Yangjae Korean restaurant 3rd anniversary dinner, roe noodles: MUSEO

Is MUSEO in Yangjae good for an anniversary dinner?

For our 3rd anniversary I went looking for a Korean fine dining restaurant in Seoul with a good location and good food, and ended up at MUSEO in Yangjae! I've been to a bunch of fine dining and Michelin places, so my palate has gotten pretty picky, and the Korean dining bar in Apgujeong we tried last time didn't satisfy me, okay? But MUSEO in Yangjae was the tastiest of all the Korean dining spots I've been to in Seoul!! I'd recommend it as an anniversary restaurant near Yangjae Station or Gangnam Station, so here's my detailed review 👀

MUSEO location, parking and opening hours

MUSEO is open daily from 10:00 to 22:00, and parking is covered for 1 hour at the Daemyeong Building parking lot. Corkage is available for a fee, and you have to order alcohol if you come for dinner.

The restaurant is about a 5-minute walk from Yangjae Station on the Shinbundang Line! It's an easy trip from Seocho-dong or Gangnam Station too, and the entrance interior already gives off a high-end Korean dining vibe 〰️ For parking, use the Daemyeong Building lot, and note that parking support is only for 1 car per party!

MUSEO seating: private rooms and bar seats, and how many fit in a room

The seating is made up of private rooms and bar seats, and the rooms have a separate charge but seat up to 6 people. The interior is clean, upscale and done in black tones. There are flowers on every table, which really lifts the mood. So pretty 🫶🏻

It looks great for dates and anniversaries, but also for family meals or a quiet lunch company dinner!

The photos below are of the room. These days it's not always pork belly and soju; teams use their budget for lunch gatherings at nice places like this, so consider it for a team lunch too 🫧

Oh, and the room has a beam projector too! Looks great for a proposal or an event 💍

MUSEO dinner courses: chef's tasting or signature?

The dinner menu at MUSEO comes in two courses, the chef's tasting course and the signature course, and the chef's tasting adds 3 dishes: Wando kelp, Goheung Spanish mackerel and Gangneung potato truffle. Having tried them, those 3 dishes were so delicious and were the real kick, so I recommend ordering the chef's tasting 💡

For the main, we ordered one default chicken drumstick and switched the other to Hanwoo striploin (3.8 extra, as written in the original). We thought it would be too filling, so we didn't add the pot rice (solbap).

What drinks to order with dinner at MUSEO

If you visit MUSEO in Yangjae for dinner, ordering alcohol is a must! There's a good range from wine by the glass to bottles, plus makgeolli (Korean rice wine) and beer, so just pick what you like 🍶

Since MUSEO is Korean dining, we went with a traditional liquor! We ordered 'Dameun' makgeolli. It was smooth and nutty and went really well with the dishes 🍶 Personally, since there are fish and raw fish dishes, I think white wine would pair well too!

Welcome bites and starters

Vegetables with anchovy doenjang (soybean paste) sauce

The starter MUSEO gave us as a welcome food was vegetables topped with a doenjang (fermented soybean paste) sauce made with ground anchovies. This sauce is salty and nutty in a crazy good way.. 🤎 They said they're preparing to sell it on Naver Smart Store, and when it opens I want to buy one for a simple breakfast or evening snack at home! It would also be nice to serve like this at a housewarming?

My boyfriend, who doesn't like vegetables, went 'ugh, it's veggies' and then 'wait, this is good..' and polished them off in no time! I wonder what a doenjang jjigae (stew) made with this doenjang would taste like..? 🫶🏻

Steamed egg and green onion tart

A warm steamed egg drizzled with sesame oil, and a green onion tart. The steamed egg was topped with Pohang spinach and fried anchovies, which gave it texture and was soothing for the stomach, and the green onion tart, with its rich cheese, green onion aroma and crispy tart shell, totally hit my spot ✨

The green onion tart tastes great, but doesn't it look pretty too?

Greater amberjack sashimi with gochujang mulhoe sauce

A greater amberjack sashimi dish with gochujang mulhoe (chilled spicy raw fish soup) sauce poured over it. Amaranth greens and water dropwort are laid underneath, and olive powder is sprinkled on top!

The chewy amberjack, fragrant water dropwort and zesty gochujang mulhoe sauce! It felt like eating a really upscale mulhoe? It was so refreshing it woke my appetite right up!!! 🌿

Ox foot and beef shank pyeonyuk (sliced pressed meat) with geotjeori (fresh kimchi)

Ox foot, the beef hamstring cut and aroni-sagol (beef shank) are steamed together and pressed into pyeonyuk (pressed sliced boiled meat). Dipping it into the savory shiitake doenjang sauce and eating it with geotjeori (fresh kimchi salad) with gochujang yuja sauce was chewy, salty and nicely balanced. The geotjeori was so spicy and fresh 🍊

3 standout dishes only in the chef's tasting course

It was delicious up to here.. but from here on were the real kick dishes, so good! 🙀 Wando kelp, Goheung Spanish mackerel and Gangneung potato truffle aren't included in the basic signature course, so if you're deciding on a MUSEO menu, go for the chef's tasting!

