Yeouido Korean restaurant truffle rice pot and loach soup: Modam Urban

I'd barely eaten out after coming down with the flu. I wasn't fully recovered, but by the weekend I really wanted a good meal with the family. Normally I'd pick whatever I felt like, but this time I was craving Korean food specifically — something filling but easy on the stomach.

So we headed to Modam Urban's Yeouido IFC Mall location. It's known for fusion takes on Korean food and for being a popular spot for meetings between families or gatherings with parents, so I was curious to try it.

Finding Modam Urban inside Yeouido IFC Mall

Modam Urban's Yeouido IFC Mall branch sits in the mall's dining hall. It's on the floor where all the restaurants cluster, right next to the customer service center, so even as a first-timer I had no trouble finding it.

Being inside IFC Mall also meant weather wasn't a factor, which I liked. The interior was cozier and cleaner than I expected, and there was a room-style space in the back.

It seemed like a good spot for a family meal, or for hosting parents, a meeting between families, or any quiet Yeouido gathering. We came as a family this time, but the atmosphere suited any group wanting a calm meal.

Six appetizers that come with every main dish

One thing I really liked about Modam Urban was that the main dish doesn't just arrive on its own. Ordering a main gets you six appetizers alongside it. It was fun tasting each one, and nice to sample a range of Korean dishes in small portions.

Perilla oil capellini

First up was perilla oil somyeon — thin noodles with perilla sauce and oil, shrimp, perilla leaf, egg garnish, and seaweed. The nutty perilla oil combined with the perilla leaf and seaweed better than I expected.

Most importantly, little Hobagi ate this one the best out of everyone. Finding something a kid will actually eat at a Korean restaurant isn't always easy, but maybe because of the noodles, she went through it pretty well. Which meant Mom, as usual, ended up eating in a rush while feeding her. 😆

Mushroom pyeonyuk (pressed slices) with chwinamul greens

Next was mushroom pyeonyuk (thin-sliced boiled mushroom) with chwinamul (aster greens). I'd never had mushroom pyeonyuk before, and the texture was different from the usual meat version — springy, almost jelly-like, which was fun, and fragrant paired with the chwinamul. Being my first time trying it made it more memorable.

Mushroom chili gangjeong

The mushroom chili gangjeong (sweet-spicy glazed fried mushroom) had a bit of a kick, but it wasn't overwhelming or too spicy. The mushroom texture worked well with the sweet-spicy chili sauce. Even though it's fried, it wasn't too greasy, which made it easy to eat as an appetizer.

Smoked duck salad

The smoked duck salad had mustard-dressed vegetables, cucumber, perilla leaf, bell pepper, and smoked duck, topped with ground perilla seed. The duck's distinctive flavor paired with the crunch of the vegetables and the nuttiness of the perilla seed made it cleaner-tasting than I expected. Getting meat and vegetables together was a nice way to build appetite before the main course.

Sweet pumpkin salad with yuzu dressing

I personally love the sweet pumpkin and yuzu combo — it's soft and bright, and felt like a palate reset. All six appetizers had such different personalities that it was fun tasting them one by one. With all of them laid out, the table looked quite full even before the main dishes arrived.

Main dishes at Modam Urban

The dishes we ordered that day were

• Loach soup packed with mud snails
• Crab-broth octopus pasta
• Rice pot of the day

For a Korean restaurant, having not just loach soup but also pasta and rice pot on the menu gave us a surprisingly wide range to choose from.

The rice pot of the day, with truffle aroma

The dish I was most curious about was the rice pot of the day. It's Modam's signature item, made with seasonal ingredients and changing by season, so I made sure to order it. That day it was mushroom and bulgogi rice.

When I opened the pot, a surprisingly strong truffle scent rose up. Truffle in a Korean rice pot felt a little unusual, but also luxurious — a familiar mushroom-and-bulgogi combo made more interesting with truffle aroma, and it worked better than I expected.

Paired with the ugeoji (dried napa cabbage) doenjang soup that came with it, it made for a filling meal. Of everything we ate that day, this rice pot stuck with me the most. If you want something a little different from a standard rice pot, it's worth ordering.

Chueotang loach soup truly packed with mud snails

The name says it all — loach soup packed with mud snails. I'm usually on the fence about loach soup because of its distinctive smell, so I wasn't expecting much, but one spoonful changed my mind. There was no fishy smell at all — instead it had a strong, clean, nutty flavor.

If no one had told me, I might not have guessed it was loach soup at all, it was that mild. With its clean Seoul-style flavor, it seemed like something even people who usually avoid loach soup could enjoy.

It wasn't the dish I'd ordered, but I kept sneaking spoonfuls. 😂 True to its name, it was generously loaded with mud snails.

Octopus pasta in blue crab broth: an unexpectedly good match

The dish that surprised me the most was the crab-broth octopus pasta. True to a Korean fusion specialty restaurant, even the pasta combined Korean and seafood flavors. The octopus was really tender.

Lightly cooked in butter, the octopus wasn't chewy at all, and the rich bisque-style sauce made from crab broth suited the pasta well. Combined with omokazura (fermented plum seasoning), the seafood flavor came through strong.

Ordering pasta at a Korean restaurant felt a bit unexpected at first, but after tasting it, I understood why they'd put it on the menu. The tender octopus especially kept me going back for more.

More side dishes arrive even after the mains

Along with the mains came aged kimchi and mul kimchi (watery radish kimchi). And honestly, the side dishes here were great down to the last one. The kimchi jjim (braised kimchi) especially suited my taste. Eaten with rice it was so good I wanted to ask for a refill of just that.

The mul kimchi was cool, refreshing, and tangy, perfect for cutting through the rice pot or pasta every so often. It felt like just as much care went into the side dishes as into the mains.

Dessert that made the meal more satisfying

After the meal, ogyuk pudding is served as dessert. Little Hobagi loved it — she didn't stop at one serving, she had two.

When eating with a kid, whether there's something they'll actually eat matters a lot, and this time, from the first perilla noodles all the way to the pudding dessert, little Hobagi ate well throughout, which made it a satisfying meal for me as a mom too. 😊

Looking for a Korean restaurant in Yeouido for gatherings?

Maybe it tasted even better because it was our first weekend outing after a long stretch of being sick with the flu. After being unwell, I really craved a warm, filling Korean meal over anything too spicy or rich, and being able to try a wide range of dishes was a plus.

What I especially liked about Modam Urban was that it

• Is inside Yeouido IFC Mall, so it's easy to get to
• Offers a wide range of options from traditional Korean to fusion dishes
• Comes with six appetizers when you order a main
• Has great basic side dishes like kimchi and mul kimchi
• Includes dessert
• Has a room, which suits meetings between families or family gatherings

I wasn't sure how the price would work out at first, since a main comes with six appetizers plus dessert, but after eating there I didn't think it felt expensive at all. If anything, being able to try so many different dishes made the value feel solid.

Who Modam Urban suits best

• Anyone looking for a place in Yeouido to meet a partner's family
• Anyone looking for somewhere to eat with parents at Yeouido IFC Mall
• Anyone wanting a quiet Korean restaurant for a gathering
• Anyone planning a Korean-food date or family outing in Yeouido
• Anyone who wants fusion Korean food rather than a standard hanjeongsik meal

The menu felt appropriate for hosting parents, and comfortable for a family meal with a kid too. Maybe because it was our first meal out together after staying home for a while with the flu, it stuck with me more than usual.

A weekend when I wanted something warm and filling, almost restorative. If you're looking for a Korean dining spot in Yeouido for gatherings or family meals, Modam Urban is one I'll be thinking of again. 🌿