Mangwon Japanese spot: sunny window-seat date lunch at Padong

Today I had lunch at Padong (파동), a Japanese rice bowl restaurant near Mangwon Station that I'd recommend for its really clean, tidy atmosphere haha.

Where is Padong near Mangwon Station, and when is it open?

Padong, a Japanese restaurant, is a 5-minute walk from Mangwon Station, in an alley by Mangwon Market. Lots of couples come here on dates, and it was a great place for a date for us too.

• Address: B1, 47 Woldeukeop-ro 17-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea (Mangwon-dong)
• Hours: Tue–Sun 11:30–21:00, closed Mondays
• Amenities: Wi-Fi, takeout, reservations, group seating available
• Parking: not available

Padong's atmosphere and window seats

Padong's interior is neat and cute, and the seating is mostly 2- and 4-person tables. Just take a look inside! The plants outside and the wood tones inside go together so well, and the mood was really lovely haha.

If you sit by the window at Padong, you can watch the sunlight and plants outside while you wait for your food, which I loved. Recommended for a date!

Padong menu and prices

Padong mainly sells rice bowls (donburi), and there were lots of other good lunch options too, like futomaki (thick sushi roll), soba (buckwheat noodles) and kimchi nabe (hot pot). These are the three dishes we ordered that day.

• Futomaki ₩16,000
• Steak bowl ₩13,000
• Kimchi cheese nabe ₩15,000

Just look at how neatly the food came out! Doesn't it look delicious? haha

A few simple side dishes and a clear broth come out with the meal too.

How does Padong's flat iron steak rice bowl taste?

Padong's steak bowl (₩13,000) is the one other customers order most, so we tried it first. It's a rice bowl topped with nicely grilled steak, scallions, an egg yolk, wasabi and more.

They use flank steak (buchealsal), and it was tender with no tough bits, and the salty-sweet sauce was really good.

Break the yolk a little over the rice, then put steak and wasabi on top: you get the meat, the rice and the richness of the yolk, and the wasabi finishes it off cleanly. So good haha. A popular dish is popular for a reason~

What's in Padong's kimchi cheese nabe?

Padong's kimchi cheese nabe (₩15,000) has three plump fried shrimp in it, topped with rich cheese. My partner Kkumi ordered it, and I liked the spicy yet savory flavor.

It comes with rice, so you eat them together, and the spicy kick of the kimchi nabe bubbling in a hot earthenware pot was great. It had fried shrimp instead of pork cutlet, and the shrimp were a really good size with a natural sweetness, so I enjoyed them a lot haha.

Stretchy cheese and slightly tangy kimchi with rice is a total rice thief~ It's getting colder these days, so how about a hot kimchi cheese nabe for lunch!

Can you eat Padong's futomaki in one bite?

Padong's futomaki (₩16,000) is packed with really big fillings: tuna, egg and even fried shrimp. It was our last dish, and I loved how generous it was~

Look how stuffed it is with fillings?! They say futomaki should be eaten in one bite, so we ate every piece in one bite, and the fullness was seriously huge haha.

Add a little wasabi and the tuna flavor fills your mouth, with the crunch of pickled radish and cucumber and the savory fried shrimp all coming together. I enjoyed it a lot.

Is Padong in Mangwon worth a return date lunch?

I was happy with Padong, the Japanese rice bowl specialist near Mangwon Station: the atmosphere is really clean, and the menu quality is quite high, so I enjoyed everything. The rice bowls are really good since that's their specialty, and as a Japanese restaurant, the dishes with tuna or salmon were also very tasty. If you come to Mangwon-dong, I think it would be a great date lunch spot!