Baekhyeon-dong Sunday night brunch and chestnut tiramisu: Meolmeol

The heat is finally breaking and the evening breeze feels nice and cool — perfect weather for a date, honestly. Since our baby was born we've been going on even more little outings than before, so this time we hit up a Pangyo brunch spot to celebrate the weekend!

• Location: 6 Pangyoyeok-ro 2beon-gil, 1st floor, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: Mon–Thu 10am–6:50pm / Fri–Sun 10am–8:50pm

What kind of place is Meolmeol Pangyo? A brunch café on Baekhyeon-dong café street

This time's Pangyo brunch spot is Meolmeol Pangyo. It's located on the Baekhyeon-dong café street, and it's already famous for its atmosphere and food. There are tons of genuine, unpaid reviews out there too, so I was super hyped even before going!

A 7:30pm Sunday visit to Meolmeol Pangyo with a 10-month-old baby

Meolmeol Pangyo's hours are Mon–Thu 10am to 6:50pm and Fri–Sun 10am to 8:50pm. Since we were visiting with a 10-month-old, we figured a quieter time slot would be easier than a super crowded one, so we went around 7:30pm on a Sunday.

From the outside it already had a cozy, atmospheric vibe, and with quiet music playing and just the right amount of other customers, I felt like we'd picked the right time to come haha.

Meolmeol Pangyo parking: 1 hour free at the Baekhyeon-dong public lot

Finding parking on the Baekhyeon-dong café street isn't easy. But at Meolmeol Pangyo, if you use the 'Baekhyeon-dong public parking lot,' you can get 1 hour free with your store receipt. It's only about a 3-minute walk from the lot to the café. There's also a small parking area to the right of the store, but since that's mostly reserved for residents, it's better to just park comfortably at the public lot.

The Baekhyeon-dong public lot runs 24 hours, with a fee of ₩400 per 30 minutes. On a Sunday evening, spots weren't super plentiful, but there were still 4–5 open.

Inside Meolmeol Pangyo: the terrace, the mood and baby chairs

Here's what the inside of this Pangyo brunch spot looks like. The wood-toned chairs and tables fit that brunch café vibe perfectly.

There are so many pretty cafés on the Baekhyeon-dong café street, but Meolmeol Pangyo's atmosphere feels like it's on another level. Every lighting fixture and decor piece has this warm feeling!

The space is pretty spacious too, so it seems comfortable to visit whether it's day or night. It especially seems like a great spot for a Pangyo date or a Pangyo blind date?! Actually, at the table behind us during our visit, there was literally a blind date happening. The vibe is so warm and full of feeling that I'd totally recommend it for a Pangyo date or blind date!

There's also a separate outdoor terrace. Especially in weather like this, it's cool enough day or night to enjoy the terrace and its atmosphere.

As mentioned, we came with our 10-month-old, and they had a baby chair ready for us, which made eating so much more comfortable.

Meolmeol Pangyo menu and how to order by QR code

You order via the QR code on the table. There was a wide range — coffee, non-coffee, desserts, even wine. Since we came for a meal, we picked out mains along with our drinks.

So many dishes looked delicious that we agonized over it. We ended up ordering:

• Endive salad ₩19,000
• Grandma's lasagna ₩23,000
• Truffle baby potato fritters ₩9,000

Long story short — every single dish was a hit!

For drinks we got orange juice and an iced Americano. The orange juice especially was rich and really tasty.

Endive salad, 19,000 won

The first dish we ordered was the endive salad. We usually never order salad — we're the type to just slam down two or three orders of meat or pasta hahahaha — but as you get a little older, salad seems to round out the meal nicely. I'd seen a lot of praise for this endive salad in reviews, so I made sure not to skip it this time.

Honestly, 'endive' itself was pretty unfamiliar to me. Looking it up, I think it's that cabbage-looking leafy vegetable. It was crunchier than I expected, and fresh and delicious.

It seems like they mix in seasonal fruit with the endive salad — when we ordered, it came plated with raspberries and plums. With the strawberry yogurt sauce on top, it was refreshing enough to be a perfect appetizer.

Grandma's lasagna, 23,000 won

The main dish we unanimously agreed on was Grandma's lasagna. Just the name alone gives you that feeling like — if grandma made you lasagna, it'd be next-level good, right? Haha.

It comes with 4 pieces of baguette on the side. Straight-up passed the visual test right away!

The sauce was rich and everything inside was cooked well, so it was genuinely delicious. My husband and I were saying 'oh, this is really good~' when the owner came over and apologized, saying it might have come out a bit more overcooked than intended. We told them we honestly hadn't even noticed it was overcooked and not to worry about it — but they must have still felt bad, because they brought us out an extra dessert on the house. Such a thoughtful touch!

It was a chestnut tiramisu — the visuals were perfect, and the cream was so fluffy and delicious. Paired amazingly with the iced Americano.

Even overcooked, the lasagna was really tasty, and we happily dipped the baguette in it too. I heard the lasagna is Meolmeol Pangyo's especially famous dish, and now I get why.

Truffle baby potato fritters, 9,000 won

This was the dish I'd been saying I absolutely had to try even before we got here. Truffle already sounds fancy on its own, but baby potato fritters with truffle? There was no way I was skipping that.

The visuals were exactly my type. This would work great as a brunch dish, but it'd also be a fantastic wine snack. It'd probably even be a solid pick for a Pangyo blind date menu.

As you can see, the batter is thin and packed full of baby potato, so the texture was soft and really delicious. The sauce was a mayo-based one that wasn't greasy at all, and it paired perfectly with the potato fritters. I want to come back just for this.

Review event: free yuja bingsu at Meolmeol Pangyo

If you take part in this place's review event, they give you this delicious yuja (citron) bingsu haha. After eating the lasagna and potato fritters, I was kind of craving something cool and refreshing to finish with. Turns out participating in the review event got us the yuja bingsu, so I signed up right away!

The yuja sauce wasn't too tart, and since the bingsu base was milk-based, the combination was really good. It gave the meal a refreshing finish, so if you visit Meolmeol Pangyo, don't forget to try the yuja bingsu too.

That's my visit to Meolmeol Pangyo, a spot on the Baekhyeon-dong café street. The atmosphere was great and the staff were all so kind, which is probably why I ended up writing such a heartfelt review. If you're looking for a Pangyo brunch or blind date spot, definitely give Meolmeol Pangyo a visit — and I especially recommend the truffle baby potato fritters and the yuja bingsu!