Jeon pub for a second round in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul: Halmae Gireumjip

Someone who loves minari jeon (water celery pancake)... that's me right here. If a menu has minari jeon on it, I pretty much order it wherever I go, and this time it was Halmae Gireumjip Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Branch!!

That day my boyfriend and I had a solid first round in Yeongdeungpo-gu and were wandering around wondering where to go for round two, and we spotted this place. The weather happened to be nice and cool, and the doors were flung wide open with a breeze drifting in, so I thought — ah, this would be perfect for jeon and drinks... so we went in haha.

If you're looking for a Yeongdeungpo-gu Office restaurant/bar for a lighter (?) second round with jeon or Korean bar snacks instead of a full meal, this is the place! We went in planning to drink very lightly, but in the end, we came out having drunk a lot again^^

Why Halmae Gireumjip works for a second round near Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station

📍 Halmae Gireumjip Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Branch is on the restaurant-and-bar street around Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station, so it was easy to move to after our first round. Great location if you're like us and want to grab jeon or Korean bar snacks with drinks for round two after eating in Yeongdeungpo-gu!

With the doors flung wide open, even sitting inside felt like a cool breeze was drifting through~~ Not quite outdoor seating, but it gave a bit of that outdoor-drinking feeling, and with the smell of jeon frying wafting through, it basically made it impossible not to drink haha.

If you're looking for a Yeongdeungpo-gu Office restaurant/bar on a cool evening like these days, eating with the doors wide open like this seems like a good idea!

You can order via this table pad, by the way~

Minari shrimp jeon: the dish that explains the name Halmae Gireumjip

Halmae Gireumjip's minari shrimp jeon is a pancake truly piled high with minari. I really love minari, so whenever I see a place selling minari jeon, I've tried quite a lot of them here and there, but this one won me over visually the moment it came out! And after one bite... ah, I get why it's called Halmae Gireumjip ("Grandma's Oil House") haha.

These days a lot of places fry jeon thin and crispy, but true to its name, this place fries it properly with plenty of oil generously spread around... can you see the plump, chunky shrimp?

The oil flavor rolls through savory and rich, and right through it the minari aroma bursts up. And what I loved most was the texture! The minari isn't limp at all — it's crunchy! Crunchy!

At first I ate politely with chopsticks, but eventually I was just grabbing whole bunches of minari and shoving them in my mouth haha. The minari aroma bursts through and every now and then you get shrimp too — so good. My boyfriend and I really cleaned this up... and what do you do in front of greasy jeon like this? Drink. So we drank a lot more^^

Among Yeongdeungpo-gu Office restaurants and bars, if you like makgeolli or soju with Korean bar snacks like jeon, I'd recommend starting with the minari shrimp jeon here.

Tofu kimchi at Halmae Gireumjip: the "I'm on a diet" order

Just the minari shrimp jeon felt slightly lacking, so we ordered one more snack at Halmae Gireumjip. I mean, we still have to sort of diet, right...? So we picked tofu kimchi.

Talking about dieting while eating jeon doesn't quite add up haha. But tofu aside, as expected, the kimchi here was delicious too (it was so good we only have a photo of what was left..).

Piling plenty of kimchi onto the warm tofu was great to eat in between bites of the greasy minari shrimp jeon. A bite of tofu, a bite of kimchi, and then another drink... where did the diet go?????? Still, let's just agree it's fine because it's tofu.

Ordering one greasy snack like minari shrimp jeon plus one easy-to-pick-at Korean snack like tofu kimchi made for a perfect combo for a second round~~~~

What two people should order for a second round at Halmae Gireumjip

That day we'd already had a first round, so at Halmae Gireumjip we only ordered minari shrimp jeon and tofu kimchi, but it seemed like just the right amount for two people, me and my boyfriend.

Since I originally love minari jeon and have tried quite a few around, the combination here — savory flavor from plenty of oil, plus crunchy minari — really stuck with me! You should come here on a day when you're thinking "today I'm going to properly eat greasy jeon and drink," rather than looking for a clean, light pancake haha.

And that day, food aside, the weather really carried the whole thing~~ Eating minari shrimp jeon in big bites and tofu kimchi in small ones, with a cool breeze drifting through the wide-open storefront.

A drink... isn't this basically happiness~~ Especially if you're looking for a Yeongdeungpo-gu Office restaurant/bar and had a big first round and are wondering where to go for round two, keep this in mind as a place good for one jeon and a drink!

I feel like I'll order the minari shrimp jeon again! If you like minari, you'll probably enjoy it even more because of the crunchy texture... When you want Korean bar snacks and a drink in Yeongdeungpo-gu, especially on a cool evening if you're looking for a Yeongdeungpo-gu Office restaurant/bar, check out Halmae Gireumjip Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Branch :) And please don't drink as much as I did^^...