Songpa Japanese restaurant: family dinner and mentaiko udon at Gomemui

I was trying to figure out what to have for dinner, and for some reason I was really craving sotbap (hot stone pot rice) that day. So my husband, our three-year-old Jini, and I headed to Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive inside Gardenfive. I remembered having a really good sotbap somewhere near Munjeong before, so I went with sotbap again this time — and long story short, we left pretty satisfied again this time too ✨

Where is Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive?

Gomemui is on basement level 1 of Hyundai City Mall Gardenfive. Gardenfive itself is so huge that you might get a little lost the first time, but once you head toward the food court area it's not hard to find.

Is the vibe okay for going with a kid?

Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive is clean and wood-toned overall, so the atmosphere felt warm. It had everything from two-person tables to seating for larger groups, so it seemed like a place that works for solo dining, dates, and family meals alike. It felt like a place we could comfortably bring our kid for dinner too.

Best of all, you can order directly at the table. No need to flag down staff after looking at the menu — you just order from your seat, which was surprisingly convenient with a kid around.

What's on the Gomemui menu, and how much does it cost?

Turns out Gomemui isn't just about sotbap. Besides the signature sotbap dishes, the menu also had pork cutlet, curry, udon, soba and more. There were several types of sotbap too, so you could pick according to your taste.

• Perilla oil braised mushroom sotbap
• Steak sotbap
• Abalone sotbap
• Salmon sotbap
• Eel sotbap
• Sea bream sotbap

Prices were generally in the mid-teens thousand won to around ₩20,000 range, varying by dish. That day we ordered the spring greens wild sea bream sotbap, plus a mentaiko butter udon with pork cutlet.

How was the spring greens wild sea bream sotbap?

Naturally, I went straight for the sea bream sotbap without hesitation haha. I remembered loving a sea bream sotbap in Munjeong before, so I picked this one again this time.

Inside the pot was fluffy rice topped with nicely grilled sea bream, chopped scallions, and sesame seeds. You mix in the side dishes, soup, gim (seaweed), mentaiko, and fish roe relish that come alongside, to your taste.

The sea bream flesh was tender, and its savory flavor paired really well with the rice.

A good pairing for the sea bream sotbap

I especially liked topping it with a bit of the fish roe relish. But if you pile on too much of the seasoned side dishes or sauces at once it can get a bit salty, so I'd recommend adding them little by little!

Finishing the sotbap with nurungji

And of course, the sotbap always ends with nurungji (scorched rice) haha. Once you've served out the rice, you pour warm tea into the pot, and at the end you get to enjoy the savory scorched rice.

I think this is another whole layer of fun with sotbap. You just eat the rice normally, but then there's the fun of gently scraping up the nurungji stuck to the bottom of the pot at the end haha. It was warm and savory, and a great way to finish the meal!

How were the mentaiko butter udon and pork cutlet?

My husband went with the mentaiko butter udon and pork cutlet instead of sotbap. The udon combined salty mentaiko with buttery richness, and the pairing was better than I expected.

With the pork cutlet included, it made for a pretty hearty single-meal combo. The three of us shared bits of everything, and at first I thought it might be a little short.

But once we actually ate, it turned out to be just the right amount full. Not the kind of place for stuffing yourself silly, more the feeling of eating a clean, proper meal and heading out!

Is Gomemui a good pick for family dinner at Gardenfive?

Overall, Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive is the kind of place that comes to mind when you're thinking 'I want sotbap today.' The sea bream sotbap was great with its fluffy rice and tender sea bream, and my husband's mentaiko butter udon and pork cutlet were solidly good too! Best of all, finishing the sotbap off with the nurungji felt like properly rounding out the meal. If you're shopping at Gardenfive and looking for a tidy place for a family dinner, this is a good spot to stop by.