Nowon Korean autumn set with mom and mustard brisket salad: Sutgarak

Where is Sutgarak Bansang Masil in Nowon and when is it open?

Sutgarak Bansang Masil (숟가락반상 마실) is a Korean set-course restaurant at 412 Nowon-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul, about a 10-minute walk from Nowon Station Exit 1. It is open daily from 11:30 to 21:30, with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00 on weekdays (none on weekends), and last order is at 20:30.

My mom loves Korean set meals, so I went looking for a good place and visited Sutgarak Bansang Masil, a Nowon favorite known for neat, carefully made food. From the entrance, the traditional tiled-roof curtain wall and the stylish interior come together and give it the dignity you'd expect of a hanjeongsik (Korean full-course meal) restaurant.

It's a great Nowon restaurant and also a good spot for an in-law meeting. If you're coming by car, I'd suggest using the parking lot in the restaurant's building!

The banner at the entrance clearly shows the seasonal Autumn Feast set, which captures the abundance of autumn, along with the various set menus, so it was easy to choose.

Is Sutgarak Bansang Masil's interior good for a family gathering?

Inside, soft wood tones, gentle lighting and subtle autumn-leaf decorations blend together nicely. It was very comfortable and had a lovely atmosphere for a family gathering or group meal.

What's in the autumn Masil set for 2?

We ordered the Masil set for 2 at ₩27,000 per person. Going by the menu, it's a generous lineup served in order: walnut brown rice porridge, perilla seed seaweed soup, yuja five-color salad, autumn bite cold salad, flounder tangsu (sweet-and-sour fried flounder), shiitake mung bean pancake, bellflower japchae, medicinal bossam (boiled pork wraps), Masil tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patty), nutritious mushroom galbijjim (braised short ribs), and then lotus seed rice and chard-and-pine-mushroom doenjang hot pot with side dishes.

Walnut brown rice porridge

The walnut brown rice porridge served at the start of the set had a gentle sweetness from the brown rice and the nutty flavor of walnuts, with nothing harsh about it.

What comes in the first round of the Masil set?

While you're eating the porridge, the first round arrives. I'll go through them one by one: yuja five-color salad, autumn bite cold salad, flounder tangsu, medicinal bossam and bellflower japchae!

Yuja five-color salad

The yuja five-color salad is topped with yuja (citron) dressing, purple beet and crunchy chips over fresh greens. It freshened up my mouth and got my appetite going.

Autumn Bite cold salad with mustard beef brisket

The autumn bite cold salad is a special dish of thin-sliced beef brisket with crunchy red onion, fresh vegetables and a punchy house mustard sauce. Just as you taste the mild, nutty flavor of the beef, the sweet, tangy, sharp sauce wraps around it and makes your whole mouth feel refreshed. The more you chew, the more that mustard kick bursts out, which kept my appetite up between bites throughout the meal.

Flounder tangsu (sweet-and-sour fried flounder)

The flounder tangsu comes as crispy fried flounder topped with a colorful sweet-and-sour sauce. You get the full charm of white fish: extremely crunchy outside, moist and tender inside. It came with pine mushroom fritters and apple fritters (I think?) too, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Medicinal-herb bossam (boiled pork)

The medicinal bossam has a perfect ratio of tender lean meat and moist fat, so it tasted nuttier the more I chewed, and maybe because of the herbal medicinal ingredients, there was no gamey smell at all. Eating it with sweet-and-spicy dried radish strips gave it great texture and made it even tastier.

Bellflower root japchae (glass noodles)

The bellflower japchae (stir-fried glass noodles) has soy-seasoned noodles with thinly shredded bellflower root and perilla leaves. Pick some up with chopsticks and after the chewy noodles you get the crunchy, slightly bitter, fragrant bellflower in a unique way, and the aroma of the perilla leaves cuts the oiliness cleanly, so it went down easily.

What comes in the second round of the Masil set?

After you've eaten for a while, the Masil set brings out a second round. It consists of seasonal side dishes, galbijjim, tteokgalbi and doenjang stew.

Masil tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patty)

The Masil tteokgalbi is a handmade short rib patty grilled on a hot iron plate, and with every bite the meat's juices filled my mouth.

Mushroom galbijjim (braised short ribs)

The nutritious mushroom galbijjim comes in an earthenware pot. The meat is stewed so long that the bone slips right out, and the savory depth of the mushrooms has soaked deep into it.

Chard and pine mushroom doenjang hot pot

The savory chard and pine mushroom doenjang (fermented soybean paste) hot pot had a wholesome flavor and was a good way to finish the Masil set meal.