Hongdae Chinese restaurant with room seating for families: Surim

Hongdae restaurant Surim Sikdang Hongdae, home of the best eggplant mandu (dumplings)

Surim Sikdang (수림식당), the famous Busan restaurant, has a branch in Hongdae now?! The original is in Geumjeong-gu, Busan, and it's known for tantanmen (Sichuan-style sesame noodles) and eggplant mandu. Being able to enjoy it in Seoul without going all the way to Busan is just so good ❤️

Where Surim Sikdang Hongdae is

Surim Sikdang Hongdae is at 19-19 Wausan-ro 21-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul. It sits a little back from the street, but it's tasty enough that it's worth seeking out.

Room seating that works well with kids

The inside felt cozy and tidy, and the place is bigger than I expected. Besides the hall you see in the photo, there's a large room-style area further in, so it's good for groups or for eating alone.

The wood interior, the coat hangers and everything else are full of charm.

We picked a seat in the inner room, which has windows on two sides. It was sunny, and eating in the cool air-conditioning while watching the world outside was so, so nice.

The room has its own coat hangers, and baby chairs are fully provided.

Surim Sikdang Hongdae menu and prices

The menu is simple: tantanmen, bibim tantanmen, eggplant mandu, dongpo pork rice bowl, mapo tofu rice bowl, beef noodle soup and shrimp wonton noodles. Prices hover around ₩10,000, which is reasonable. The key point: steamed rice is free. The signature fried eggplant is ₩15,000 for 10 pieces or ₩8,000 for 5, and you should definitely get the 10.

How to enjoy it, and what you can ask for

After ordering, I first studied the guide on the table about how to enjoy Surim Sikdang. The sauce for the tantanmen is at the bottom, so mix it well, and dipping the fried eggplant in the bibim tantanmen sauce is supposedly a treat, so there was no way not to order them together. Ground garlic and cilantro can be requested separately, and you can also ask for extras like aprons, hair ties and toothpicks. So thoughtful.

It was a sweltering summer day with two kids in tow, so first things first: a highball and a beer. Cheers!

The food we ordered came out all at once: tantanmen, bibim tantanmen, and the star of the place, fried eggplant mandu. We ordered the 5-piece plate and painfully regretted not getting 10, they were that good.

Bibim tantanmen ₩10,000

The bibim tantanmen (₩10,000) is the brothless, mix-it-yourself style of tantanmen. It's sweet and spicy, the kind of flavor that brings back an appetite lost in summer.

Hot-spring egg, minced pork, bean sprouts, then scallions and peanut sauce. Nutty, sweet, spicy and tangy. Mix the hot-spring egg in from the start for even better flavor.

The day's number one: fried eggplant mandu

The day's number one was the fried eggplant mandu at Surim Sikdang Hongdae. They say you discover the taste of eggplant once you become an ajumma (middle-aged Korean woman), and lately I'm hooked, eating eggplant every other day. This fried eggplant is something people of any age would love. One thing, though: it's slightly spicy, so very young kids can't eat it.

A crispy, slightly salty coating, fresh eggplant, and the filling all come together beautifully. It's incredibly juicy too, goes well with both the tantanmen and bibim tantanmen, and how well it goes with beer hardly needs saying.

Tantanmen ₩10,000

The tantanmen (₩10,000) is pork bone broth meeting peanut sauce. Clean and mild, yet with real depth of flavor.

If the bibim tantanmen comes with a hot-spring egg, the tantanmen comes with a soft-boiled egg. Gotta get that protein~~

Such a perfect spread. I couldn't leave out any of these three. If only my stomach were bigger, I'd have eaten five more fried eggplant mandu T_T

The free steamed rice is served generously too.

Oh, and two side dishes are available at the self-serve bar: zha cai (pickled mustard stem) and pickled radish. Zha cai goes great with the food.

Verdict after eating with two kids

I was so busy feeding the kids and drinking my beer that the tantanmen got a bit soggy later, but it was good soggy and good cold. It's tantanmen that suits Korean tastes, and it left no heavy or uncomfortable feeling afterward, so it was a happy meal in Hongdae. Recommended as a Hongdae favorite!

• Address: 19-19 Wausan-ro 21-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul
• Hours: 11:00-21:00 / break time 15:00-17:00
• Parking available
• Baby chairs available