Raw beef mungtigi and chadolbagi platter in Jongno: Umi Hoegwan

Lately a lot of friends who've been living abroad have been coming back to Korea, so I've had a bunch of long-overdue meetups. The friend I met today was coming back to Korea for the first time in six months, so I felt like we had to eat some really good Korean food..!

So while thinking about what to eat, we decided on mungtigi (fresh raw beef), which we both love. There's a mungtigi spot near Jonggak Station that never disappoints, so this time I decided to bring my friend along. So let's get into the story of eating delicious mungtigi and chadolbagi sashimi at Umi Hoegwan, a Cheonggyecheon bar, haha.

Location and reservations at Umi Hoegwan Jonggak Main Branch

This Cheonggyecheon bar is easy to find — just come out exit 4 of Jonggak Station and walk into the alley behind Bosingak, and you'll spot it right away!!! The exterior really stands out too.

We made a Naver Reservation and were shown to our reserved table. Every time I come here I think the same thing — it's such a popular spot that it's almost always full before 7pm, haha. Lots of company dinners too, tons of customers. Shall we look at the menu and prices?

Menu and prices

Set menu

• [Ultra-fresh Signature] Mungtigi Chadolbagi Set: ₩70,000 → ₩67,000
• [Best Menu] Mungtigi Yukhoe Set: ₩64,000 → ₩62,000
• [Regulars' Pick] Mungtigi Yuksashimi Set: ₩68,000 → ₩65,000
• [Weekend Favorite] Chadolbagi Yukhoe Set: ₩62,000 → ₩59,000
• "A rich, sweet match for raw beef" Sea Urchin Roe (50g): ₩25,000

Main menu

• [Fresh delivery every morning] Mungtigi (200g): ₩48,000
• [Only 10 plates a day] Zero-Point Special: ₩58,000
• [The definition of nutty] Chadol Yuksashimi Platter: ₩40,000
• "Tender cut" Yuksashimi (Platter): ₩32,000
• "Fresh, plain and simple" Hanwoo Yukhoe: ₩28,000

Side menu

• "Hanwoo 1+ sirloin" Griddle Grilled Beef: ₩38,000
• "Daegu specialty" Chadol Odeuraegi Stir-fry: ₩32,000
• "Traditional Gwangju style" Hanwoo Yukjeon (beef pancake): ₩28,000
• "Fried fresh to order" Potato Julienne Jeon: ₩18,000
• "Loved by everyone" Woo Samgyeop Tteokbokki: ₩18,000
• "Spicy, tangy, cool" Hanwoo Mulhoe (cold raw beef soup): ₩28,000
• "Freshly pressed at the mill" Yukhoe Perilla Oil Naengmyeon: ₩18,000
• "Fresh and sweet" Hanwoo Yukhoe Bibimbap: ₩14,000
• "A clean finish" Black Sesame Nurungji (scorched rice) Ice Cream: ₩15,000

Soups

• "Spicy red broth" Hanwoo Mushroom Jeongol: ₩28,000
• Kalguksu Noodles for Jeongol: ₩3,000
• "Warm clear broth" Beef Tendon Odeng Soup: ₩24,000
• "Rich beef broth" Hanwoo Haejang Ramen: ₩9,000

Traditional liquor lineup and corkage

Besides the usual soju and beer, they have a really wide lineup of traditional Korean liquors, which seems perfect for pairing something tasty and clean with mungtigi. Corkage is also available, so you can bring your own wine to have with raw beef! Corkage costs ₩20,000 per bottle. Just so you know~

The mungtigi + chadolbagi half-and-half platter

My friend, who had never tried chadolbagi sashimi before, said she wanted to try it, so we ordered the mungtigi + chadolbagi half-and-half platter!

The color looks really good, right? You can almost feel the freshness through the photo, haha.

With the egg yolk, pear, radish sprouts, gamtae (seaweed) and wasabi that came alongside, it seemed like it would also be great eaten yukhoe-style~

How we ate it: sesame oil sauce vs. mungtigi sauce

The basic condiments provided are sesame oil sauce and mungtigi sauce. If you finish them, refills are available!!

Personally, I found it delicious dipped in the mungtigi sauce!

If you dip a piece in sesame oil sauce, wrap it around a slice of pear, then dip it in egg yolk, you get something close to a yukhoe feel, haha.

The fattier chadolbagi cut went really well with the sesame oil sauce too! We had a great meal of fresh, delicious mungtigi and chadolbagi raw beef at Umi Hoegwan, our go-to Cheonggyecheon bar!