Seolleung Station eel rice bowl: whole vs 1.5-eel portions, Manmok

I visited Manmok (만목), an eel rice bowl restaurant near Seolleung Station. It's a great place around Gangnam to eat alone, or to meet up with a friend!

Manmok near Seolleung Station: opening hours and parking

Manmok is open daily from 11:00 to 22:00, with a break from 15:00 to 17:00. There's room for about two cars in front of the restaurant, but if you're driving, I think a nearby public parking lot is more convenient!

The exterior and interior lean on a wood look, which gives the place a really cozy, tidy feel.

Manmok sells eel bowls during the day and nabe (hot pot) dishes in the evening, so there are menu items that go nicely with a light drink.

Is Manmok good for eating alone?

Manmok has seats by the window where you can sit solo, and each table feels separated from the others, so it's a good spot for solo dining! When I visited, quite a few people were eating alone.

Manmok lunch menu: choosing your eel bowl size

The lunch menu at Manmok is simple: just eel bowls, in half, whole and 1.5-eel sizes! I think the half is enough for women with smaller appetites, and I'd recommend the whole for an average appetite!

They also sell Ebisu draft beer, highballs, soft drinks and more.

• 1.5-eel bowl (50.0)
• Whole-eel bowl (39.0)

My partner thought the portion might be a bit small, so we ordered the 1.5-eel bowl. For men with big appetites the 1.5 seems right, but it's quite a lot of food, and even my partner said they were full, haha. The eel bowl set comes out neatly arranged.

Whole vs 1.5-eel bowl: how big is the portion difference?

The side dishes with Manmok's eel bowl are a salad with sesame dressing, seasoned radish, water kimchi, mushroom broth and chawanmushi (steamed egg custard). When I lifted the lid, I saw a big, appetizing piece of eel.

The left is the whole eel and the right is the 1.5 eel! The eel at Manmok is fairly large, so adding that extra half makes the portion quite big.

How are Manmok's mushroom soup and chawanmushi?

The appetizing eel bowl set was laid out. I started with the clear matsutake broth and the chawanmushi!

Manmok's mushroom broth isn't salty; it's clean and clear, with chewy mushrooms that get your appetite going before the meal. Sipping the broth now and then while eating the eel bowl refreshed my mouth nicely!

The sesame dressing wasn't overly sweet and went well with the crunchy lettuce, and the chawanmushi was especially, wonderfully soft. Manmok really is a chawanmushi hotspot, haha. It was so silky that I can't even remember the texture or taste of the shrimp, and it was the best chawanmushi I've ever had.

How were the eel and rice in Manmok's eel bowl?

And finally, the eel, the main event. Manmok's eel is thick and big, and it had a smoky flavor as if grilled over an open flame, which went well with the moist, savory sauce. Topping it with wasabi added a clean note, so I recommend eating it with wasabi!

The rice underneath was sticky too, with just the right amount of eel sauce soaked in, so eating it together with the eel boosted the flavor even more.

The eel is thick, so a piece of eel with rice fills your mouth, haha. The whole-eel bowl was so filling that I left a little rice at the end (sob). But the eel never got tiring and stayed delicious to the very last bite ❣️

Manmok eel rice bowl near Seolleung Station: the verdict

Manmok, a great eel bowl spot near Seolleung Station, has a subtle smoky char flavor, and thanks to its savory sauce it was an eel bowl I enjoyed right to the end!