Bangi-dong pub for friends, samhap in baby cabbage: Muneo Cheonha

Today's story is about a hidden gem in the Bangi-dong food alley, Muneo Cheonha (문어천하), where I had a lovely drink with friends for the first time in ages. We were looking for a place where we could enjoy pork, seafood and pungent skate all at once, and ended up here. The look, the lineup and the taste all satisfied me so much that I want to record it properly! 🐙 For a Bangi-dong group dinner, I recommend Muneo Cheonha :)

Is Muneo Cheonha a good place for a group?

Muneo Cheonha has a wood-tone interior and partitions at every seat, so it's easy to talk at a get-together or company dinner. When we arrived, the fish tank and the tidy signboard at the entrance caught our eye first.

Inside, the warm wood tones make it feel cozy and comfortable. Each seat has soft lighting and its own partitioned space, so you can chat quietly over a drink without it getting noisy 🧡

What basic starters come out at Muneo Cheonha?

As soon as you order, Muneo Cheonha sets out starters (skidashi) like broth, steamed egg in a stone pot and sizzling corn cheese. Right after we sat down and ordered, the owner brought out the side dishes and starters one by one.

I sipped the hot broth first and it felt like my stomach settled right away! It was the perfect warm-up before the main dishes. The fluffy steamed egg in its stone pot was seasoned just right, not salty, and we kept reaching for it. The corn cheese arriving sizzling on an iron plate can't possibly be bad! The combination of popping corn and cheese was perfect.

Even before the main dish arrived, the table was already full with just the basics, which raised our expectations even more!

What's in the octopus bossam and skate samhap, and how does it taste?

Muneo Cheonha's octopus bossam and skate samhap (muneo bossam hongeo samhap) comes on a big hot-pot plate with boiled pork bossam, octopus, skate and side dishes. And here comes the star of the day! 🐙🐙

A variety of ingredients came neatly and generously arranged on the big plate, and it looked so gorgeous that everyone was busy taking photos first.

• Bossam: Tender, juicy boiled pork with no gamey smell at all, and nicely savory.
• Octopus: Sliced thin and clean at a good thickness. It was glossy, and you could tell it was fresh just by looking.
• Skate: The heart of samhap! Sliced along the grain, and fermented just right so the flavor is deep.

The sides were generous: tangy, crunchy aged kimchi, salty white kimchi, sweet-and-spicy seasoned dried radish, fresh baby cabbage, garlic, chili, ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste), chojang (sweet chili vinegar sauce), salted shrimp and pickled ginger. Each ingredient in Muneo Cheonha's samhap keeps its own texture and flavor, so it was a lot of fun to combine them in different ways. Let me share my favorite wrap combinations!

Best ways to wrap the octopus bossam and skate samhap

I recommend two ways: put one piece each of pork, octopus and skate on baby cabbage, or wrap the pork and octopus in aged kimchi or white kimchi.

Baby cabbage samhap wrap

On a crunchy baby cabbage leaf, put one piece of pork, one piece of octopus and one piece of skate, top with spicy dried radish, garlic and ssamjang, and take a big bite! The savoriness of the bossam, the chewiness of the octopus and the pungent flavor of the skate come together perfectly in your mouth.

Aged kimchi and white kimchi wrap

Wrap the pork and octopus in well-fermented aged kimchi or white kimchi, then lightly dip in chojang or salted shrimp. It cuts the richness completely and you can keep eating forever! 🧡

Muneo Cheonha overall review

• Taste: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (fresh ingredients, and the harmony of the samhap is art)
• Atmosphere: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (cozy pub vibe that's good for conversation)
• Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (friendly, and the basic side dishes are generous)

If you're in the Bangi-dong food alley and want something gentle on the stomach, special and hearty to drink with, instead of the usual barbecue place or pub, I strongly recommend Muneo Cheonha! 🐙