Rainy-day rice bowls at Munjeong Station: steak & abalone, Gome Mui

Why pot rice came to mind on a rainy day at Munjeong Station

On a rainy day I wanted a warm Korean meal near Munjeong Station, so I went to Gome Mui Songpa Munjeong (고메무이 송파문정점) in Terra Tower. Don't you crave rice more than usual when it rains? I was meeting my close younger sister after a long time, and when I asked, "So what should we eat today?" she answered without a second's hesitation, "Korean food!" hahaha The moment I heard that, pot rice popped into my head.

Warm, filling, and hard to get wrong. It was raining, so I wanted somewhere with easy parking where we could get around indoors, and that's how we ended up at Gome Mui Songpa Munjeong.

Where is Gome Mui Songpa Munjeong?

Gome Mui Songpa Munjeong is inside Terra Tower near Munjeong Station, and you can walk in directly from inside the building or from outside. There are honestly so many options for a meal around Munjeong Station, and Terra Tower alone has loads of good places, but when I wanted a clean, tidy Korean meal, Gome Mui seemed like a good pick. On a rainy day, little things like that felt even nicer.

Even the waiting area in front of the entrance isn't just a few chairs plopped down; it's decorated to match the restaurant's mood. My expectations went up before we even stepped inside.

What the name Gome Mui means

I also read the explanation written at the entrance.

Gome is Japanese for rice. Mui means one and only. Together: a precious flavor like no other in the world.

Knowing the meaning of the name made me feel like the food would taste even better, haha

What are the interior and seats like at Gome Mui Songpa Munjeong?

The interior has an open kitchen and was neat and tidy all around. The first thing I thought when I walked in was, "They really take good care of this place." Being an open kitchen, it didn't feel stuffy at all either.

There are bar seats that are good for dining solo, window seats, and lots of 4-person tables, enough even for a group. I could see why office workers come in numbers at lunchtime. The mood is nice for dinner too, so it seemed like a good fit for anyone looking for a dinner spot near Munjeong Station.

Torn between the seasonal menu and the signature dishes

On the menu, seasonal items like the spring greens wild sea bream pot rice and the cold katsuo soba (bonito soba) jumped out at me. I sat down and started browsing the menu, and honestly, I wavered for a moment. hahaha I'm a sucker for seasonal menus.

But it was our first visit, so I decided to try the signature dishes: the steak rice bowl for me and the abalone rice bowl for my sister. Ordering is by table order, which was convenient.

How does the steak rice bowl at Gome Mui taste?

The steak rice bowl comes as pot rice with neat side dishes and a card explaining how to eat it, and there was more meat than I expected. It looked great the moment it arrived. And a card with eating instructions too! I'm secretly a sucker for little touches like that.

The side dishes were tidy too, a lineup that goes well with pot rice.

• Kimchi
• Salted seafood
• Pickled chili pepper
• Jangajji (pickled vegetables)

There really was more meat in my steak rice bowl than I expected.

One bite and out came, "Why is this meat so tender?" Maybe it's the premium wagyu plus the special sauce, but the flavor was great and there was no gamey smell at all. Eaten with the rice, it just kept going down. I finished it in no time. I started to see why everyone calls it a Munjeong Station go-to.

How was the abalone rice bowl at Gome Mui?

My sister's abalone rice bowl had plump abalone, and thanks to the gewoo sauce (crab-innards sauce), the nutty richness was intense. Of course I had to steal a bite of what she was eating. The abalone was chewy, with a subtle taste of the sea.

While eating, my sister said, "Unnie, this place is really good." "Totally the right choice today." and somehow I felt proud, haha. We were both happy with our meals.

How do you eat the nurungji from the pot rice?

With Gome Mui's pot rice, you scoop the rice out first, and hot water is poured into the pot so you can eat it as nurungji (scorched rice soup) toward the end of the meal. When I go for pot rice, I sometimes look forward to the nurungji more than the main dish. When you open it near the end of the meal, that toasty aroma... I really can't resist.

One spoonful of warm nurungji felt even better because it was a rainy day. It warmed me through. My sister had some too and said, "Ah, this is the real finish." Totally agree.

Yogurt for dessert, too

After the meal, Gome Mui Songpa Munjeong also gave us yogurt as dessert. We were full and ready to go, and it might seem like nothing, but a little thing like this really puts you in a good mood, right? We left on a sweet note.

Honest review: pot rice at Munjeong Station on a rainy day

I went to Gome Mui Songpa Munjeong because I wanted warm Korean food on a rainy day, and it was better than I expected. A tidy restaurant, a neat spread, tender steak rice, nutty abalone rice, and nurungji at the end. My sister was happy and so was I.

I'd go back when I'm craving Korean food near Munjeong Station, especially when I want proper pot rice. It suited a rainy day especially well 😊