Sejong Thai restaurant with generous bun cha noodles: Mekong Thai

I don't know why I've been craving rice noodles so much lately haha. Over the past two weeks I've eaten rice noodles a whopping 4 times.. weirdly I kept thinking about that plain noodle with salty broth 🥹 Thanks to that, my boyfriend has been forced to eat Thai food with me nonstop these days 😂

This time I looked for a rice noodle place in Naseong-dong, Sejong and ended up at Mekong Thai Sejong Naseong Branch! I had no idea Sejong had so many good rice noodle spots, but after trying this place, it was one of the few Sejong rice noodle restaurants I'd actually rank highly 👍🏻 Especially since you can get bun cha (Vietnamese grilled pork with noodles), spicy seafood pad thai, cha gio (Vietnamese fried spring rolls) and fresh spring rolls all in one visit, so I think it's worth a try if you like Thai food :)

Parking and atmosphere at Mekong Thai Sejong Naseong Branch

Mekong Thai Sejong Naseong Branch is on the 2nd floor of the NS Building in Naseong-dong, so it was easy to arrange to meet nearby for a meal, and above all, the building's underground parking lot was spacious so I didn't have to worry about parking even though I drove ☺️ Parking is often a low-key concern when looking for restaurants in Naseong-dong, but here you're unlikely to stress about it while heading to eat!

Walking in, the inside was bigger than I expected!! With wood tables and an interior using green, yellow and black, the whole space felt warm yet had a slightly exotic, Thailand-like vibe 🇹🇭

The tables were spaced generously and there was even a room-like separated space that could seat 6 to 8 people, which looked good for family meals out or group gatherings 👍🏻

Tea, side dishes, menu range, and QR ordering

At Mekong Thai Sejong Naseong Branch, once you sit down they bring a teapot and cups first, along with side dishes of pickled radish and pickled onion. Ordering is done via the table QR code, which made it easy to see the whole menu at once.

As soon as we sat down, they brought over the teapot and cups first!

I wasn't exactly sure what kind of tea it was, but the subtle aroma was nice and having a cup before the meal felt like it whetted my appetite

The side dishes were pickled radish and pickled onion, and the tangy pickled onion actually went quite well with the Thai food! Since the food overall tends to be rich in flavor, snacking on the tangy onion in between kept my palate feeling clean 👍🏻

Mekong Thai Sejong Naseong Branch really had a wide variety of menu items — from basic rice noodles to Thai-style dishes like bun cha and stir-fried morning glory, plus stir-fried noodles, fried rice, fresh spring rolls, cha gio and spring rolls as side menus, there were more options than I expected! So it seemed like a good fit even for people who came just for rice noodles but ended up wanting to share several dishes 😆

Ordering was done by scanning the QR code on the table with your phone, checking the menu, and ordering right away, which made it convenient to see everything at once — and if using a phone to order is difficult, they said you can also look at the menu board and ask staff to order for you!

That day we deliberated for a while and ended up ordering bun cha + spicy seafood pad thai + the Mekong Set! The Mekong Set came with goi cuon (fresh spring rolls), cha gio, shrimp, crab, and sweet potato rolls. Actually, I'd had an experience at another place where the bun cha noodle portion was too small, so I ordered extra noodles right from the start... and to cut to the chase... that was totally my mistake haha...

Skip the extra noodles with bun cha — the base portion is generous

The bun cha at Mekong Thai Sejong Naseong Branch already comes with a huge base portion of noodles, so extra noodles weren't necessary at all. The meat is plentiful too, and it comes with cha gio and vegetables.

The food came out faster than I expected!

The first thing that came out was the bun cha, and the moment it arrived I genuinely went 'oh no...' haha because I had ordered extra noodles, but the default noodle portion was already way more than I expected 😭

Not just the noodles but the meat portion was generous too, and it came with cha gio and vegetables, so looking at the extra noodles I'd ordered, I instantly regretted it 😂 It would have been plenty even without ordering extra from the start..

The bun cha sauce had a tangy, fresh style with added saltiness 🌿 Dipping the noodles fully in the sauce and topping them with meat made for a really great combination. Eating a bit of vegetable alongside kept it from feeling greasy and I kept wanting more! I'd been eating nothing but beef brisket pho lately, so choosing bun cha this time turned out to be a great decision!! If you're looking for a Sejong rice noodle restaurant and want something a bit different, I'd recommend the bun cha too!

