Jangji pot rice restaurant: double abalone & mini rosukatsu, Gomemui

A story about the tidy charm of Japanese home-style food: live abalone pot rice and mini rosukatsu at Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive (고메무이 현대가든파이브점).

If you love the neatness of Japanese home cooking and the natural taste of its ingredients, you probably end up looking for pot rice (solbap) restaurants. I remembered how good the steak pot rice was at Gomemui in Munjeong last time, so today I'm sharing my meal at Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive.

This time I ordered the live abalone pot rice, packed with fresh abalone, and the mini rosukatsu (Japanese-style pork loin cutlet), fried until crisp. For the abalone pot rice, I paid an extra ₩8,500 to double the abalone.

Nutty rice, fresh abalone and a sauce made from the abalone's liver (gaeu sauce) came together into a meal that was more satisfying than I expected.

Besides the food, I remembered the clean interior and the friendly service. Today I'll walk you through the taste, the atmosphere, how to eat it, and the wait, step by step.

What is Gomemui? A Japanese home-style pot rice restaurant with a special name

The name combines the Japanese "kome" (米), meaning rice, and "mui" (無二), meaning one and only. It's said to carry the meaning of serving a precious, special flavor found nowhere else.

Japanese home cooking is known less for flashy or strong flavors than for fresh ingredients and bringing out their natural taste. I felt Gomemui captures that charm well.

What caught my eye was that every menu item aims at healthy eating with rice koji (fermented rice), and that they use top-grade rice.

Honestly, with pot rice the rice itself has to be good for the whole dish to work. However nice the toppings, if the rice is mushy or bland, you can't really feel the charm of pot rice.

When I had the steak pot rice at the Munjeong branch, I was impressed by the nuttiness of every grain, the right amount of stickiness and the rich flavor. I fell for how different it was from ordinary pot rice, which is why I came back to the Hyundai Gardenfive branch this time.

Is there a wait at Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive even at 2pm?

I arrived around 2pm and there were still quite a lot of people waiting, so I wrote my name on the waiting list in front of the restaurant and waited for my turn. Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive sits inside Gardenfive, where you can enjoy both shopping and eating out.

Lunch time had passed, so I figured I could eat in peace, but unexpectedly lots of people were waiting. Seeing guests keep arriving after the lunch peak, I could really feel how many people come here.

Gardenfive is a mixed shopping and cultural complex visited by everyone from families out shopping to nearby office workers and friends meeting up. Out of all those restaurants, the line in front of Gomemui stood out. Inside, the whole place felt clean and tidy.

As a Japanese home-style restaurant, it felt like they cared about the space where you eat as well as the food.

Above all, I liked the friendly staff. Taste matters, but a restaurant makes you want to return when the whole process feels comfortable, from waiting to ordering to the moment the food arrives. Gomemui left a good impression there too.

Double abalone in the live abalone pot rice: worth an extra ₩8,500?

At Gomemui you can double the abalone in the live abalone pot rice for an extra ₩8,500, and when I lifted the lid it was generously filled. The menu describes it as pot rice with fresh live abalone from the south coast and gaeu sauce, with a chewy, nutty flavor.

Finally, the food I'd been waiting for arrived. I like abalone, so the standard amount seemed a bit thin and I ordered double. It looked satisfying just to look at. If you love abalone, adding more is a good choice.

The charm of abalone pot rice is the chewy texture of fresh abalone and the nutty gaeu sauce. The sauce, made from the abalone's innards, blends naturally into the rice and adds the umami of seafood. I liked it even more because it brings out the abalone's own flavor and the nuttiness of the rice rather than relying on strong seasoning.

The rice at Gomemui is really good. As the description says, they use top-grade rice and aim for healthy eating with rice koji, and the stickiness and nuttiness of the grains felt different from the rice at ordinary restaurants.

Pot rice tastes best when you mix the rice and toppings moderately. Scoop abalone and rice together and the chewiness of the abalone and the soft rice blend nicely. If you like abalone porridge, you'd probably be quite happy with this dish too, with the nutty flavor of the abalone liver coming through.

Mini rosukatsu: a good side to order with pot rice

The mini rosukatsu is a small-sized Japanese-style pork loin cutlet served as a side. I ordered it because the abalone pot rice alone felt a little short. The charm of rosukatsu is crisp on the outside and juicy inside.

If the pot rice is mild and nutty, the rosukatsu lets you enjoy a crunchy coating and the flavor of pork. Eating the two together made a nice combination. Japanese home-style meals are about enjoying a little of several dishes, and having the katsu between bites of the abalone pot rice made the meal richer. I also liked that the mini size makes it easy to order alongside pot rice.

What side dishes does Gomemui serve? Jeotgal and kimchi

The pot rice comes with side dishes such as salted fermented seafood (jeotgal) and kimchi. The portions weren't excessive, just right to eat during the meal.

Above all, the way the sides were presented was pretty. Even the small dishes came neatly set, which made the whole meal look more appetizing. The pot rice itself is fairly mild, so the saltiness of the jeotgal went well with the rice, and the kimchi cleansed the palate now and then. Japanese home cooking values harmony between ingredients and dishes over flashy seasoning, and I could feel that tidiness in Gomemui's spread too.