Wando kelp soy butter with brioche

Kelp soy butter served as a butter spread, with thick brioche bread. They said they made the butter with herbs 🍃

The bread was toasted crispy on the front and sides, and spread with butter it was so. good. They recommended keeping about half the bread for the next Spanish mackerel dish, so I worked hard and saved half 😶‍🌫️ A little kelp soy butter was left and I honestly wanted to take it home (seriously).. They said they'll only sell the doenjang on Smart Store, but boss, please sell the kelp soy butter too.. 🥺

Goheung Spanish mackerel braised kimchi fusion dish

A fusion dish inspired by Spanish mackerel kimchi jjim (braised dish), topped with red kimchi powder and crushed pistachios! The mackerel's subtle smoky aroma and fire flavor, and how well the fish is cooked, were perfect ✨

Mashing the mackerel onto the brioche I'd saved felt just like eating tapas and was so good.. 🤍 I nearly fainted eating this.. this place is crazy 🙀

Gangneung potato with truffle

When I first saw the name I thought, potato ice cream? But it's a potato dish served on a stick like an ice cream bar. It's steamed and fried at low temperature, so the outside is super crunchy! 🥔 It was really delicious, and the kick is dipping it in the white truffle sauce.

The nutty, slightly sweet white sauce has truffle ground into it, so the aroma is strong and wonderful!

Capellini noodles topped with eoran (dried fish roe)

MUSEO's noodle dish comes in a tomato and anchovy fish sauce base, topped with grated eoran (cured fish roe) 🤍 Maybe because it uses capellini, thinner than pasta, it felt like eating a really upscale, delicious Korean soy sauce noodle dish? The roe gives an even umami and saltiness, the seasoning is just right, and it's a style anyone of any age would love!

My boyfriend took the first bite and said it was delicious and that I'd definitely like it! And it was totally my style..! The umami is so good and it's nicely salty, so I hope everyone tries it 🫶🏻

Korean mint leaf sorbet palate cleanser

Before the main dishes, they prepared bangaip (Korean mint) sorbet as a palate cleanser. The cool minty flavor was fresh and perfect for resetting the mouth 🍃 After this, it's time to solemnly wait for the mains 🤲🏻

Mains: order one chicken leg and one Hanwoo striploin to share

For the dinner main at MUSEO you can choose between the default chicken drumstick and Hanwoo striploin, which costs extra. Our hobby is ordering both whenever there's an option so we can compare..🤍 If your group wants the same dish, I'd recommend the chicken drumstick, but I want you to try the striploin too (it's delicious), so I strongly recommend ordering one each and sharing like we did 🙌🏻

Hanwoo striploin with galbi sauce

The Hanwoo striploin isn't just a steak; it's based on a sweet-salty galbi sauce. It comes with Jerusalem artichoke purée and tohajeot (salted freshwater shrimp), with garlic-sautéed broccoli underneath! 🥦

Sweet and salty Hanwoo 1++ striploin! The meat is so tender it slides down, and why is the broccoli so good? If it's grilled like this, I could live on broccoli alone 😶‍🌫️

Slow-cooked chicken leg with K-risotto

A chicken drumstick slow-cooked for two hours at 90 degrees! Topped with charred pickled scallions, and underneath is a K-risotto made of glutinous rice and mung beans! The sauce was really delicious, a soy sauce-based pepper sauce 🤍 The pepper aroma was great too, and I really enjoyed this dish.

The bone just slipped right off the chicken. So tender 🫠 The risotto is made with glutinous rice and nurungji (scorched rice), so it's even nuttier, and the scallion and pepper soy sauce was so good.. an umami explosion of a dish. I want to go eat it again 🤲🏻

Dessert: soy sauce crumble and pickled Korean melon

MUSEO is good at dessert too....🙀 The soy sauce crumble, made by caramelizing and crumbling rice and nuruk (fermentation starter), was like granola and so tasty, and the texture of the pickled chamoe (Korean melon) sprinkled on top was crazy. The melon garnish was truly a stroke of genius! So so so delicious, and even the dessert is perfectly fusion Korean style.

Final verdict on MUSEO's anniversary dinner in Yangjae

I went to MUSEO for dinner as a Gangnam-Yangjae anniversary restaurant, and I promised myself I'd come back again, whether with family or friends! It was just perfect ✨

• One of the best tastes among the Korean dining spots I've been to in Seoul
• The chef's tasting course, with Spanish mackerel and potato, is recommended
• A clean, upscale space

If you're looking for Korean dining in Seoul or near Gangnam Station, I really, absolutely highly recommend MUSEO! 🫶🏻