Post-picnic lunch in Gwangjin: hormone-don and highball at Mentsuru

I had a date at Children's Grand Park. The weather's been so nice lately, perfect for a picnic!! There's so much to see in the park, and honestly everything just looked pretty. Then for lunch we went to Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch, famous for its ramen. It's a place with really good Japanese-style rice bowls and ramen. Let's get into the review.

Where is Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch, and what are its hours?

Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch, a great lunch spot for a Konkuk University date, is 30 seconds from Exit 4 of Children's Grand Park Station. The storefront has a distinctive interior that really stands out!! Every branch shares the same concept, so it felt familiar right away.

It's at 394 Gwangnaru-ro, 1st floor, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, open daily from 11:00 to 23:00 with no break time.

Inside Mentsuru: wood-toned room, seating and any wait

The place was really spacious and genuinely comfortable!! The wood-toned interior makes it feel clean and calm. There's bar seating by the entrance and in front of the kitchen with single-person tables, which is really convenient and well set up for solo dining. There were also about six two- and four-person tables. When the main lunch rush hit, there were tons of customers. Still, since the food comes out fast by nature, the turnover is good and the wait cleared quickly.

Mentsuru menu and prices

• Shoyu ramen ₩11,000
• Motsu ramen ₩15,000
• Tori paitan ₩12,000
• Hormone-don (beef intestine rice bowl) ₩15,000
• Gyudon ₩11,000

Japanese rice bowl and Suntory highball: does the pairing work?

This is the combo I always order when I come here. Hormone-don and Suntory highball are truly the best pairing. Beer's good too, but the Suntory highball is genuinely so refreshing!! And this place is also great for its yuzu pickled radish haha. The main dish, the highball, and the pickled radish together were just perfect!!

How did the hormone-don (beef intestine rice bowl) taste?

Hormone-don is a Japanese-style beef intestine rice bowl. It's got beef intestine and beef short rib seasoned in a special sauce, plus egg yolk, green onion, onion, pickled radish, and cheongyang chili. Just look at how appetizing it looks!!! Sweet and savory, the sauce is genuinely delicious!!!! I love spicy food, so having the cheongyang chili made me really happy. The dish itself isn't greasy, but the sharp heat from the chili made it even better!!

The beef short rib has a clean, lean-meat feel, and the beef intestine is low in fat and super chewy, so each has its own charm while working together really well!! The seasoning in the special sauce is just sweet enough and just salty enough, which seems to make the overall flavor even richer!!!

Since it's a rice bowl rather than something you mix all together, it's genuinely tastier to layer rice, meat, and vegetables on your spoon and eat it bit by bit!! That way the rice stays fluffy and separate, and you can taste the true flavor of every ingredient, including the intestine and short rib, more clearly!!

Fried gyoza at Mentsuru

Fried gyoza, fried dumplings, are great to share alongside the main dish. They're water-dumpling sized, perfect for popping in your mouth in one bite. Crispy texture, juicy filling — need I say more? It's fried, so of course it's delicious!! Eating them with pickled ginger made them even better!!

Is Mentsuru worth it for a Gwangjin lunch?

No matter when I eat here, it's always delicious and satisfying!! Being a clean single dish also makes it easy to eat simply. I'd also recommend it for a solo drink with a beer in the evening!! If you're looking for a great lunch spot for a Konkuk University date, I strongly recommend Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch!!!