Seongnam Korean restaurant for a kids’ seafood rice dinner: Morang

Dad takes the subway from Bokjeong Station to work every morning. Knowing that, the twins sometimes ask, “Where is Dad’s office?” “It’s at Jungja Station~” Then come the next questions right away: “Where is Jungja Station?” “Is it far? Is it close?” Hahaha. I’d only ever explained it in words, but today I decided to make the effort and go see Jungja Station, where Dad’s office is, in person.

Just like Dad does on his commute, we took the bus to Bokjeong Station, then the subway to Jungja Station~ I thought it was close, but going there with the kids took almost an hour. “Dad goes all this way to work every morning for us.” We talked about that as we waited outside Dad’s office, and the twins ran toward him the moment they spotted him! Dad seemed a little embarrassed since we were right in front of his office, hahaha, but it made me so happy to watch. The touching moment was short-lived, though... Our son had been making a huge fuss, “I’m hungry~ I’m hungry~,” even before Dad arrived 🤣 We’d met Dad, so now it was time for a delicious dinner!

Morang Haemul Sotbap near Jungja Station

The place Mom chose today was Morang Haemul Sotbap!

It is close to Jungja Station and near the café street, so even on my first visit I had no trouble finding it.

Inside, the wood-toned interior and warm lighting came together for an overall calm, cozy atmosphere. We had booked ahead before visiting.

The moment they saw the table we were shown to, the twins said, “Mom! It looks like a house!” Hahaha. It really does look like a roof, doesn’t it?

The table was spacious and felt slightly separated from the other seats, which made dining with the kids comfortable.

A menu with sotbap, jeon, and bar snacks

Since it was dinner, we ordered sotbap (rice cooked in an individual pot), but there was also a wide selection of jeon (savory Korean pancakes), bar snacks, and makgeolli (Korean rice wine). It looked like a nice place both for a family meal and for having a light drink over dinner with friends. We ordered three dishes: octopus-scallop sotbap, seafood sotbap, and soy sauce shrimp with butter rice!

The staff first asked whether there were any ingredients they should leave out of the children’s food. For the octopus-scallop sotbap the kids would eat, I asked them to remove anything spicy if there was any. It felt thoughtful that they noticed we had children with us and took care of that first.

While waiting for our food, our son showed us a picture he had drawn at daycare. When did you pull this out? Hahaha. The front shows rain falling while they were camping, and he said the back is a picture of our family... “Where’s Dad?” “Dad went to buy candy. I’ll draw him when we get home.” Hahahahaha. Dad is busy even in the drawing.

Octopus-scallop sotbap, seafood sotbap, and soy sauce shrimp butter rice

At last, the sotbap arrived!! First of all, it passed the visual test. Hahaha. With all three dishes on the table, they looked so appetizing with the generous pile of seafood on top.

All three were delicious, but... you really have to order the octopus-scallop sotbap. Hahaha. It came loaded with big pieces of octopus and scallops, and our son said, “Mom, give me octopus!” the second he saw it. Hahaha.

I served the kids first, and they picked out the octopus, scallops, and other seafood so quickly 🤣 Since they were eating only seafood, I mixed up the sotbap and wrapped it in gim (roasted seaweed). This time, they said the rice was delicious too and ate it well.

I couldn’t quite get a proper photo of the eating faces, but those hands were busy, right? Hahaha.

Seafood sotbap and soy sauce shrimp butter rice

The seafood sotbap also had oysters underneath, with several kinds of seafood on top, so it looked appetizing before we even tasted it. Once I mixed it up, the seasoning was well blended into the rice itself, so it was delicious even while I gave the seafood to the kids. But the twins ate seafood so well... Dad had ordered seafood sotbap, but it felt like he was just eating plain sotbap, hahaha.

Still, Mom made sure to eat the soy sauce shrimp too. 🤣

Each of the three dishes had its own appeal, so they were great for sharing a little of everything, and once again we enjoyed every last bite. Still, if I had to choose just one again, it would be the octopus-scallop sotbap! I think I’d order that again next time. :)

High chairs, children’s tableware, and parking with four-year-olds

When you go to a restaurant with children, things that matter just as much as the taste are whether there is food they can eat, whether they can sit comfortably, and whether parking is available. When we visited Morang Haemul Sotbap, high chairs and children’s tableware were available, and we could share the sotbap with the kids after asking for spicy ingredients to be removed. The reserved table we used was spacious and slightly separated from the surrounding area, so it was comfortable for dining with our four-year-old twins. Parking was free for three hours with a meal.

Lately, as I visit new restaurants, I’ve been realizing that taste matters, but the atmosphere of the space matters so much too when you are going with children. Talking over the meal about what happened at daycare that day and what it was like to come all the way to Dad’s office made it feel like we enjoyed the food even more.

This place must be really busy at lunchtime.

Hahaha. To sum up how I felt in one sentence, it is a good place to have delicious food and take your time talking over a meal with family or friends. For the twins, who had been curious about where Dad’s office was, it will probably be remembered as the day they traveled Dad’s daily commute themselves; for Mom, it will be remembered as an evening of delicious sotbap and conversation with the family. :)

Hours and parking

• Mon–Fri 11:00–21:30 / break time 15:00–17:00
• Saturday 11:30–21:30 / break time 15:00–17:00
• Sunday 11:30–15:00 / closed for dinner
• Last dinner order: 20:40
• Parking available / free for 3 hours with a meal