How to eat pot rice well: finish with sungnyung

At Gomemui you scoop out the rice, then pour warm water over the scorched rice (nurungji) left in the pot and finish with sungnyung (scorched-rice tea). The order of eating matters for pot rice, and following this method lets you enjoy the meal to the very end.

• Mix the rice and abalone in the pot moderately.
• Scoop the rice into a larger bowl and enjoy it with the abalone.
• Pour warm water over the scorched rice left in the pot.
• Finish the meal with the sungnyung, once the scorched rice has softened.

I think this last step is one of the biggest charms of pot rice. At ordinary restaurants the meal ends when the rice is gone, but with pot rice you also get the scorched rice and sungnyung, which makes the ending special.

Pour in hot water, wait a moment, and as you scoop the scorched rice a toasty aroma rises. After enjoying the nutty flavor of the abalone, finishing with warm, mild sungnyung felt soothing right down to my stomach. That's also why I'd recommend pot rice to anyone who prefers gentle, comfortable meals.

Why I came back after the Munjeong steak pot rice

What I liked most about this visit was how well the food, the service and the atmosphere came together. The steak pot rice at the Munjeong branch impressed me with its nutty, flavorful rice, and this time the abalone pot rice at Hyundai Gardenfive stood out for the harmony of fresh seafood and gaeu sauce. I liked that even within the same brand, the menu lets you enjoy a new taste.

They also build the menu around seasonal ingredients, so it seems fun to pick something different each visit. What stayed with me most was that so many people were still waiting after 2pm. While shoppers were choosing where to eat, the line kept going in front of Gomemui. I thought tasty food, a clean space and friendly service are probably why guests rate it well.

I'd recommend it to people who love pot rice, who like Japanese home-style dishes with seafood such as abalone or eel, and who want a tidier, healthier meal while shopping.

• Location: 66 Chungmin-ro, Songpa-gu, Seoul, B1 of Hyundai City Mall
• Signature dishes: abalone pot rice, steak pot rice, eel pot rice, wild sea bream seasonal herb pot rice
• Side dishes on the menu: rosukatsu, hirekatsu and more
• Features: healthy meals with rice koji, top-grade rice, neat Japanese home-style food

What is Gardenfive like? A shopping complex that began with the Cheonggyecheon restoration

Gardenfive is a large mixed retail complex in Munjeong-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, which began with the issue of relocating merchants because of the Cheonggyecheon restoration project. After the meal I suddenly got curious about the mall's history. Today it's a place for shopping, eating out and culture, but behind its creation lies an important Seoul urban development project.

① The Cheonggyecheon restoration and the birth of Gardenfive

The Cheonggyecheon restoration project, pushed in earnest from 2003, raised the problem of relocating the merchants who had been running businesses around the stream. To let them continue their businesses in a new space, the Seoul city government began building a southeast distribution complex around Munjeong-dong, Songpa-gu. This was the start of today's Gardenfive.

② Construction finished in 2008, officially opened in 2010

Construction of the main facilities at Gardenfive was completed between October and December 2008, followed by tenant move-in and operating preparations. There were various difficulties, such as the opening being later than planned, and early on the low occupancy rate of the shops raised worries about reviving the commercial district. It finally opened officially on June 10, 2010, as a leading large distribution complex in southeast Seoul.

③ Facilities such as the Life, Works and Tool buildings

Gardenfive was planned not as a simple shopping mall but as a mixed distribution complex with several functions.

• Life building (LIFE): a shopping-focused space for clothing, fashion and household goods
• Works building (WORKS): office and industry-related facilities
• Tool building (TOOL): a space specializing in industrial supplies such as tools, hardware and piping
• Logistics complex: space for storing and distributing goods
• Revitalization complex: space for commercial and office facilities

Combining shopping, industry and logistics functions is what characterizes Gardenfive.

④ Growing into a complex for shopping and culture

After opening, Gardenfive tried various changes to revive its commercial district. From 2010 to 2014, a cultural district project with the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture also ran. Using the art hall, central plaza, rooftop garden and creative studios, it let citizens enjoy performances and cultural life as well as shopping. Later, shopping facilities such as Hyundai City Mall and Hyundai Outlet, along with many restaurants and cultural facilities, moved in, and it grew into the place it is today, where you can enjoy shopping, dining and leisure together.

Gardenfive started from the history of urban development, with the relocation of merchants because of the Cheonggyecheon restoration, and grew into today's complex for shopping, dining and culture. Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive, which I visited this time, was a memorable restaurant among Gardenfive's many food options.

Wrapping up a meal at Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive

After the nutty steak pot rice I had at the Munjeong branch, this time I happily enjoyed abalone pot rice with double abalone and a mini rosukatsu. I especially liked how the meal flowed from the nuttiness of rice cooked with good grain, to the flavor of fresh abalone, to the neat side dishes and the final sungnyung.

Grabbing something quick while shopping is fine, but sometimes eating at leisure over properly cooked pot rice like this is one of life's small pleasures. I'm curious what seasonal ingredients the next pot rice will use. After Munjeong, the Hyundai Gardenfive branch was satisfying too, so if you like Japanese home-style food and pot rice, it's worth a visit.