Gangseo Korean restaurant 2-person set with soy crab: Mikodam

Lately when I eat out, sometimes I crave a proper Korean spread with lots of neat side dishes rather than meat or heavy, spicy food. This time I went to Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch. It's a place where you can enjoy a whole table full of Korean dishes centered on seaweed soup and cockles. I ordered the Full Table 2-Person Set and came back stuffed after beef seaweed soup, soy-marinated crab, and vinegared cockles.

The side dishes come in a wide variety, and the restaurant even has private rooms that are great for family gatherings or birthday meals — a solid pick if you're looking for a Korean restaurant near Balsan Station or somewhere to bring your parents.

Location and parking at Mikodam Magok-Balsan, a Balsan Station favorite

Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch is easy to reach from both Balsan Station and Magok. The restaurant itself is clean, and the space is set up well for groups. One thing that's especially nice if you're driving: according to the store, there's free parking for up to 77 cars in the 4-story parking building right next door.

What about reservations and rooms?

The interior is neatly kept and set up for everything from a regular meal to a large group gathering. Reservations are available for groups of 4 or more, and open seating is handled first-come, first-served based on reservation time. If you'd like something more private, you can also book one of the rooms through a separate reservation option.

When you think of Mikodam, seaweed soup and cockles are the first things that come to mind. You can enjoy seaweed soup along with cockles and a variety of other Korean dishes, and if you want to try a bit of everything, ordering a set menu is a good idea.

Mikodam's menu board

What we chose that day was the Full Table 2-Person Set! We ordered beef seaweed soup along with soy-marinated crab and vinegared cockles.

A table that's truly full of side dishes

As the dishes started coming out one by one, the table filled up fast. The main menu items are varied, but the basic side dish lineup is quite substantial too. When I visited, the table was set with fresh greens salad, jeyuk (spicy stir-fried pork), three types of namul including bracken fern and mung bean sprouts, kimchi, and japchae.

With mackerel, jeyuk, and japchae all served as basic side dishes, you could practically finish a bowl of rice on the side dishes alone!

There were several kinds of namul, which were great to pair with rice one at a time, and eating fresh greens or namul between the main dishes made the whole table feel even more varied.

Grilled mackerel

The mackerel was grilled golden on the outside with moist flesh inside, making it a great match for rice.

Piling the mackerel flesh onto warm rice and mixing in namul or fresh greens here and there made for a hearty meal, just like home cooking.

Warm, hearty beef seaweed soup

Coming to Mikodam, you can't skip the seaweed soup. We went with the beef seaweed soup.

Eating rice with the piping hot seaweed soup was filling, and the broth, rich with seaweed and beef, went well alongside the other side dishes too.

Rice-thief soy-marinated crab

Next up, soy-marinated crab. Scooping the crab meat onto warm rice with a bit of the soy sauce marinade, I finally got why people call ganjang gejang a "rice thief."

Eating it alongside the beef seaweed soup also mellowed out the crab's saltiness nicely. Pairing it with namul or fresh greens one at a time meant even the same bowl of rice could be enjoyed in many different combinations.

Vinegared cockles, with a charm all their own

The springy cockles combined with crunchy vegetables and a tangy sauce really reset your palate at the table. After eating something richer like jeyuk or soy crab, the tangy vinegared cockles brought my appetite right back.

An egg roll on top, thanks to the review event

If you're visiting, definitely check the review event too. When I went, taking part in the review event got me an egg roll.

The full-table set alone was already generous, but adding a thick egg roll on top meant there was truly no empty space left on the table.

The egg roll wasn't heavily seasoned, so it fit in nicely between bolder dishes like the vinegared cockles or soy crab. Event details are subject to change, so double-check with the store when you visit!

Dessert rounds it off perfectly

For dessert, they had warm roasted corn tea ready too.

Such a nice touch, right? haha

There was also plum tea, sikhye (sweet rice punch), and coffee. Visiting in person, I realized this is a fine spot for a light meal for two, but it has even more advantages when you come as a family or bigger group. There's free parking, high chairs are ready, there's a room for 6 or more, and group seating for up to 20. Corkage is allowed too, according to the store, so it seems like a great place to come for a slightly special family gathering!