Seomyeon group bar: mara pork skin & soft tofu clay pot, Yuumangju

Hi, it's Nyom-nyom! Did you know there's a new must-try bar for anju (drinking snacks) in Seomyeon?! If you love mala (numbing spicy) flavor and pork skin, it has to be Yuumangju. It was seriously my favorite meal — I'm craving it again just writing this. Here's my review of Yuumangju's soft tofu mara pork skin!

• Location and directions
• Parking
• Interior and atmosphere
• Menu
• Honest review

Where Yuumangju Seomyeon Branch is and how to find it

Come out of Seomyeon Station exits 4 or 6, walk into the alley next to Hana Bank, and head up to the 2nd floor of the Sseolpa building.

There are plenty of shop banners at the stairway entrance, so it's easy to find. It's close to the subway, which makes it great for drinking late.

Is there parking near Yuumangju?

Yuumangju Seomyeon Branch doesn't have its own parking, so you'll need a nearby paid lot. Angel Parking is one of the closer options.

A 2nd-floor room that seats groups of 16 and can be booked out

Yuumangju is a Seomyeon bar with soft, dim lighting and a modern vibe. It sits right in the middle of Seomyeon's bar-heavy street, but the mood makes it a great pick for a Seomyeon date.

There are also plenty of tables, so it works as a Seomyeon group bar too. You can reserve for up to 16 people, and private rental is available for more intimate Seomyeon get-togethers.

The restrooms inside are separated by gender, so they're easy to use.

The Yuumangju menu: bar dishes, highballs and craft makgeolli

Yuumangju has a lot of anju with its own distinctive twist. It feels like they took snacks you can find anywhere and added their own flavor to them — and honestly, made them taste even better.

I love that there's a good variety — hearty main dishes and lighter side snacks. And they even have cool bingsu (shaved ice dessert) for a second round, which is a total plus.

The drink selection is huge too! Soju, beer, and a full lineup of highballs and craft makgeolli to choose from.

We ordered the soft tofu mara pork skin, and soju.

The free starter: honey-drizzled garlic baguette

The basic snack is a crispy garlic baguette drizzled with sweet honey. The garlic flavor paired with sweet honey is so good. I get why they offer refills on the basic snack >_<

Today's drink: soju! It went ridiculously well with the main dish ^.^

Soft tofu mara pork skin, served in a clay pot over a burner

I saw the name 'soft tofu mara pork skin' and ordered it without thinking twice. I love soju with pork skin, and now soft tofu too? So good~~

It comes out in a heated stone pot, so it's hot from the start, and thanks to the tabletop burner, it stays warm to keep simmering all the way to the last bite.

I couldn't tell at first because it was covered in tofu, but underneath there was a ton of pork skin, puju (dried tofu skin), mushrooms, and more. The portion is generous, so it's good value.

How chewy is the pork skin?

The pork skin was insane. Since it's a mala stir-fry, I figured the pork skin would just taste mala too, but there's a separate soy-sauce base mixed in, so between the salty soy sauce and the mala, it was truly a drinking snack. I usually don't love thick pork skin because it can turn too mushy, but Yuumangju's pork skin was chewy where it should be, and the fatty part had a crunchy, springy bite that was really satisfying.

Mala tang at first, mala xiangguo once it reduces

With beef belly, onion, mushroom, puju, and other mala-xiangguo-style ingredients, it tasted like mala-tang (spicy numbing soup) when it first arrived because of the broth, and after simmering longer on the burner it turned into something more like mala-xiangguo (dry stir-fry) — so one dish gave me a lot of variety! Of course, that's all thanks to how good the basic mala base is. If you love mala, this is a dish I'd genuinely recommend!

Soft, tender puju — I love you♥︎

The soft tofu was loaded with seasoning, and scooping up a big spoonful had it melting in my mouth~~

As an anju, it was both nicely salty and satisfyingly filling.

Honest verdict in one line

I feel like I only had good things to say, but I genuinely love both pork skin and mala, so Yuumangju was a total favorite Seomyeon anju spot for me ^.^ If you want great snacks with your drinks, it works for a Seomyeon date or a group bar night alike.