Date-night Korean restaurant in Yeongdeungpo: spicy squid set, Gangmun

Gangmun: homestyle Korean food at Yeongdeungpo Times Square

Gangmun Times Square Branch is a Korean set-meal restaurant in the Food Square on B1 of Yeongdeungpo Times Square, open daily 11:00 - 21:30. I visit Times Square a lot, but I always just stop by pop-ups or cafés and rarely eat a proper meal. Maybe it's because there's no comfy, homestyle place? But Gangmun, where I went today, is a full Korean set-meal table! This is my story about a Gangmun spot that people of all ages, families and couples included, will love.

Gangmun is right at the entrance of the Food Square. It's a Korean restaurant, but the interior is so stylish, isn't it? The customers were really varied too: families, friends, couples, even people dining solo.

How long is the wait at Gangmun Times Square on a Friday evening?

I came after work on Friday and there was already quite a wait. Luckily the restaurant is big, so turnover is good. We got in without waiting long.

While waiting, I browsed the outdoor menu and got excited about how good it might be. The menu alone made my eyes spin. It's Korean food at its base, with dishes like suyuk (boiled pork), spicy squid, cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew) and stone-pot rice. But there are so many standout items too... more on that below.

The inside of Gangmun is really clean and pleasant. It's big enough that a group would have no trouble.

Besides cheonggukjang, what fusion Korean dishes does Gangmun serve?

Besides Korean classics like cheonggukjang and doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew), Gangmun also sells fusion dishes like beef mala cream noodles and matcha red-bean rice cake cream noodles. If it were just cheonggukjang and doenjang-jjigae, it probably wouldn't win over the couples on dates at Times Square. I mean, how do you NOT order the beef mala cream noodles!! And what on earth are matcha red-bean rice cake cream noodles!? Isn't that menu so novel? Haha

So we ordered Gangmun's signature spicy squid single set and the beef mala cream noodles.

Gangmun's spicy squid single set: what's included and how it tastes

Gangmun's spicy squid single set comes with spicy squid, beef radish soup and 2 tuna mayo rice balls. Great set, right? Even big eaters will leave full.

True to its name, the spicy squid is packed generously with plump squid. Squid can easily end up just tough, but this one was tender and chewy.

How spicy is Gangmun's kal-ojingeo (spicy squid)?

The spicy squid is properly spicy, just like it looks! I can't handle heat, but it has that magic where you go "ssup!" and keep eating anyway. Maybe because it's loaded with squid, the seafood umami is great, and the spicy, sharp seasoning soaked right into the noodles, so good. A hot bowl of it was a proper case of fighting heat with heat.

Are Gangmun's beef brisket mala cream noodles good for mala beginners?

Gangmun's beef mala cream noodles pair smooth cream with a not-too-strong mala (numbing Sichuan spice), so even mala beginners can enjoy them. The dish looks impressive too. It's a worthy Times Square date-night pick.

The beef mala cream noodles live up to the name. The soft, rich cream blended with the mala flavor was so good. The cream tames the tingly mala, so you can just keep slurping.

I'm not really a cream person, but mixed with the mala it tasted like rosé sauce, and I found it charming. The mala isn't overdone, so I think beginners will enjoy it too!

Beef radish soup and tuna mayo rice balls: sides that tame the heat

The beef radish soup and tuna mayo rice balls that come with the spicy squid set are top-class sides for calming the heat of the squid and the mala cream noodles. I feel like it's been ages since I had beef radish soup, and there's plenty of beef in it. See how full the tuna mayo filling is too? Nothing neutralizes spice like a rice ball.

But as a Korean, of course you dip the rice ball in the sauce. How could I not! The sauces on both dishes were so good that the tuna mayo rice ball went well with every one of them. To finish, I cleared every rice ball and all the sauce, haha.

Who should you bring to Gangmun Times Square?

I think Gangmun Times Square Branch is a Korean restaurant that satisfies many ages and tastes: family, partners, friends. A department store is a complex cultural space where lots of families and couples come to spend time. That's probably why the wait was longest then, haha. I recommend Gangmun at Times Square!