Daehangno Indian curry after work, no-wait set for two: Meono Kkameona

I hadn't been to Daehangno for curry in a while. There really do seem to be a lot of curry places around Daehangno/Hyehwa. This time I went to "Meono Kkameona," a curry place right on the street. It apparently has branches in Incheon and elsewhere too. Having chain branches — doesn't that mean the taste is guaranteed?

Meono Kkameona Daehangno Branch: location and vibe

It's located on the 2nd floor of Ihwa Building, 236 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu. From the entrance you already get this bold red-toned feel. The dining room was really spacious! Lots of tables too, so it seemed like a good spot for groups.

When you go to an Indian curry place, all the little props and decorations that make it feel like you've actually landed in India — that's a fun part of it too.

NFC table ordering, and no wait thanks to leaving work on time

Being able to order right from your seat via NFC was nice too. I heard from reviews that there are days with waits when it's busy, but since I left work right on time and came, I got to eat without any waiting at all haha.

Every table has a neat setup of small plates, napkins, and water. As side dishes, you get pickled onion, pickles, and jalapeños. I ordered the set menu for two, and it was such great value. Let me go through it now.

First course of the set for two: chicken soup and salad

Ta-da, the salad and soup came out first. Warming your stomach with soup before the good stuff is such a good strategy, I think.

The soup was chicken soup, savory and salty with good depth. It had chunks of chicken and mushroom in it too, which was nice. The salad was your classic everyday salad. You're supposed to eat veggies before rice to avoid a blood sugar spike, apparently!

Samosa — the most authentic-feeling item

This one's the samosa! The outside is a crispy fried dough, and the inside is like... a dumpling? It's packed with a filling mixed with nuts. Nutty and delicious. Cut in half, it looks like this. I recommend dipping it in the sauce! This was the most authentic-tasting dish.

Tandoori chicken with tiger shrimp

Next up, tandoori chicken! You can't skip chicken at a curry place. I think how they prepare the chicken is the key part, and this place grills it and then fries it separately before serving. There was tiger shrimp too, which made it even better! Getting to try a bunch of different things like this is a big part of the fun.

Can you see how plump the shrimp meat is! As a self-proclaimed shrimp killer, this made me so happy haha. An unexpected joy.

Two lassi included in the set (mango and strawberry)

These are the two drinks included in the set menu! I ordered mango and strawberry flavors, and they were sweet and tangy and delicious. Kind of like a thinner yogurt drink? This drink is called "lassi" — I wanted to savor it slowly, but before I knew it, it was gone haha!!

Garlic naan and chicken masala, spice level like Shin Ramyun

The naan finally arrived! I ordered garlic naan. Honestly, this and curry alone would make me plenty happy. Writing this all out, I'm realizing again just how many menu items there were haha. And you should always get garlic naan — whenever I go to a curry place I end up ordering garlic naan (I've honestly never even tried the plain one lol), and it's never once let me down.

And then the curry came out! I ordered the most basic chicken masala, and you can adjust the spice level. We ordered ours at about Shin Ramyun-level spice and ate it up happily. There were chicken chunks in the curry too, so picking out the pieces was fun.

Rice that tastes like Korean rice, mixed into the curry

It's not over yet... there's still rice left. This curry place seemed to use rice that tastes like Korean short-grain rice! Maybe that's why it felt so easy and comfortable to eat. Mixing rice into curry sauce — that's just the unwritten rule, right?

And then tearing off pieces of naan to dip into the curry!! It was really delicious. Everything was so good, and there was such a variety that eating it was a total blast haha. Everyone should give Indian curry a try +_+ I want to eat this again already!