Gwanghwamun Korean restaurant, shiitake modam fritters: Modam Dining

Hi everyone~ it's Hyun. haha

I recently went to a restaurant that had such a great vibe and great food that I felt like I'd discovered another hidden gem... I don't usually eat Korean food much, but lately I've been trying to eat healthy Korean food about once every three meals. And I love hunting down fusion Korean restaurants, so I went to Modam Dining Gwanghwamun!

Where is Modam Dining Gwanghwamun and how do you get there?

Modam Dining is on the basement floor of Deoksugung D Palace, in the alley right across from the Seoul Museum of History! There's an escalator in front of the building — just take it down one level.

Go straight in and turn right, and you'll find Modam Dining right there.

Do you need a reservation for weekend lunch?

We had reserved in advance, but walk-ins are possible too. That said, there were so many guests on the weekend. By noon every single seat was full! With such a great atmosphere and food quality that's excellent for the price, it's clearly one of those spots that regulars already know about,, so I'd recommend reserving ahead!

Inside Modam Dining: the room and the seating

There are private rooms too, but they require a minimum of 4 people. We used the hall, and the hall seats are basically 4-person tables with comfortable sofa seating, plus the tables are spaced well apart from each other, so it feels fairly private even while dining!

Menu and prices: weekday lunch costs less

Keep in mind the menu has different prices for weekday lunch versus weekday dinner and weekends! What we ordered was

• Bori-gulbi set: ₩37,000
• Abalone tteokgalbi set: ₩40,000

For reference, at weekday lunch you can order the bori-gulbi set for ₩32,000 and the abalone tteokgalbi set for ₩35,000, a bit cheaper. The two sets we ordered only differ in the main dish — everything before it, plus rice, side dishes, and dessert, is identical! There turned out to be way more menu items than I expected, so I want to try different dishes next time.

The course opens: cheongyang water kimchi, yuzu-dressed salad, mustard leaves in pine nut sauce

As soon as we ordered, side dishes came out that pair well with the mains to follow.

• Cheongyang water kimchi
• Yuzu-dressed seasonal salad
• Pine nut sauce mustard greens

The cheongyang water kimchi lives up to its name, with a slight spicy kick at the end that wakes up your palate — perfect for cleansing your mouth between bites.

The yuzu dressing salad has a refreshing taste that gets your appetite going... this isn't a store-bought yuzu dressing loaded with sugar — it's clearly homemade, with a genuine, strong yuzu flavor.

The pine nut sauce mustard greens have a slight sharp kick amid the nutty flavor, giving a different feel from the usual salad! I like that a hanjeongsik (traditional Korean course meal) doesn't dive straight into heavy dishes — starting light like this is a nice touch.

Seasonal porridge of the day: mung bean porridge

Next comes the seasonal porridge, and when we visited it was mung bean porridge. It was my first time trying mung bean porridge, and the texture was really unique. Sort of like an unsweetened pumpkin porridge but full of nuttiness — I really enjoyed it.

Halibut sashimi and Korean pickle ceviche

This dish surprised me a bit.. ceviche in a Korean course, of all things..! It's halibut sashimi paired with pickled vegetables — the tender halibut alongside the tangy, salty, crunchy texture of the pickles is a great combo. This is where I really felt that this place is a modern Korean dining concept that reinterprets Korean ingredients in a contemporary way, rather than traditional hanjeongsik.

Top pick: the shiitake modam fritters

And now, the modam fritters I personally loved. They cut it into bite-sized pieces with scissors right at the table.

Guess what's inside~?

It's... shiitake mushroom.. I'm not sure what the coating seasoning is, but it tastes like a mix of cheese and something rich and slightly sweet? It's so much my style, and surprisingly it pairs so well with the shiitake that I devoured it in seconds ㅠㅠ Personally, this is my top pick on the menu.

Perilla oil capellini

A perilla oil seasoned pasta made with thin, noodle-like capellini.

The thin capellini strands are deeply infused with the nutty aroma of perilla oil, and there's a savory sauce pooled at the bottom, so make sure to mix it well before eating! There's shrimp on top too — it feels like eating soy sauce noodles and pasta at the same time, which is a genuinely fun experience haha

The mains: bori-gulbi set and abalone tteokgalbi set

And finally, the mains! My friend ordered the bori-gulbi set, and I ordered the abalone tteokgalbi set. Rice, soup, four side dishes, and the bori-gulbi all arrive together on one tray.

The side dish lineup included my favorite miyeok-julgi (seaweed stem), which I cleaned out.. Overall the seasoning isn't strong, so it genuinely feels like home cooking, except with much fresher ingredients..

Bori-gulbi is great on its own with rice, but you can't beat the combo of rice lightly soaked in green tea topped with a piece of it, right? So they give you green tea to go with it. Plus, the bones are already removed, so there's no need to pick through them..

Salty gulbi with plain rice is basically a rice thief in edible form.. Even though we'd already eaten several appetizers, once the Korean main arrived, I found myself reaching for more rice again? ;; I didn't expect much from the bori-gulbi, but the portion was generous and well-seasoned, so I really enjoyed it ㅠ I think parents would love this too,,

Abalone tteokgalbi set, dish by dish

The abalone tteokgalbi set I ordered. Chunky tteokgalbi (grilled rice cake patties) paired with abalone, making it feel more substantial than the bori-gulbi.

The distinctive sweet-savory seasoning of tteokgalbi and the meaty aroma just waft right up.

The tteokgalbi itself isn't overpowering in flavor, and you can still feel the texture of the meat as you chew.

Eating it with a spoonful of rice on top is the finishing touch.

The abalone comes with scissors so you can cut it into bite-sized pieces yourself — it's chewy with a rich buttery aroma, and I think it'd be great mixed into rice too. If you're visiting as a pair like us, I highly recommend ordering one bori-gulbi and one abalone tteokgalbi set to share! Since the course and side dishes are identical except for the main, it's perfect for comparing the two.

Plum tea to finish: is Modam Dining worth it?

For dessert to finish, plum tea.

• Taste: 100/100
• Service: 100/100
• Atmosphere: 100/100

When we visited, there were a lot of grown children treating their parents to a meal, and next time I definitely want to bring my parents too ㅠㅠ If you really want to treat your parents well, you have to try Modam Dining.. This quality at this price..? Unbelievable.