Gangseo Korean restaurant 4-person set with LA galbi add-on: Mikodam

Today is my maternal grandfather's birthday!🎉 My mom, dad and I headed to Gangseo to see him.

We picked up grandpa and headed to Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch, which we'd already reserved by phone!

The vibe and seating

Overall it's a clean white-and-wood restaurant. Each table has a partition raised to just the right height, so we could talk as a family without feeling boxed in — a nice touch. There are also separate private rooms if you want more privacy, so you could just book a room instead!

What we picked for the Mikodam 4-person set

We ordered the Mikodam 4-person set!

• Beef seaweed soup, flounder seaweed soup
• Soy-marinated cockle salad, vinegar-marinated cockle salad
• Jeju soy crab, LA galbi (+₩20,000)

— going for variety across the board.

True to a Korean set-meal restaurant, all kinds of side dishes came out, and every single one was clean-tasting and delicious. What I loved most was that ordering the set let us pick two kinds each of seaweed soup, cockle salad, and side dish! Being able to choose everything and taste a wide variety was so satisfying👍🏻

The birthday beef jeon: the touching moment

The touching moment: I saw an event notice and asked if we could get the birthday beef jeon since it was his birthday, and they said—

We saw you already brought a cake, so we're preparing it right now.

Talk about tact!!!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

The beef jeon came out warm, freshly pan-fried, soft and nutty — topped with chive salad, it was so good! I'm going to start making chive salad like this for holidays too. It was so good in quality that calling it "complimentary" felt like an understatement — even more touching.

The extra LA galbi and everything else

The LA galbi we added wasn't too sweet, salty, or over-seasoned — the meat was quite plump with good texture, so I cut it into small pieces for grandpa and he enjoyed it too.

The cockle salad, grilled mackerel, and soy crab were all delicious too! (Except the stir-fried pork, haha.) Grandpa usually eats very little, so I was worried something might not suit him, but he seemed to like the variety so much that he ate about twice his usual amount — such a relief ㅠㅠ

The self-serve bar

The self-serve bar had plum tea, sikhye (sweet rice punch), and coffee.

There was even warm popped corn, which made for a nice simple finish after the meal. From the taste of the food to the service and the atmosphere, everything was satisfying — a great place for family gatherings or dining with parents.

A meal the whole family enjoyed

☘️A meal the whole family enjoyed. This meal was satisfying in—

• ✔️Food quality
• ✔️Friendly service
• ✔️Atmosphere

—every respect. When you're bringing an elder along, the food matters, but service and a comfortable atmosphere really matter too — and their thoughtful, kind attention made the time even more pleasant. This feels like a good place to visit for family meals and gatherings, birthday dinners, or even meetings between families for a wedding, and other special occasions.

• ✅Reservations available via Naver or phone
• 🚘Parking supported at Ihwajeong Galbi Myeongga parking lot

The birthday cake, from My Mel Cake

🎂The birthday cake was from My Mel Cake!

For grandpa's birthday cake this time, we reserved ahead via KakaoTalk and picked it up from My Mel Cake!

Sweet pumpkin mini flower songpyeon rice cake_ ₩47,000 (mini cake ₩40,000 + pumpkin flavor ₩5,000 + message ₩2,000)

Basic birthday candles are provided, and they had a variety of extra candles and toppers ready if you wanted a specific look.

It looked pretty in photos, but seeing it in person, the flower-shaped honey songpyeon was even cuter, more elegant, and prettier. The highest compliment a Korean can give — it wasn't too sweet! The pumpkin sponge had a subtle pumpkin flavor, and eating it with the pumpkin filling inside made it a bit sweeter with more pumpkin flavor coming through — delicious.

A flavor even elders can enjoy without feeling heavy! Grandpa, who loves rice cakes, said it wasn't too sweet and ate it happily, and he didn't refuse taking the leftovers home. So proud😆