Light meal in Myeongdong: cold pork and cabbage dumpling sides, Baekok

Today I'm reviewing Baekok, a Korean restaurant near Myeongdong! I was looking for somewhere to eat near Myeongdong, but I didn't want anything too heavy, and yet I was still hungry enough that skipping a meal wasn't an option either... "Isn't there somewhere I can eat something simple~?" And that's how I found this place! The food was way tastier than I expected and the whole vibe was clean and nice, so I wanted to share it right away ><

💛 Baekok ⏰ Hours Daily 11:00–22:00 📌 Location 382m from Myeongdong Station Exit 6

Where is Baekok Myeongdong? An alley 7 minutes from Myeongdong Station Exit 6

Baekok is about a 7-minute walk from Myeongdong Station Exit 6! Walking a bit, you come across a really retro-feeling alley, and once you step into it, I suddenly felt like I'd landed in Hong Kong hahaha. It was oddly fascinating to run into an alley with this kind of atmosphere right in the middle of Myeongdong haha.

Inside Baekok Myeongdong: solo dining seats and the mood

Inside, everything was really clean overall! There are seats for solo dining as well as tables for four, so it seemed like a good place to come alone or for a simple meal!

Baekok Myeongdong's menu and QR code ordering

The menu was way simpler than I expected! It's made up of 3 kinds of gomtang (bone broth soup) plus 3 side dishes, so there wasn't much to agonize over haha. Since I wasn't super hungry that day, I decided to try the side dishes instead of gomtang! So what I ordered was cold pork (naengjeyuk) + cabbage dumplings!

And ordering was conveniently done through a QR code haha.

The banchan: kkakdugi radish kimchi

After ordering, a short wait later the basic side dish, kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), came out first! The kkakdugi was well-seasoned and crunchy, really delicious 🤤 Korean food really can't go without kkakdugi haha.

How does the naengjeyuk taste? Better with salted seafood

First, the cold pork I ordered arrived! Actually, I'd had cold pork once before, a long time ago in Gyeongju, and back then I personally didn't find it that delicious 🥲 So this time too I honestly wasn't expecting much...

Wait...? Eating it at Baekok Myeongdong felt completely different from the cold pork I'd had before haha. The meat itself wasn't too cold, and it had a wonderfully chewy texture. It wasn't tough at all, and the more I chewed, the more it had this clean, savory flavor that kept me going back for more haha.

And the salted seafood (jeotgal) that came with the cold pork! Eating them together... it's absolutely delicious haha 🤤 The cold pork itself is clean and mild, so paired with the salted seafood, the seasoning was spot-on and the savory flavor really came alive!

What is a cabbage dumpling? Cabbage leaves instead of dough

Next, the cabbage dumplings! At first, hearing "cabbage dumplings," I wondered, "cabbage dumplings...? What kind of dumpling is that?" haha. It turns out it's a dish where cabbage wraps around the dumpling filling instead of a dough wrapper, and it's steamed! Even the look of it was different from regular dumplings, which was fascinating haha.

Inside was a filling like kimchi dumplings, but it wasn't too salty or spicy — mild and clean, and delicious! And eating it together with the cold pork made for a surprisingly great combo haha.

Chilled pork and cabbage dumplings together

If you eat only cold pork for a while, you might think, "hmm...? This is a bit bland," and that's when a bite of cabbage dumpling is perfect! Cold pork → cabbage dumpling → cold pork → cabbage dumpling, a combo you just keep eating 🤣 Eating the two together balanced the flavors perfectly, and I ended up thinking it was a great call to order both!

Verdict: a light Korean meal in Myeongdong

I originally went looking for somewhere near Myeongdong to eat "something simple that won't fill me up too much," but the food ended up being so good I finished every last bite haha. The cold pork in particular was way more delicious than I expected! Because of a past cold pork experience I wasn't expecting much, but eating it at Baekok changed my mind haha. This time I wasn't very hungry so I only had the side dishes, but next time I plan to come back and try Baekok's main menu, the gomtang! If you want a clean Korean meal that isn't too heavy in Myeongdong, this seems like a good place to visit~! Thanks for the delicious meal again today 🫶

Who should visit Baekok Myeongdong?

• Looking for a clean Korean restaurant in Myeongdong
• Wanting a simple meal that isn't too heavy
• Looking for a good Myeongdong restaurant for solo dining
• Curious to try delicious cold pork
• Curious about unusual cabbage dumplings

Today's Jjijjang score, out of 5! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ is 6 points~!