Hyundai Outlet food court in Seoul: salmon and steak sotbap at Gomemui

A while back my sister and I went to the Hyundai Outlet Gardenfive branch to do some grocery shopping and browse the stores together. Gardenfive has a lot of good restaurants, but I went specifically because Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive, a tidy, filling, and genuinely tasty sotbap (hot stone pot rice) place, had just opened. I'd already been to the Munjeong branch of Gomemui and loved it, so I was thrilled a Gardenfive branch opened where I could shop and eat in one trip.

Where Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive is and when it opens

Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive

• Hours: weekdays 10:30–20:30
• Weekends 10:30–21:00
• Break time 15:00–17:00
• Location: 189m from Exit 4, Jangji Station, Line 8

The restaurant sits in the basement level 1 dining area of the Hyundai Outlet Gardenfive in Songpa, so it's really easy to find. The wood-toned interior looked clean and neat. We got there a little before the lunch rush and found seats with plenty of room, but by the time we were mid-meal, office workers had suddenly poured in and a waiting line had formed.

By the time we finished and got up to leave, the restaurant was already completely full.

What two people ordered and what comes on each tray

At this Gardenfive rice place, we ordered the two popular dishes, salmon soboro sotbap and steak sotbap, and split them between us. Each sotbap arrived on a neat single-serving tray with tidy side dishes, soup, and even a little guide on how to eat the sotbap properly — it felt like being taken care of.

• Salmon soboro sotbap ₩17,000
• Steak sotbap ₩17,000

Salmon soboro sotbap: mixing the pot and finishing with sungnyung

Salmon soboro sotbap

The moment I opened the lid, a rich, savory aroma spread out — thick, tender, perfectly cooked salmon, soft scrambled egg (soboro), popping flying fish roe, and a generous pile of scallions on top. It looked so pretty and colorful that I couldn't wait to taste it.

Following the instructions on the guide, we broke up the salmon in the pot and mixed it well with the scrambled egg, fish roe, and rice, then scooped it into a bowl — and poured hot water into the pot to make sungnyung (scorched rice tea).

Mixed with a little of the special soy sauce that came alongside, it had a subtle sweetness that was clean and perfectly seasoned. Wrapped in the crispy seaweed that came with it, or topped with fish roe jeotgal (salted seasoning), it was a real treat. Not fishy at all — just savory goodness filling the whole mouth, a genuinely healthy meal.

How does the steak sotbap taste?

Steak sotbap

This one's for meat lovers. It's loaded with generous cubes of juicy steak, along with crispy garlic chips, fresh scallions, and an egg yolk and a pat of butter on top to push the savory flavor even further.

I popped the yolk, mixed everything together, and took a big spoonful — the bite of the meat, the richness of the butter, and the crunch of the garlic chips all came together for a genuinely happy mouthful. The meat wasn't tough at all, staying moist down to the very last piece.

At the end, we scraped up every bit of the nutty, savory sungnyung made from the scorched rice crust, and it left us warm and full inside. Koreans really do run on rice power!

Lunch, kids' clothes and coffee on one basement floor

After filling up on delicious, satisfying sotbap at Gomemui in the Hyundai Outlet, we walked around Gardenfive and picked up some cute fall clothes for the kids. Eating well, shopping for kids' clothes, and grabbing a café coffee all happened on the same basement floor without ever needing to change buildings — the flow was so convenient and easy.

If you're looking for a healthy, delicious sotbap restaurant in Gardenfive, definitely check out Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive!