Gangseo Korean restaurant for flounder seaweed soup: Mikodam

A Korean set meal near Balsan Station on a rainy day

I visited Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch (미꼬담 마곡발산점), a Korean restaurant famous for its set meals near Balsan Station. It was raining quite heavily that day, and since I had walked there without a car, it somehow felt even farther away.. ⭐️ It is in the same building as Ihwajeong Galbi Myeongga, so you can use the parking tower; parking is validated for 3 hours. That is plenty of time to grab a quick coffee at a nearby café after your meal!

There is no separate break time, so we visited around 3 p.m. Maybe because it was an awkward hour for a meal, we were the only table..! Mikodam is a Korean restaurant known for miyeokguk (seaweed soup) and cockles. Everything is delicious, but if you come to Mikodam, I recommend the generous set meal. You can choose a side dish, plus enjoy Mikodam's signature seaweed soup and cockles, so it is such a well-rounded set!

A set meal loaded with side dishes from the start

Once you order the set, all kinds of basic dishes arrive on the table. As a Korean set-meal restaurant near Balsan Station, it definitely serves an impressively broad variety of banchan (Korean side dishes). The springy, chewy japchae (stir-fried glass noodles) was delicious too, and the many other side dishes went beautifully with rice.

There was even mini jeyuk-bokkeum (spicy stir-fried pork). At this price, with this lineup, and stir-fried pork as a side dish too—what an excellent-value Korean set meal..! A salad and three-color seasoned namul vegetables also arrived, and I really enjoyed them. Vegetables like these need to be eaten quickly when you make them at home before they spoil, so they can feel like a bit much for a two-person household. As expected, it is easier and nicer to eat these kinds of namul dishes out.

They also serve assorted pickles and roasted laver. The laver tastes great wrapped around rice and cockles. The kimchi seemed to be freshly made geotjeori, and there was also a spicy, tangy chilled salad, so I loved having sides that could refresh the palate whenever things felt rich! I am firmly on Team Korean Food, so I love a table filled with lots of side dishes like this. That variety of banchan is one big reason I cannot help coming back to Mikodam often.

Seasoned cockles and warm beef jeon

These are the cockles, and this is one serving. Even for one serving, the portion is very generous—just right for two people to sample. Of course, if you love cockles, you could finish the whole plate, but because the set includes so many different dishes, one plate is enough. These are seasoned cockles, and the soy sauce seasoning is the best.

This is yukjeon (pan-fried battered beef), which we chose as our side dish. It arrives warm, and perhaps because it was raining that day, the jeon tasted especially good. The seasoned chives in the middle are even tastier alongside the yukjeon. I think there may also have been a soy-marinated yellow crab side dish?! That sounds like it would be delicious too.

Seaweed soup rich with flounder flavor

This is the flounder seaweed soup we chose. Beef seaweed soup may be the classic, but at Mikodam, flounder seaweed soup is the classic.. The broth is rich yet clean-tasting, with all the flounder's flavor melted right into it. The deep broth felt as if it loosened my whole body right up, and it was the kind of flounder seaweed soup that makes you want to scrape the bowl clean. Highly recommended!

This grilled mackerel also comes with the set by default. The fish was bigger and plumper than I expected, crisp outside and moist inside, perfectly grilled. It really felt like I was having a substantial, nourishing meal. With fish, yukjeon, japchae, and all those side dishes spread across the table, I did not envy a king's royal table at all haha!

A great spot for dining out with parents and family

If you are looking for a delicious Korean set meal near Balsan Station, I recommend Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch without hesitation! Because it is a great restaurant where you can enjoy a wide range of dishes all on one table, it is lovely for bringing your parents and for family dining. There are private rooms in the back too, making Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch especially suitable for a large family gathering!

Finishing with puffed rice and sikhye

K-dessert to finish the meal. We wrapped up with puffed rice snacks and sikhye (sweet rice drink) kept in a warm cooker! Why is this warm puffed corn snack so delicious.. It is pure sweetness.. And once you have the sikhye too, you can skip the café—⭐️