Indian restaurant in Songdo for a rainy-day date: Set A, Manokamana

Why we chose Indian curry in Songdo for a rainy-day date

On a rainy day, my boyfriend and I decided to have Indian curry at Manokamana Triple Street Branch 2, an Indian restaurant at Songdo Triple Street. Indian curry was exactly what he had been singing about wanting for the past few days.

With my boyfriend, what to eat is always the topic of our biggest debates and discussions, haha. Today was no different: we disagreed for a while, then finally settled on Indian curry! But once you pick the menu, the next big worry is where to eat it. After some thought, we chose Manokamana Triple Street Branch 2, a well-known Indian spot in Songdo.

• Hours: 10:00–22:00 (daily)
• Parking: Use the Triple Street parking lot

Where is Manokamana Triple Street Branch 2, and where do you park?

Manokamana Triple Street Branch 2 is in the area of Songdo Triple Street where the restaurants cluster, and you can park in the Triple Street parking lot. That made it easy to park and get there.

I heard that "Manokamana" means "hope" in Nepali. Hearing that put me in a good mood right from the entrance.

Manokamana, an authentic Indian restaurant

Can you eat Manokamana's Indian curry if you're sensitive to spice?

Manokamana says that so people new to Indian food or put off by spices can eat comfortably, a local chef with over 15 years of experience cooks with a "golden balance" suited to Korean tastes. The explanation was that it is an Indian restaurant that keeps the flavor and style of the original. Since I can't eat food with too strong a spice, this was welcome news for me.

Two floors of Indian-style decor made for photos

Both the first and second floors of Manokamana Triple Street Branch 2 are decorated in a colorful, antique Indian style. The moment I walked in, it felt like a short trip from Korea to India.

Exotic props and lighting that looked flown in from India were scattered around like photo zones for "life shots," so before I knew it I kept asking my boyfriend to take more pictures of me.

After looking around the second floor, we came back down to the first floor and took a seat. Even the cups, spoons and forks add to the antique Indian interior. At the next table were foreign guests, and from hearing them talk with a staff member they seemed to be Indian. The food is said to be adapted to Korean tastes, but this is a real Songdo Indian spot that locals from India visit too.

How to order at Manokamana and what side dishes you get

At Manokamana Triple Street Branch 2, you scan the QR code on the table or hold your phone up to it, the menu appears, and you order straight from your phone. There were so many tasty-looking dishes that I deliberated for a long time.

The side dishes are pickled chili, onion kimchi and pickles. Curry can get a little heavy, and these sides balanced it out nicely.

Manokamana Set A: what's included and how much it costs

Manokamana Set A is the signature set at ₩30,000 per person, and it includes chicken mushroom soup, samosa, green salad, king prawn, tandoori chicken, curry, naan, rice and lassi. You can choose the curry and naan, so for me, who can't handle spicy food, we picked butter chicken curry and butter naan.

Manokamana Set A (per person): ₩30,000 — chicken mushroom soup, samosa, green salad, king prawn, tandoori chicken, curry, naan, rice, lassi

We wondered what to order, then settled on Manokamana Set A so we could try a bit of everything.

Samosa: crisp outside, soft inside, with sweet chili sauce

The samosa in Manokamana's Set A was totally crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. A samosa is an Indian dish of potato, peas, minced meat and the like, seasoned with spices, wrapped in pastry dough and fried. Maybe because it's pastry, the outside was so crunchy and the filling so moist that it was really delicious. Dipped in the sauce next to it, it had a chili flavor and was slightly sweet, which brought out the samosa's taste even more.

Lassi: the plain lassi tastes like extra-smooth plain yogurt

At Manokamana you can choose plain lassi, mango lassi or strawberry lassi, and I was curious about the most basic flavor, so I ordered the plain one. Lassi is a traditional Indian drink made by mixing dahi (Indian-style yogurt) with water, spices and so on. It tasted like the plain yogurt we all know, but somehow a little smoother.

Tandoori chicken: milder spices than expected

The spice in Manokamana's tandoori chicken was not as strong as I expected. Tandoori chicken is a signature South Asian chicken dish in which chicken is marinated in yogurt (dahi) and spices, then skewered and cooked in a tandoor (clay oven). It came with a sauce, along with the king prawn and samosa.

Butter chicken curry and butter naan: better with naan than rice

Unlike the curry we usually eat, Manokamana's butter curry has chicken in it and is a little smoother. If the usual curry goes well with rice, the butter curry here seems to go a bit better with naan.

I was definitely full, but the butter naan was soft and chewy and kind of addictive, and the pairing with the butter curry was so good that I just kept eating. My boyfriend, who had been singing about wanting curry for days, was thoroughly satisfied and ate happily too.

Who should visit Manokamana Triple Street Branch 2?

For anyone who wants to try Indian curry and wants a properly good Indian restaurant, I recommend Manokamana Triple Street Branch 2 at Songdo Triple Street!!