Ramen restaurant in Hongdae: tonkotsu with chashu, Myeon Sikdang

I wanted ramen and I wanted katsu, so I went to Myeon Sikdang Hongik University Branch, where you can get both. Myeon Sikdang is a pretty famous Japanese food restaurant near Hongik University.

What Myeon Sikdang in Hongdae looks like, and the quietest time to go

Myeon Sikdang Hongik University Branch is on the 2nd floor of 104 Wausan-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, and the menu ranges from ramen to soba, katsu, rice bowls, and even pho, so there's plenty of choice. It's great for solo dining, and also good for groups since everyone can order something different. I went a bit past the lunch peak, around 1:30 PM.

But maybe because it's near Hongdae, even past peak hours the place was pretty full of customers. Still, the restaurant was bigger than I expected, so it didn't feel too crowded.

What I especially liked was that there were quite a lot of spacious seats good for solo dining! When looking for a place to eat alone in Hongdae, some spots feel a bit awkward because of tight table spacing, but Myeon Sikdang was laid out so you could eat comfortably even alone.

By around 2:30 PM the restaurant gets really quiet, so if you want a relaxed meal, visiting around 2:30–3 PM is a good idea. The staff were friendly too, which made the meal comfortable.

What's on the menu at Myeon Sikdang Hongik University Branch

Myeon Sikdang has a fairly wide range of dishes — ramen, soba, pho, katsu, rice bowls, and more. Signature items include tonkotsu ramen, maze soba, handmade sirloin katsu, big butadon, spicy mala tonkotsu ramen, and shabu pho, plus other options like ebi tonkotsu ramen, spicy tonkotsu ramen, shoyu ramen, bibim soba, perilla oil soba, and pan soba.

There were also several katsu options — handmade sirloin katsu, hire katsu, mozza cheese katsu, double cheddar katsu, half-and-half katsu — so it was easy to pick according to taste.

I ordered the tonkotsu ramen, 2 pieces of side katsu, and a shine muscat ade.

Premium tonkotsu ramen with extra chashu

The basic tonkotsu ramen comes with bean sprouts, chashu (braised pork belly), soft-boiled egg, green onion, and naruto (fish cake).

The premium tonkotsu ramen is a fully loaded version of the basic ramen with 2 extra chashu pieces, 2 extra soft-boiled eggs, and 1.2x bean sprouts, for a deep, rich bowl.

You can also add more bean sprouts, spice, soft-boiled egg, noodles, chashu, or broth. The add-on options are cheap, ranging from ₩500 to ₩3,500.

I only added extra chashu to my premium tonkotsu ramen.

The chashu was thick and large, so the portion was huge. The premium bowl already comes with upgraded chashu, so honestly it would have been filling even without the extra.

It had a smoky char that added deep flavor, and the balance between the chewy skin part and the tender meat was great.

There was also a generous amount of noodles and bean sprouts, so it was easy to eat until full.

The egg was cooked to just the right soft-boiled point.

Mozza cheese katsu 2pcs for 5,900 won

I wanted cheese katsu too and was torn about ordering it alongside the ramen, but there was a mozza cheese katsu with 2 pieces on the side-dish menu, like a taste-sized portion.

So I ordered it without hesitation. For just ₩5,900 more, you can taste the cheese katsu too — an easy yes!

It was a crispy-outside, juicy-inside katsu stuffed with loads of stretchy cheese.

Dipping it generously in the salty katsu sauce made it really delicious.

Eating the katsu while sipping the ramen broth in between cleaned my palate nicely, and the balance felt just right.

Shine muscat ade: big enough for two to share

The moment I got the shine muscat ade, my eyes went wide...! Wait, it's only ₩6,000 — how is this portion so massive?!

It really seemed like they'd blended actual shine muscat grapes in — you could feel tiny bits of skin and it was packed with juice.

It was sweet and delicious, good for sipping between bites.

I finished my meal and there was still so much left, so I just pretended I was at a café and slowly drank it all.

Once I finished it, I could see bits of shine muscat skin left at the bottom of the cup.

The shine muscat ade is definitely a drink to order just one of and share when visiting with others! After eating rich, savory tonkotsu ramen and katsu, something cool hits the spot, and this is perfect for that moment.

Fresh noodles and how the side dishes pair with the ramen

Myeon Sikdang reportedly uses fresh noodles, and the springy yet soft texture seems to upgrade the whole dish. The rich, savory broth was delicious too, and the noodles and broth paired really well. You can add as much of any topping you feel is missing, so it's easy to eat until full to your taste.

Side dishes like demi hire katsu, karaage, mini curry rice, spicy-charred mini butadon, kimchi butadon, hire katsu, mozza cheese katsu, fried shrimp, spring rolls, and potato croquettes let you build a varied, filling spread.

Personally, the mozza cheese katsu came in a two-piece portion, so it was just right as a side while eating the main dish.

If you want to eat a variety of hearty food in Hongdae, I recommend Myeon Sikdang Hongik University Branch!!