Gyodae Station Chinese restaurant course for two, ₩35,000: Maeranbang

I found a Chinese restaurant near Gyodae Station that's really great for group dinners or gatherings — especially engagement announcement meetups — so I wanted to share it! The atmosphere was nice and the food was genuinely delicious~

Maeranbang Gyodae Branch: location, hours and parking near Gyodae Station

Maeranbang Gyodae Branch is located at 24 Seochodae-ro 50-gil, B1, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It's open daily from 11:00 to 21:50, with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00 and last order at 20:20.

• Reservations available via Naver Reservation and Catch Table
• Parking available (next to Cheonghwa Building, ₩3,000 for the first 30 minutes, then ₩1,000 per 10 minutes)

Here's the entrance going down to the basement. Turns out I actually came in through the back door^^; anyway... I browsed the menu on my way in~ I'm personally curious about the mala steamed egg (chawanmushi-style) and the eggplant menbosha haha, I'll have to try those next visit.

I visited for an engagement gathering and ordered the Maeranbang C Course (₩35,000) and a Zero Coke (₩3,000). The other lunch courses seem like great value too. Courses starting at ₩18,000?! There are also formal courses over ₩70,000 that would suit occasions like a meeting-of-parents dinner, in case that's useful.

Doesn't it kind of feel like Hong Kong here lol

What the table setting and side dishes include

Here's the basic table setting. There are grooves on both sides of the small plate that make it easy to rest your spoon and chopsticks! And the teapot — I have to mention it — it was so pretty ㅠㅠ I want one. The tea they serve was also tasty and paired really well with the rich, oily Chinese dishes.

The side dishes were pickled radish, ginger soy sauce (probably for dipping dim sum), pickled mustard greens (jjasai), and roasted peanuts.

What comes in the ₩35,000 Maeranbang C Course for two

It starts with the plump crab meat soup~ true to its name, it's packed with plump crab meat haha. Warm and savory, a perfect starter.

The 3-piece dim sum sampler gives you one piece each of guchaegyo, shrimp har gow, and xiaolongbao per person. Guchaegyo is a chive-and-shrimp dumpling. Of the three, I liked the shrimp har gow best! The shrimp was springy and the wrapper was nice and chewy.

Next up was the old-style traditional sweet and sour pork. It had pineapple in it, and the sauce was so good. Sweet and sour pork just can't go wrong~

The spicy chili shrimp seemed like it would pair well with drinks. I usually prefer cream shrimp over chili shrimp, but Maeranbang's spicy chili shrimp was so good;; When it got too rich, I'd grab some of the lettuce on the side lol. By this point I was starting to feel pretty full~

Jajangmyeon or jjamppong: which finishing noodle is better?

For the finishing dish, you can choose one of hand-pulled potato jajangmyeon (black bean noodles), spicy samseon jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup), or samseon fried rice. I picked jajangmyeon and jjamppong. Both were delicious lol. The jajangmyeon had a slice of pear on top, which was unusual, and the jjamppong had a rich broth — can you tell from the photo? If I had to pick one, I'd recommend the jjamppong.

Big eaters or guys might feel the portions run a bit small, but for me it was a perfectly satisfying amount~ Overall I was happy with the flavors.

Rooms, seating and how large a group Maeranbang can hold

These are the seats I captured on my way out through the front door after the meal. Besides the Hyeonmu Room where I ate, there were various other seating areas prepared too. At 130 pyeong with room for about 200 people total, you can see how spacious it is! It's a great fit for people looking for a group dinner or gathering spot near Gangnam or Gyodae Station. There was actually a group gathering happening at one of the tables while I was there too~

For anyone like me looking for a spot in Seoul for an engagement announcement gathering, or a restaurant near Gyodae or Gangnam for that kind of meetup, I'd recommend this place too.