Mala soup and shumai at an Apgujeong Chinese bar: Mirim Yangjang

Why go back to Mirim Yangjang Apgujeong?

I still had good memories of a meal at a different branch, so this time I came back to the Apgujeong location of Mirim Yangjang. It was actually the place where I properly tried Peking duck for the first time, and that first experience stuck with me so well that the dish kept popping into my head afterward. Peking duck isn't something I eat every day, so I was curious what it would taste like going in — but after having it at Mirim Yangjang, my whole impression of Peking duck improved. So while looking for a good spot around Apgujeong Rodeo, I spotted Mirim Yangjang again and decided to give it another go.

Parking and the entrance: down the red carpet to the basement

Driving to Apgujeong always makes parking a bit of a hassle, and at Mirim Yangjang too, it's much easier to just use valet parking rather than find a spot yourself. The exterior alone is striking. Instead of the clean, brand-new look you see everywhere these days, it feels like an old Hong Kong or Chinese restaurant reimagined stylishly. And most of all, the red carpet running from the entrance grabs your eye instantly. Following it inside genuinely feels like walking a red carpet, and my mood was already lifted before I'd even eaten anything. Heading down to the basement, the atmosphere shifts even more dramatically.

What two people ordered at Mirim Yangjang

This time, the two of us ordered half a Peking duck, mala soup, and shumai, plus egg noodles on the side — and the portions ended up being just right for two people.

Inside Mirim Yangjang: red velvet sofas and hanging Peking ducks

Red is the accent color inside too — vivid red velvet sofas, deep wood-toned walls, white tables, and black chairs. Even in photos the red pops, but in person it really feels like walking into a restaurant somewhere in China or Hong Kong. The ceiling lighting is distinctive as well, so instead of being a dim Chinese-style bar overall, the table area is on the brighter side. Toward the kitchen you can see a Peking duck hanging, which makes it very clear this is a place that specializes in Peking duck.

Egg noodles to start, before the Peking duck

After the side dishes were set down, before we really got into the Peking duck, there was a dish that properly primed our appetite: the egg noodles 〰️🙌🏻

Piled generously with bean sprouts, the noodles were coated evenly in sauce, and the chopsticks kept going back in from the first bite. The crunch of the bean sprouts made it feel much lighter than eating the noodles alone, and it worked great as an appetite-opener before the duck.

Mala soup tastes best boiled hard at the table

Another reason I wanted to come back to Mirim Yangjang was the mala soup. The first time, I couldn't wait and dug in soon after it arrived, and maybe because I was too impatient, the broth felt lighter than I remembered — less savory depth. I thought, wait, this isn't the flavor from last time? But once I let it boil a bit longer at the table, it changed completely. As the ingredients bubbled away and released their flavor into the broth, the savoriness got much deeper the longer it went, and it turned into the exact mala soup I loved before. So personally, I'd recommend letting it boil hard at the table for a while rather than eating it the moment it arrives!

The hot, tingling broth warmed us up from the inside, and having a bite of Peking duck in between spoonfuls made for a surprisingly great combo. If you like mala soup, it's worth ordering alongside the Peking duck at this Apgujeong Rodeo favorite, Mirim Yangjang.

Half a Peking duck and how to wrap it in the pancake

The main event we'd been waiting for — half a Peking duck! Since it was just the two of us, we ordered the half portion, and with the mala soup, shumai, and egg noodles on top, that amount was exactly right for us. Even looking back at the photos, the skin's glossiness really comes through. The meat and skin arrive already trimmed into easy-to-eat pieces, and personally, with Peking duck, the skin is still the best part.

Just eating a piece of the meat alone is already delicious, but the real charm of Peking duck comes through more when you wrap it up with everything else. Place a piece of duck on the thin pancake that comes with it, load it generously with cucumber and julienned scallion, add the sweet-salty sauce, and take a bite. Eaten this way, the rich, fatty flavor of the duck stays intact while the cucumber and scallion cut through it refreshingly, so it never feels heavy even after several bites in a row. I especially liked that the cucumber and scallion came in generous amounts, as pictured, so I could pile in as much as I wanted.

The pancakes also arrive warm in a steamer, which made it easy to load up and wrap them, and it was a completely different experience from eating the duck on its own. Peking duck wasn't a familiar dish to me, but after that first good memory at Mirim Yangjang, it became something I actively crave every so often. Coming back this time, I understood all over again why I kept thinking about it after that first visit.

Shumai: the side dish that stood out

The shumai stuck with me more than I expected. I eat shumai fairly often at dim sum places, and this version was up there among the best I've had for my own taste. Biting in, the filling was juicy rather than dry, and both the shrimp and the ground meat kept a nice texture. Springy yet moist, it was great to eat one every so often between bites of mala soup or Peking duck. Since the duck was the main draw, I didn't expect much from the other dishes, but the sides turned out to be surprisingly solid, from the egg noodles to the shumai — Mirim Yangjang Apgujeong is genuinely fun for ordering a bunch of dishes and sharing.

The best order for two at Mirim Yangjang Apgujeong

The main dish, Peking duck, is great on its own, but it's when you pile the crispy skin and juicy meat onto the pancake with cucumber, scallion, and sauce that you really understand why I came back to Mirim Yangjang. Add in the distinctive, Hong Kong-evoking atmosphere — from the red carpet to the red velvet seats — and it stands apart from a typical Apgujeong Chinese restaurant. Among Apgujeong Rodeo favorites, this is the one I'll think of again whenever I want something different in Chinese cuisine, or when Peking duck comes to mind.

• Recommended order for two: half Peking duck + mala soup + shumai
• Add egg noodles to wake up your appetite first
• Let the mala soup boil well at the table rather than eating it right away
• If you're driving, use valet parking