If you like spicy, go for the spicy seafood pad thai

The spicy seafood pad thai lives up to its name and is on the spicy side, packed full of seafood like shrimp. The portion was generous enough for two of us to share along with the bun cha.

The dish my boyfriend picked was the spicy seafood pad thai! True to its name, it was spicier than expected and packed with seafood 🦐 There were some sizeable shrimp in there too, and with the noodles, seafood, vegetables and sauce coming together, the umami flavor was really good!

My boyfriend scooped up a bite and handed it to me, which was just too cute haha. The portion was generous enough that we could share it fully along with the bun cha 😍 He even ate almost everything and then, saying it'd be a waste to leave the leftover sauce, added rice to mix it with the sauce haha. I guess that just shows how good the sauce was?!

What's in the Mekong Set? Goi cuon, cha gio, and three fried items

The Mekong Set at Mekong Thai Sejong Naseong Branch comes with 4 half-cut goi cuon, 2 half-cut cha gio, plus 2 each of shrimp, crab, and sweet potato rolls, along with 3 sauces. Of everything we ordered that day, this was the set I liked the most.

The last thing we ordered together was the Mekong Set!

The goi cuon fresh spring rolls came half-cut, 4 pieces, and the cha gio also came half-cut, 2 pieces! Along with these were 2 each of shrimp, crab, and sweet potato rolls, served with a total of 3 sauces 👍🏻 Personally, this side dish set was my favorite 🥰🥰

Even though most of it was fried food, it didn't feel overly greasy — you could really taste the flavor of each ingredient!! Especially with the seafood-based fried items like shrimp and crab, plus the sweet potato rolls, there was a good variety, so it's great to order if you want to sample a little bit of several things 💖 If I come back, I'd definitely order the Mekong Set again!!

Pros and cons of Mekong Thai Sejong Naseong Branch

The advantage I personally noticed was, first, the wide range of menu options. It's not just a rice noodle place — with bun cha, pad thai, fried rice, fresh spring rolls and fried snacks all available, it was great for ordering multiple dishes to share when visiting with two or more people. Also, the portions were more generous than I expected. Especially with the bun cha, because of a previous experience elsewhere where the noodles were lacking, I'd even ordered extra here, but ended up regretting the extra order instead haha. The restaurant is also spacious with a separated room, so it looked good not just for couples but for family or group visits. Above all, it was nice that the building's underground parking lot was spacious, making it easy to visit by car.

The one downside was that with such a wide variety of menu items, it can be a bit hard to decide what to order on a first visit. We also deliberated for a long time and ended up ordering several dishes, which turned out to be quite a filling meal for two haha. In particular, if you're worried about the bun cha noodles being too little like I was, I'd recommend deciding on extra orders only after seeing the base portion first. I actually ordered extra and ended up thinking, 'why did I order this in advance?' 😂

Final review

I've eaten rice noodles 4 times in the past two weeks, that's how much I've been craving them lately haha. This visit to Mekong Thai Sejong Naseong Branch was satisfying overall in both portion and flavor, from the bun cha to the spicy seafood pad thai to the Mekong Set! The bun cha was especially good with its generous noodles, meat and vegetables, and the Mekong Set let me taste several dishes at once, so I think I'll order it again next time! If you've been missing local food after a trip to Thailand or Southeast Asia, or you're looking for rice noodles or bun cha in Sejong, I'd recommend giving Mekong Thai Sejong Naseong Branch in Naseong-dong a try :) Next time I'll try the rice noodle menu items I didn't get to eat this time!

Key summary

• Location: Mekong Thai Sejong Naseong Branch / 133-9 Naseong-ro, 2nd floor NS Building, Sejong, South Korea
• Weekday hours: 10:30–20:50, break 15:00–17:00, last order 20:20
• Weekend hours: 10:30–21:00, break 15:30–17:00, last order 20:30
• Parking: Available in the building's underground lot
• Recommended order: Bun cha + spicy seafood pad thai + Mekong Set

Recommended for these people!

• Anyone looking for a restaurant in Naseong-dong, Sejong
• Anyone looking for a rice noodle restaurant in Sejong
• Anyone looking for a Thai restaurant in Sejong
• Anyone missing local food after a trip to Southeast Asia
• Anyone who wants to try a variety of Thai dishes like bun cha and pad thai
• Anyone looking for a spot for a family meal or a gathering with friends
• Anyone looking for a spacious Naseong-dong restaurant with easy parking