Hongdae dumpling bar for solo drinking with yurinki gyoza: MANDOO BAR

I had plans near Hongdae and heard there was a dumpling place on Hongdae's Red Road that's easy to grab food from, so I stopped by! A lot of places call K-mandu "dumplings," but it was refreshing that this one just calls them mandu.

Not sure if the character is a bear or a dog, but it's super cute either way.

How ordering works at MANDOO BAR: QR on the 1st floor, pickup on the 2nd

Less stress, More gyoza. Less stress, more gyoza! MANDOO BAR, a gyoza spot in Hongdae, has you order by QR code on the 1st floor and pick up on the 2nd floor once you get the notification — super convenient!

There are photos on the wall introducing the topping menu, so it's good to check them out before ordering!

MANDOO BAR menu: yurinki gyoza and steamed meat or kimchi dumplings

They also sell mandu topped with various things like Mexican taco gyoza, ppuring gyoza, and okonomi gyoza, plus plain steamed mandu and crispy gyoza! You can order mandu with meat or kimchi filling, and half-and-half is also possible! I ordered the yurinki gyoza, steamed meat mandu, and steamed kimchi mandu.

Is the 2nd floor of MANDOO BAR good for drinking solo or a second round?

After ordering, I went up to the 2nd floor and looked around inside — overall it's clean, and the bar tables are set up well, so it seems good for dates, solo meals, solo drinking, and also as a second stop for the night.

The mandu I ordered came neatly packed! Sometimes sloppy packaging turns into a disaster on the way home, but with MANDOO BAR you don't have to worry about that at all — love it!

What the MANDOO BAR takeout looks like once you open it at home

I hurried home and set everything up. It felt pretty heavy carrying it back, and sure enough, each dumpling is quite large.

The color on the meat and kimchi mandu is gorgeous, and the vegetables on the yurinki gyoza — lettuce, onion, bell pepper — look really fresh too!

Lifting the vegetables off the yurinki gyoza a little, the gyoza underneath looked crisply grilled and delicious. Before eating, I drizzled on the yurinki sauce that came packed alongside it.

How the steamed meat dumplings at MANDOO BAR taste

I was most curious about the basic mandu flavor, so I took a bite of the meat mandu first!

The filling is generous and the wrapper is nice and chewy — a mandu with solid fundamentals... It's clean-tasting even without dipping it in soy sauce, and every single bite is really satisfying! Both the meat and the vegetable pieces inside have some real size to them, so the chewy texture was very much to my liking. Meat mandu: good, no notes.....

The spicy kimchi dumplings were the favourite

Next I went for the kimchi mandu. Just like the meat one, it's a good size — love that.

This kimchi mandu is a real gem. The kimchi's tanginess is well balanced and it's pretty spicy! The meat mandu is delicious too, but personally I'd rank the kimchi mandu even higher... If I come back to the shop for a beer someday, I think I'll be ordering the kimchi mandu!

What does yurinki gyoza taste like?

The yurinki gyoza is crispy on top and moist on the bottom, almost like a water dumpling, so you get to enjoy two textures at once. It's basically the yurinki flavor we're all used to, but with mandu added — a fairly unique combo, and delicious! This one would also be amazing with beer or a highball!

The pickled radish that comes with it is a hidden gem too! I thought it was just radish dusted with chili powder, but there's something extra seasoned in there, because it kept cleansing my palate in between bites! I usually don't eat pickled radish much, but this was so good I finished it all!

Is one MANDOO BAR order enough for one person?

I ended today's meal with the kimchi mandu, which I liked best. It was way too much for one person, so I kept the leftovers in the fridge for later~ For a meal, one menu item alone is plenty to fill you up solo; as a beer snack, one order is enough for two people to share!

It was great enjoying a hearty dinner of mandu tonight, and I'm really pleased to have found another good spot in Hongdae for drinks later on! If you're craving a beer alongside distinctive, charming mandu of all kinds, give it a visit...