Mangpo Station rice bowl spot: pre-work buta-don for two, Myeonsikdang

I was looking for a place near Mangpo Station where I could get noodles and rice bowls together, and that's how I ended up at Myeonsikdang Mangpo Station! Sometimes you want noodles but can't give up rice either, and this place is great for ordering different dishes and sharing.

Events and location at Myeonsikdang Mangpo Station

Order one menu item per person and you get unlimited free rice. I think that's a really great deal. If you write a Naver receipt review, they give you a drink too!

After my checkup at the clinic, and after we got to see our little smartypants on the ultrasound, we went looking for somewhere to eat before work and found Myeonsikdang! It's right in front of Mangpo Station Exit 3, so it was easy to get to.

The whole menu is displayed outside, so it was easy to check before going in.

I liked that there were several different events going on :)

What did the couple order at Myeonsikdang Mangpo Station?

My husband and I ordered a large buta-don, mazesoba, mozzarella cheese katsu, a mini kimchi buta-don and lemonade! We ordered through the kiosk.

We chose the large buta-don and mazesoba as the 2-person set, picked mozzarella cheese katsu and the mini kimchi buta-don as sides, and added lemonade, and the table ended up looking pretty full.

Side dishes and lemonade

The basic side dishes, kimchi and danmuji (yellow pickled radish), came neatly plated. The lemonade arrived in a clear pitcher with ice and a pale yellow drink, and just seeing the fizzy bubbles made it feel refreshing!

I recommend the lemonade!!! There's plenty of it, so it was great to share with my husband. The food came out quickly, so we didn't have to worry about being late for work, and I was so grateful for that.

A record of a Japanese meal in Mangpo where we enjoyed noodles, rice and a cheese katsu side :)

Myeonsikdang Mangpo Station is at 195 Yeongtong-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi, Golden Square 1F, Unit 102, and the map shows it just 12 meters from Mangpo Station Exit 3. It looked easy to plan a route there by public transport too.

This is what we ordered as sides.

How do the mazesoba and large buta-don look at Myeonsikdang Mangpo Station?

The first dish I want to introduce, which I ordered, is the mazesoba. A yellow egg yolk sits in the middle of a wide bowl, surrounded by separate portions of minced meat, seaweed, chopped chives and scallions, and thinly sliced onion. Every ingredient has a different color and shape, so it looked really pretty and appetizing.

The cheese katsu came as exactly two pieces, so we could each have one without it feeling heavy, which was so nice.

The large buta-don has thinly sliced pork spread wide over the rice, and it looked hearty at first glance. There were grilled-looking spots along the edges of the meat, and big chunks of scallion on top. With no fussy decoration and just meat and rice as the stars, it's the kind of look rice-bowl lovers will welcome.

The thin, layered meat was easy to scoop up together with the rice. The toppings weren't piled on one side but spread across the bowl, so you pick up meat every time you scoop rice. Placed next to the mazesoba, the noodle dish and the rice bowl were clearly different, which made them a good pair to share.

Mix the mazesoba starting with the yolk

The key with the mazesoba I ordered is not to just pick up the noodles right away, but to break the yolk and mix it well with the sauce and toppings at the bottom.

The mini kimchi buta-don is good mixed into the large buta-don too

The mini kimchi buta-don we chose came in a small bowl with meat and red kimchi side by side. It's mini, but the contrast between the meat and the kimchi stood out. It was also delicious mixed into the large buta-don. It's a good pick when you want a little bit of several dishes.

If you lift the noodles with your chopsticks while mixing the mazesoba, the seaweed, meat and chopped vegetables work their way between the noodles. After mixing, the noodles look glossy and you can see the toppings clinging to them.

Twirling up the thick noodles made a single bite feel substantial. If you like noodles, I think the sight of picking them up together with the toppings like this will catch your eye.

Being able to enjoy the onion, chives and seaweed in slightly different ways was part of the fun of the mazesoba. There was also vinegar on the table with 'how to enjoy mazesoba even more' written on it. According to the instructions, you first mix and eat it with the yolk, then add vinegar to taste about halfway through. Rather than pouring a lot in at the start, I think it's better to add a little at a time and adjust to your taste^^

There were also instructions for finishing by mixing rice into the leftover sauce after the noodles are gone. You start with one bowl of noodles and end with rice too, so why not save some toppings and mix them in together?? Seeing the white rice served beside the mazesoba, it was a setup that lets you enjoy it down to the last bite.

How was the mozzarella cheese katsu side?

We can't skip the side, the mozzarella cheese katsu! Cheese fills the inside of the golden crust, and green powder was sprinkled over the cut surface. The cheese takes up so much of it that the cross-section alone grabs your eye!

Doesn't the layering of the outer crust and inner cheese look really appetizing? You can dip it in the sauce served separately, and shredded cabbage came on the side too, so it was easy to alternate between them.

With a side like this between the noodles and the rice bowl, the table felt even more varied.

Atmosphere and solo seats at Myeonsikdang Mangpo Station

Myeonsikdang Mangpo Station has wood-tone tables and chairs, and light comes in from the window side, so the ingredients in the bowls came out clear in my food photos. The blue-patterned bowls went well with the wooden tables, so every dish looked neat and pretty as it arrived :)

Solo diners can sit comfortably in single seats facing the wall, so I think you wouldn't feel awkward eating alone. Myeonsikdang Mangpo Station seems like a really good place for a solo lunch too.

This time we could pick noodles and rice separately and add sides, so sharing the dishes was fun. When one person craves noodles and the other wants a rice bowl, you can order to suit each taste.

If you're hunting for a Japanese place in Mangpo and looking at mazesoba and buta-don, do check out the menu lineup at Myeonsikdang Mangpo Station before you go :)

• When you're torn about lunch or dinner near Mangpo Station!
• When you want a meal with both noodles and rice bowls, I recommend it ^^