Daechi-dong Japanese restaurant: Jungbok hanwoo nabe with Mom, Manmok

A Daechi-dong dinner with my mother before Jungbok

Ahead of Jungbok 2026 (Saturday, July 25), one of the hottest days of summer when Koreans eat stamina food, I took my mother to Manmok (만목) in Daechi-dong for hanwoo nabe (Korean beef hot pot) and a hitsumabushi-style eel rice bowl, and we devoured them. Manmok has a classy interior of natural wood and soft lighting, and the eel bowl tastes like the real thing in Japan, so I'm introducing it to you:)

Manmok location, hours and parking

Manmok is at 9 Seolleung-ro 82-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, open daily 11:00-22:00 with a break from 3pm to 5pm. It's a 2-minute walk from Seolleung Station and 10 minutes from Hanti Station, and you're welcomed by a chef who trained at a 3-star place in Japan and friendly staff.

There are 2 parking spaces in front, and if they're full you can use the nearby WeWork Seolleung 3 branch, Samjeong Building or Areumvil parking lots.

Seating, group dinner and birthday perks

I booked on Naver for 5pm, right when the break time ends, and after they checked my name we were shown to our reserved seat. The deep wood-toned interior has a window bar table where you can eat alone, a long group table and roomy 4-person tables, with partition walls in between for a more private meal.

• Naver booking coupon: one free corkage bottle for parties of 4 or fewer
• One free draft beer per person for group dinners
• Celebratory champagne for wedding invitations
• Mini birthday cake coupon

With this many perks running, I'd recommend it for nearby office team dinners and as a birthday spot.

Manmok menu and what we ordered

The menu includes special eel nabe, special grilled eel (salt or seasoned), a one-and-a-half eel rice bowl, and highballs with Suntory, The Balvenie, Yamazaki, Hibiki and Hakushu, and they say you get one free Ebisu draft beer for writing a Naver review🍺

The lunch I'd eaten still hadn't digested, so I ordered hanwoo nabe, a whole-eel rice bowl and one glass of Ebisu draft beer. The table has wet wipes, tissues and spare bowls set out, and even the wall decor is insanely detailed at Manmok Seolleung.

Ebisu draft beer at ₩12,000 and the side dishes

Ebisu draft beer at Manmok is ₩12,000. The side dishes include white kimchi, seasoned radish strips, seasoned greens, acorn jelly salad, myeongi namul (pickled wild garlic leaves), shredded ginger and pickled chili and onion, and I was surprised there were so many for a Gangnam Japanese restaurant. Each one goes well with the main dishes, so it's an eel bowl place that older folks will like too.

I ordered one glass of draft beer, but the staff member said he'd accidentally poured an extra one and gave it to me as a service, so I'm going to write a Naver receipt review and a clip too. Thank you😆🫶

Manmok hanwoo nabe at ₩63,000: enough for two?

Manmok's hanwoo nabe is ₩63,000 and was plenty for two people to share. You can add grilled eel, udon noodles, Koshihikari rice or porridge when ordering, but the portion was generous so we didn't add anything.

This is Manmok's hanwoo nabe: charcoal-grilled 1++ hanwoo (top-grade Korean beef) in a clear, mild broth, with dropwise vegetables like minari (water dropwort), pae-li mushrooms, bok choy, oyster mushrooms, cabbage and shiitake.

Hanwoo can get tough if cooked too long, so I recommend cooking it only briefly and eating it right away. It feels like sukiyaki without the sauce and is enjoyed like hanwoo shabu-shabu, so it's great on a rainy day or as a drinking snack. There's plenty of beef too, so even two grown men could eat their fill.

What's in the ₩39,000 whole-eel rice bowl

Manmok's whole-eel rice bowl is ₩39,000 and comes with an oriental-dressing salad, chawanmushi (savory steamed egg custard) and mushroom soup. It's neatly laid out on a wooden tray, so it feels like being treated to a proper meal.

If you visit in the evening with someone special, I recommend a filling set of hanwoo nabe plus an eel rice bowl.

How the chawanmushi and eel bowl taste

Manmok's chawanmushi was even softer than Japanese convenience-store pudding. It had none of the eggy fishiness, so anyone could enjoy it without a hit-or-miss reaction.

For the eel bowl, charcoal-grilled eel is steamed, brushed with Manmok's secret sauce and grilled over charcoal once more, so it was less greasy and milder than Nagoya hitsumabushi. A whole eel is seriously a lot of eel bowl, and it was a nice setup for alternating bites with the warm hanwoo nabe when my mouth felt a bit heavy.

Leftover eel bowl can be taken away

I was so full I had to leave some of the hanwoo nabe, but more than half of the eel bowl was left, so I asked them to pack it up.

They also prepared matcha and black tea ice cream for dessert. Manmok is a Gangnam eel rice bowl spot good for office lunches and Seolleung team dinners. If you want a refined hitsumabushi eel bowl, book ahead and visit Manmok:)