Office lunch chashu don and karaage near City Hall, Seoul: Mentsuru

I'm at Mentsuru City Hall Branch today ~!

You already know I love Mentsuru, right. My neighbors probably know this by now haha. Mentsuru is seriously clean and delicious. The broth is deep, the toppings are so generous, and since I work nearby, I can tell you Mentsuru is already famous as a City Hall office workers' favorite — go at lunch and it's pa~cked 🩷

I came at just the right time so it was quiet with no one around, which was so nice 😻

Came to eat with my best friend 😻🩷

What we ordered at Mentsuru City Hall Branch, and what it cost

Every time I come, that exciting moment of choosing the menu 😻 I had a dish I was dying to eat so…🩷 let's order right away.

• Chashu don (chashu rice bowl) ₩11,000
• Abura soba (oil-tossed noodles) ₩12,000
• Karaage (fried chicken) ₩7,000

That's what we ordered. Aww... I already want to eat it again..🩷

My food cooking away, warm and fresh..😻🩷

Looks like all sorts of celebrities have been here, from Jennie to Rain..🤤 Isn't this basically a celebrity hot spot!!

Abura soba, 12,000 won: nutty noodles you don't tire of

Finally here, my beloved abura soba. The oil is so savory, coating the noodles moist and rich, and wrapping it all up with the meat toppings in one bite — so good. Genuinely savory.. it's so rich and clean-tasting that it never gets heavy, the kind of flavor you keep going back for infinite refills of. I bet mixing rice into the leftover toppings after finishing the noodles would be amazing too!!!!

Add a little kelp vinegar partway through and it cuts all the richness, making it light and fresh!! I only add mine near the end haha

Look how generous that chashu is, this is insane... I love meat so much. I'm a meat-loving human 🩷 From the chashu to the little meat cubes, it's packed fu~ll of them!!! 😇

Abura soba, you really are so lovable!! 🩷

Chashu don, 11,000 won: minced pork and tamago

The chashu don (chashu rice bowl) arrived. Ah, no!!! That meat is so good I could die. Tamago has always been my love anyway haha. Ah, why am I such a foodie? The chashu meat is generous and the sauce is so savory yet clean that spoonful after spoonful keeps going in, and that minced meat is straight-up insane. You really have to scoop a big spoonful of rice and meat together. It's the kind of bite that sends you off on a little journey 😻

My friend has a pretty small appetite too, but she ate it happily. Such a relief 😻😇

Let's eat well, here we go~

Karaage, 7,000 won, plus a free bowl of rice

Next came the karaage (fried chicken) :) The first bite is truly fantastic. Crispy and juicy chicken bursting with juices — such happiness... it's basically doing a waltz in your mouth 🩷

Looks delicious, right, such a filling meal. And they even give you free rice if you need it. Such a kind restaurant — how am I not supposed to fall in love with this place? There's no choice but to love it!!!!

The chashu is insane, look at that size, seriously insane. Amazingly moist, savory, and full of umami. This is the tastiest thing in the world!! Among all the City Hall office workers' favorites, this is the first place with such good prices, big portions, and this much flavor. You're the one, Mentsuru.

The tamago is cooked to exactly the doneness I love too!! 😻🩷 So so savory. Piling it on the rice bowl with the meat — how good could that possibly be 🥹

The karaage is seriously so moist, everyone. Always eat karaage while it's hot!! No exceptions, everyone 🤩😍

When my friend, who can't handle greasy food, says it's delicious and eats it up enthusiastically, that means this place's abura soba is truly a hundred and fifty out of a hundred. For my taste, it's a 360 😻

Be sure to load up some tamago and take a big bite like this.

Another delicious meal today. When it comes to City Hall office workers' favorites, it all ends with Mentsuru.