic heaux like myself) and went well with the food items we ordered, but the spiciness got to me after a while and made my personal experience eating it less enjoyable. :-(
the 칼국수 (knife-cut noodles).
i took charge of the 칼국수 and made it my bitch. pro tip on how to eat this bowl: start with the dumpling garnish in the bowl. then eat the noodles, broth, and 김치 together. if you have any leftover broth, ask for rice (it’s free!) and mix in the rice with the broth to finish everything off. you won’t regret it.
oh my god. NUT. i nut everywhere eating this. similar to the 김치, this dish is very different here from other 칼국수 dishes i’ve had. first, the chicken broth is different in a really, really good way. she’s got depth. she’s got range. she’s thicccccc. she’s packin’ that flavor. most importantly, the broth didn’t taste overwhelmingly of flour (many 칼국수 places add flour to thicken up the broth, but i have a feeling they cook the noodles with the broth here so that things thickens up a little more naturally). i’ve never seen darker colored broth before with 칼국수 and was a bit hesitant to try it at first, but by the end, i was fiending for more. the noodles themselves were also superb. perfectly cooked and delightfully soft with some chew. they were also incredibly slurpable, and slurp i did. the garnish of smaller 만두 and the ground beef was also yum af - it added a lot of additional fun textures and flavors you don’t get with the noodles and soup!
the 만두 (dumplings).
troy absolutely bodied these bad boys and gave them a huge thumbs up. this is what all 만두 dreams should be made of. first, they’re fucking beautiful to look at - they look like heads of cabbage with impressive folds to keep everything held together in the wrapper. second, they’re absolutely fucking bodacious in both size AND flavor. everything was perfectly cooked, and blended together harmoniously between the meat, vegetables, and sesame oil. third, the ratio of wrapper to filling is just right. the filling is nice and thin, but substantial enough that you get both the taste and texture combined with the filling. all of this is a perfect storm for a literal flavor explosion in your mouth.
the one thing troy did not like as much (that i personally did) was the marinated soy sauce that accompanied the dumplings (self-serve, with a bottle of the sauce located right on your table). he said he would have preferred it with regular soy sauce, but i personally disagree. i think the slight acidity and spice from the soy sauce really complimented the rich, non-spicy flavors in the 만두.
the drinks.
nothing of note here, because both troy and i had some good ol’ water for our meal. we wanted to focus on the food because it was so widely raved / talked about. the water was waterin’, though. nice, fresh, crisp, clean. we love h2o!
the service.
the food service here was a mix of both human and machine. the one word that come to mind when it comes to the service here is efficient. you pay for your full meal before you even receive it, and your meal comes out. fast. on these robo waiters that call out your order number. dayum. it was actually really cool to see how the machine knew exactly where we were sitting, though i will say it was a bit surreal seeing this kind of tech at the restaurant. like many restaurants in korea, utensils and water were all self-serve (water is given to you in a carafe with some cups, and utensils and tissues are located in table side drawers).
the human servers here are polite, but don’t have much time for pleasantries because of just how many people are eating at the restaurant at all times. if you’re able to cut the shit and get right to the point and eat as efficiently as possible, you’ll have a good time here.
a conclusion
and with that, we come to a close on part 1 of our korean food review extravaganza. what did you think of this review? does this make you want to hop on a flight to check this spot out? let me know in the comments.
next week…. seafood time.
if you liked what you read, please consider sharing the word on my substack with those who you know would enjoy it.
love, sally
the 만두 (dumplings) were FIRE
incredible seal of approval from you, troy!