Gyodae Chinese restaurant menu: courses ₩18,000–₩90,000 at Maeranbang

Today I'm sharing my visit to Maeranbang Gyodae Branch (매란방 교대점). The entrance is done up in a deep green, which caught my eye right away. Looking through the menu, the range was pretty wide: dim sum, all kinds of Chinese dishes, rice and noodle meals, and courses.

When a group goes out together, everyone wants something different, so picking a restaurant is surprisingly hard, right? At Maeranbang you can order à la carte or put together a course, so I thought it would be a handy reference when you're looking for a group meal spot near Gyodae Station.

Where is Maeranbang Gyodae Branch? Follow the green entrance down to the basement

Maeranbang Gyodae Branch is on the basement floor of a building on Seocho-daero 50-gil. You can see the Maeranbang sign at the building entrance, and the name is also marked on the stairs leading down.

The wooden sign at the entrance goes nicely with the green wall. Photos of dim sum hang along the stairway, and seeing dim sum in bamboo steamers made me curious before I even picked a dish, haha

At the bottom of the stairs there's a lit-up Maeranbang logo. Softly glowing letters on a dark green wall carry the mood on from the entrance. It's a spot worth including when you take photos of your visit.

Green accents from the menu to the cup

The menu I looked through at my seat was green too. Next to the green cup with the restaurant's name on it, the colors matched so well that I took a photo.

The menu has photos of people and Chinese dishes inside. It was more fun to browse than a plain list of dish names, and the food photos let me see what was on offer.

Maeranbang Gyodae Branch course prices: from lunch to group courses

On the menu I photographed, Lunch Course A at Maeranbang Gyodae Branch was listed at ₩18,000 per person and Course B at ₩23,000 per person.

• Lunch A (₩18,000 per person): crab meat soup, chili pepper stir-fry with bao buns, a rice or noodle dish, dessert
• Lunch B (₩23,000 per person): crab meat soup, dim sum, old-style tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork), a rice or noodle dish, dessert

It's a setup worth a look when you want a dish alongside your meal. Even for a lunch meetup, I noticed you can choose a course instead of combining items one by one.

Beyond those, the prices are split into Course C at ₩35,000, Course D at ₩50,000, Course E at ₩70,000 and the Signature course at ₩90,000. All of these are per-person prices shown on the menu.

Each course mixes dim sum, tangsuyuk, shrimp dishes, beef dishes and so on differently, so it's nice to compare them against your budget and taste. For a group, a set course like this could be a good option too.

What kinds of dim sum does Maeranbang Gyodae Branch offer?

Personally, the page that caught my eye on the Maeranbang Gyodae Branch menu was the dim sum page. There was a wide variety: handmade xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), handmade shrimp har gow, gucaijiao (chive dumplings), chive cheung fun (rice noodle rolls), truffle crystal dumplings, wedding siu mai, and mala xiaolongbao.

Dishes whose names don't make the difference obvious come with descriptions, which made comparing easy. You can choose by ingredient: dim sum with shrimp, cheung fun with chives and pork, crystal dumplings made with mushrooms.

The wedding siu mai especially stood out because the description says it's shaped like a lucky pouch. If you love dim sum, I think you'll spend a while on this page :)

À la carte dishes and Buyong crab

The à la carte menu at Maeranbang Gyodae Branch included mapo chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), the Maeranbang special cold appetizer platter, Sichuan-style yuringi (fried chicken in sauce), ganpung abalone, honey walnut lemon cream shrimp, and spicy chili shrimp.

Alongside familiar Chinese dishes, there were some with slightly unusual names too, so mixing and matching to your taste looks fun. Eggplant menbosha (shrimp toast) and mala corn ribs also stood out.

The menu also had a separate section on Buyong crab. It was described as a dish made with crab meat and egg whites, and with a big food photo alongside, it was easy to see what the dish was.

That said, prices, discounts and events can change depending on when you visit, so please check with the restaurant when you order.

Maeranbang Gyodae Branch, memorable from the entrance to the menu

The entrance and props carrying the green theme through were impressive at Maeranbang Gyodae Branch. Dim sum, à la carte dishes and courses at several price points made browsing the menu more fun too.

If you're looking for a group meal spot near Gyodae Station and thinking about Chinese food, check whether there's a course that fits your headcount and budget. Picking a few dishes you want before you go will make deciding the order with your group much easier :)