Korean restaurant with a self-serve bar on Musinsa 4F, Seongsu: Dwaeji

Where is Dwaeji Gomtang House? Musinsa Mega Store, 4th floor

Hi, this is Chamsae. Today I went to Hau, a Seongsu restaurant I found while checking out the new Musinsa Mega Store in Seongsu. It was a bit of a surprise to learn there was a restaurant on the 4th floor of Musinsa Mega Store at all.

From the 1st to the 3rd floor, Musinsa Mega Store has pop-up stores, the Musinsa Beauty store, and Musinsa clothing shops, so it was really crowded and pretty chaotic.

But once I got up to the 4th floor, the mood completely changed. It was already a bit surprising that there was a restaurant up there, and maybe because it isn't well known yet, the 4th floor was more quiet than I expected. If you're shopping in Seongsu and looking for somewhere calm to eat, this could be a good option.

Finding the Hau counter and what the food garden looks like

Once you enter the food garden on the 4th floor, Hau's storefront is to the left. Maybe because it's freshly built, the whole space felt clean and pleasant. Here are some overall shots of the food garden interior!

The self-serve area was well kept, and I was especially surprised by how nice the water cups were! Honestly, when a self-serve corner like this is clean, it kind of puts you in a good mood even before the food arrives, haha. Being inside Musinsa Mega Store, I expected it to be chaotic, but once I actually got up to the 4th floor, I could eat at an easy pace.

What we ordered: two clear gomtang and a minari-tot king mandu

We ordered two Hau clear gomtang and a minari-tot king mandu.

The clear gomtang came out first! True to its name, the broth was really clear and clean-tasting, a light gukbap (soup with rice).

The tot (seaweed fusiforme) on top was the subtle hook of this gukbap. Having tot sitting on top gave the soup an interesting texture, a bit different from the usual gukbap I'm used to.

The real hook: side gochuji in the clear broth

But I think the real hook of the gomtang was somewhere else entirely. It was the side sauce served with it — gochujji (spicy pickled chili)!

It's a bit like dadaegi (chili paste condiment) in feel — take a spoonful of the gukbap, add a little gochujji on top, and the flavor completely changes. Adding a touch of that sauce to the clear, plain broth wipes away any greasy feeling. So at first I just thought it was a plain clear gukbap, but after trying it with the gochujji, I was like 'oh?' haha.

The banchan lineup at Dwaeji Gomtang House

The side dishes that came with it were also really good. It's a dish that reminds me of the dried radish served with bossam (boiled pork wraps), and I kept going back for more. A spoonful of gukbap followed by a bite of that dried radish thing made a pretty good combo. There's also salted shrimp and a dessert orange on top of that!

A palm-sized minari-tot king mandu

And then the minari-tot king mandu! I understood right away why 'king' is in the name. The dumpling was really quite large — basically palm-sized, and I was surprised at how much bigger it was than I expected, haha.

With minari (water dropwort) and tot inside, it felt different from a regular meat mandu. And because of the size, just a few of them are pretty filling. So if you're visiting with two or three people, ordering one gomtang per person plus an extra king mandu to share seems like a good combo — you'd end up eating more generously than expected.

Verdict: shopping at Musinsa and dinner in one stop

Hau is on the 4th floor of the newly opened Musinsa Mega Store in Seongsu, so it's a convenient spot to eat while shopping. Floors 1 through 3 were crowded and a bit hectic, but the 4th floor was relatively quiet, which actually let us eat at a relaxed pace.

If you're looking for clean Korean food in Seongsu instead of the usual barbecue joints or cafés, this is worth a visit. If you like clear, light gukbap, I'd recommend the gomtang, and if you're visiting with a group, adding the king mandu makes for a filling meal :) It could be a nice course to shop at Musinsa Mega Store and then handle dinner on the 4th floor too.