Gangnam Station lunch for two: coconut shrimp salad at Moa Gangnam

Bringing you a genuinely amazing restaurant review from a visit with a close friend I hadn't seen in a while, haha. Whenever you try to make plans in Gangnam it's always the same predictable pasta place or a noisy meat spot, right? I searched hard for a Gangnam Station restaurant that's easy to talk in and has zero chance of disappointing anyone... and I ended up booking a table at Moa Gangnam, a fusion Korean restaurant. Here's my honest review — I loved both the clean atmosphere and the food quality 🫶🏻

How to find Moa Gangnam, and its opening hours

📍 Basic info

• Name: Moa Gangnam
• Address: 1F, Geumseong Building, 31 Teheran-ro 5-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Location: 5-minute walk from Gangnam Station Exit 11 (straight through the New Balance alley, left at the fork)
• Hours: Monday–Friday 11:00–22:00 (last order 21:00 / break time 15:30–17:00)
• Notes: Group-friendly, reservations recommended (waiting during lunch peak)

What is the dining room at Moa Gangnam like?

🏠 Interior

The inside of Moa Gangnam is bigger than I expected, and the interior felt both Korean and sophisticated — really clean and put together!

On one side of the restaurant there's an open kitchen, so you can catch glimpses of the cooking happening, haha. We visited on a weekday lunch and it was packed enough that there were waiting customers — a bit lively and loud, but instead of feeling stuffy or overly formal, that actually worked in its favor.

We had a reservation, so we were seated right away!

Three dishes to share between two people

💌 What we ordered

Moa Gangnam's menu is full of dishes that take ingredients familiar to Koreans and add an unexpected twist, so I spent a long time agonizing over the menu! In the end we ordered a well-rounded set of three: abalone mushroom butter pot rice, coconut shrimp avocado salad, and cockle rice bowl with wild chive 🤤

Coconut shrimp avocado salad

🥗 The coconut shrimp avocado salad came out first, and the portion caught me off guard — bigger than I expected, lol. As befits a restaurant known as a group hangout spot, the portions here are pretty generous. Crispy-fried coconut shrimp is piled high with soft avocado and fresh vegetables. The shrimp was crunchy outside, tender inside, and a gentle coconut aroma spread with every bite — really appealing —

and the avocado wrapped everything in softness, making it a great appetite starter. The dressing seemed to be a ranch base, but they poured on quite a lot, so I'd recommend scooping some off before eating :)

Abalone mushroom butter pot rice

🍚 Abalone mushroom butter pot rice

It was piled so high with abalone that I felt like this dish alone would fill me up..! The chewy abalone and the generous amount of mushrooms paired really well texturally,

and the butter flavor coated every single grain of rice, but it was never greasy — it just added depth. The seasoning was spot on, too, so I'd call this a fundamentally solid dish that anyone, of any age, would enjoy, haha.

Cockle rice bowl with wild chive (chamnamul)

🦪 Cockle rice bowl with wild chive (chamnamul kkomak deopbap)

The last dish we tried, the cockle rice bowl with wild chive, comes mixed with a red seasoning sauce, so it's spicier than you'd expect. That spiciness kept pulling us back in, haha.

Plump, satisfying cockles and fresh wild chive — before we knew it, we'd finished the whole thing... The texture of the cockles was perfect, and alternating bites with the pot rice made for a perfectly balanced meal ><

Verdict: is Moa Gangnam a good spot to meet friends?

🌷 I really think Moa Gangnam is an ideal spot for group gatherings. It's fusion Korean food made with fresh ingredients, so it's filling, and the menu lineup is basically foolproof — I'd strongly recommend it as a gathering spot! If you want a distinctive yet well-put-together Korean meal, definitely visit Moa Gangnam, a Korean restaurant near Gangnam Station. I think I'll host my next gathering here too...🤍