Gyodae Chinese restaurant: eggplant menbosha and jjamppong, Maeranbang

Is Maeranbang Gyodae Branch a good place for a team dinner near Gyodae Station?

Maeranbang Gyodae Branch (매란방 교대점) is a great spot in Gyodae for group get-togethers. I honestly wonder if there's any other Chinese restaurant this big around Gyodae Station. The place is huge and the interior is so classically elegant that it feels right for a team dinner.

Maeranbang Gyodae Branch location and how to get there

Maeranbang is a 1-minute walk from Exit 14 of Gyodae Station. It's a Chinese restaurant on basement level 1 of the Gyodae Icheungjip building, and the way down feels so classy!!

A Chinese restaurant with great atmosphere near Gyodae Station: Maeranbang. The entrance alone is so stylish that your expectations rise before you even step inside, hehe.

Kaoliang liquor decor and green wallpaper: inside Maeranbang

Step inside Maeranbang Gyodae Branch and your eyes just can't help wandering around the dazzling interior @_@ I'm amazed that kaoliang (Chinese sorghum liquor) bottles can be used as decor this beautifully, wow!! And what about the lights drooping down like long plants, haha!

The hall is quite large, so the tables are nicely spaced apart, which I liked about this Gyodae restaurant.

Semicircular sofa seats and a round-table group room

The middle of the hall has semicircular sofa seats, so you can even sit at a round table to eat!!!!

The hall is big, but above all there's a large room, which makes Maeranbang really good for a group dinner near Gyodae Station. I think the green wallpaper brings out the classical feel of the restaurant perfectly.

The group room with the round table is just so pretty!!!!

The hallway to the restroom is this gorgeous? That's cheating!! haha Black-and-white photos related to China hang along the walls, so it's fun just to look around.

Dim sum steamers, jasmine tea and side dishes

Maeranbang is also known as a great dim sum place! You can even watch dim sum being steamed nonstop in the steamers.

The tea comes in a pitcher that suits the upscale interior. Fragrant jasmine tea is served by default, and it's wonderful to sip when Chinese food starts to feel a little greasy.

The tableware is neatly set. The default side dishes are danmuji (yellow pickled radish) and zha cai (pickled mustard stem).

Maeranbang Gyodae Branch menu: are there set courses for team dinners?

The menu has Chinese set courses at a range of prices, so it looks easy to order for a group gathering.

With a wide range of dishes, rice and noodle meals, and even alcohol, Maeranbang looks like a good choice for group meals near Gyodae Station.

One dish and three meals we ordered at Maeranbang

From the dishes section we ordered eggplant menbosha. Instead of bread, eggplant wraps minced shrimp and is fried. You get 4 pieces, and they're quite big, so the look is impressive.

On the menu, the eggplant menbosha is listed under appetizers, but I think it's plenty for a main dish, haha.

The samseon jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) is made with a clean, refreshing seafood broth. For the jajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce), the hand-pulled, wide and thick potato noodles really bring out the texture.

The crab fried rice, quickly stir-fried with XO sauce, looks like there's no way it could taste bad from its color alone!!!!

Three meals and one dish: a nicely varied order at Maeranbang, a Chinese restaurant near Gyodae Station.

Maeranbang is a Seocho-dong Chinese restaurant that's great for ordering a variety of food and sharing.

How does the eggplant menbosha taste? Shrimp is the star

I love that Maeranbang's eggplant menbosha is packed with this much shrimp!! The eggplant is practically a cameo, haha!

Eaten plain it's nutty, and dipped in sweet chili sauce it's sweet and so good!!!!!

Potato-noodle jajangmyeon and samseon jjamppong

Maeranbang's jajangmyeon is made with potato noodles of wildly uneven thickness, like dosakmyeon (knife-shaved noodles).

There's a generous amount of sauce, so it's easy to enjoy, hehe.

The samseon jjamppong uses the regular noodles we all know! It's loaded with vegetables, so the broth isn't heavy and stays clean, which I liked. Abalone, shrimp, bamboo shoots and more give it a chewy texture too. Great!

XO crab fried rice, mixed with jajang sauce

The crab fried rice lets you really taste the savory depth of XO sauce. Mixing it with jajang sauce is great! With the good atmosphere and good food, I had a lovely meal at Maeranbang, a Chinese restaurant near Gyodae Station, hehe.

Maeranbang Gyodae Branch address and hours

• Address: 24 Seocho-daero 50-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea (basement level 1)
• Hours: daily 11:00–21:50 (break time 15:00–17:00)