Daehangno Indian restaurant for group dinners: Meono Kkameona

I used to work near Hyehwa and came to this area all the time! Today I finally came back to Meono Kkameona (머노까머나), a great Indian curry spot in Daehangno. I always thought the name was unusual, and when I looked it up, "Meono Kkameona" means a earnest wish or heartfelt hope in Hindi!

Where is Meono Kkameona Daehangno Branch, and what are the hours?

Meono Kkameona Daehangno Branch is at 236 Changgyeonggung-ro, Ihwa Building 2F, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea, and it is open daily 11:00-22:30. It's about a 7-minute walk from Hyehwa Station Exit 4.

It sits at the big intersection at the entrance to Sungkyunkwan University, so it's easy to find! It's on the 2nd floor, but there's an elevator, so access is good too!

An Indian curry restaurant in Daehangno that's great for group dinners: inside Meono Kkameona

Meono Kkameona Daehangno Branch has a separate group room at the back of the hall, behind lots of 4-person tables, and it can be closed off, which is great for company dinners and group gatherings. The biggest table seats up to 9, and I'd guess about 10 people fit inside the folding door!

The inside is bigger than I expected! I've never been to India, but is this what it feels like? Right past the entrance there are lots of 4-person tables, and behind what I thought was a wall there's a group seating area! It can be closed off, so it seems like a good place for a group gathering or a company dinner!

I visited at 5 pm on a weekday and there was only about one other table besides ours, but after 6 pm quite a lot of people showed up.

Meono Kkameona menu, prices and how to order

At Meono Kkameona Daehangno Branch, you verify with the NFC tag on the table and an ordering page opens via a link. Besides curries and naan, there's a wide menu including fried rice and curry pasta, and there are set menus too.

Wow, so cool.. the world has come so far! When I think Indian curry, I only think naan and curry, but Meono Kkameona has fried rice, curry pasta and more!! I was so amazed. Even at lunch, curry pasta would be perfect!

Main menu prices at Meono Kkameona Daehangno Branch

• Tandoori chicken ₩18,000
• Samosa ₩5,000
• Green salad ₩6,000
• Tandoori king prawn ₩22,000
• Butter chicken (chicken makhani) ₩13,000
• Mutton masala (spicy lamb curry) ₩13,000
• Chilli prawn (shrimp curry) ₩14,000
• Prawn chow mein (shrimp stir-fried noodles) ₩11,000

Besides the à la carte dishes there are various set menus, so on a day when you want to try a bit of everything, one set would disappear in no time.

After ordering, we waited about 10 minutes and the hot food arrived! Even when you order several dishes, everything is served at once, which I liked.

What does Meono Kkameona's chicken tikka taste like?

Meono Kkameona's chicken tikka is similar to tandoori chicken but made with boneless meat! The pieces are big, yet there was no dry meat, it was all tender, and the sauce served with it was so unusual that I kept reaching for more.

The word tandoori shows up a lot in Indian food, and it means cooked in a traditional clay oven. So the tandoori king prawn is prawns grilled in a traditional clay oven, and tandoori chicken is chicken from the clay oven!

It's boneless chicken coated in that typical tandoori spice, and even with such big pieces, there was no dry meat, everything was tender and delicious. The sauce that comes with it is, how do I put it.. it has a slight chojang (sweet-spicy chili vinegar sauce) flavor and is so unusual that I kept reaching for it.

Butter chicken (chicken makhani) vs. chicken masala: what's the difference?

Masala means a blend of mixed spices, and makhani means made with butter. At Meono Kkameona I debated between chicken masala and chicken makhani and chose makhani (₩13,000), and probably because of the butter, it was creamy and smooth.

Compared with the spinach curry, the flavor is stronger, so it was great for dipping naan, and I think I could happily devour it even with pasta noodles in it. The big chunks of chicken made it even better.

Palak paneer (spinach curry), the taste I remember from Laos

Meono Kkameona's palak paneer (spinach curry) is milder than the butter chicken, but if I could only order one dish, I'd pick it without a second thought. It has crumbly Indian cheese in it with a tofu-like texture.

When I lived in Laos, there was an Indian restaurant nearby, and their spinach curry was seriously delicious. I've always missed that taste, and I was shocked that Meono Kkameona's spinach curry is similar to it!

It's a little milder than the chicken makhani, but if I had to choose just one dish instead of ordering several, I'd pick this without hesitation. The spinach curry also has Indian cheese in it, and the texture is so unusual. It's a crumbly cheese, so it's a bit like tofu, which I found fascinating.

Garlic naan vs. butter naan: what's the difference?

Meono Kkameona's garlic naan is thin and crisply baked, while the butter naan is plump and fluffy, more like eating bread. With curry I like naan more than rice, and the garlic naan, thin and crisp, was even better. I could honestly eat this endlessly..

The butter naan comes neatly cut. I don't know if it's just this one, but where the garlic naan feels thin and crisp, the butter naan feels plump and fluffy, so it was more like eating bread. I kept tearing off pieces of naan, and before I knew it the plate was empty...

Who is Meono Kkameona Daehangno Branch recommended for?

Meono Kkameona has lots of unique dishes, so it's great to come with several people and share everything. If you're in Hyehwa or Daehangno and want something unusual rather than the same old thing, or you need a place for a group gathering or company dinner, I recommend Meono Kkameona!