Songpa Japanese restaurant: salmon soboro & steak pot rice, Gomemui

I go shopping at Gardenfive a lot! Did you know Gardenfive is secretly great for shopping..? It's not very crowded and has almost all the viral SNS items!!!! I shouldn't tell anyone, but I'm sharing it just for you.. Shopping = stamina, so you get super hungry after a bit. So here's a Gardenfive restaurant that's perfect for that moment: Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive (고메무이 현대가든파이브점)!

Where is Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive, and what are the hours and parking?

Gomemui Hyundai Gardenfive is on B1 of the Gardenfive Techno Building, next to Mom's Touch. Take Exit 4 of Jangji Station on Line 8, and if you drive, the Gardenfive parking lot is free for 4 hours.

• 🚊 Jangji Station (Line 8), Exit 4
• 🚘 Parking available (4 hours free at the Gardenfive lot)
• 🕖 Daily 10:30-20:30
• Break time 15:00-17:00

It's on B1 of the Techno Building. Right next to Mom's Touch!

It opened on September 18, so it's not even a month old yet. A piping hot new spot coming right up🔥

It's a mall food court, but is there enough seating?

The inside of Gomemui's Gardenfive branch was bigger than I expected, with lots of seats, which I liked. Food courts inside malls usually have cramped seating and a hectic, crowded vibe, so I tend to skip them, but Gomemui isn't like that, which was a huge plus! And plenty of people were dining solo too~

Gomemui menu: pot rice, katsu, curry, udon and soba

• Perilla oil mushroom pot rice
• Wild sea bream pot rice with seasonal greens
• Steak pot rice
• Abalone pot rice
• Salmon soboro pot rice
• Eel pot rice
• Tomato and snowy cheese pot rice
• Sea salt koji-aged loin katsu
• Hire katsu (pork tenderloin cutlet)
• Whole mozzarella cheese katsu
• Ichiban curry
• Tonkatsu Ichiban curry
• Ebiten (shrimp tempura) Ichiban curry
• Maze udon (brothless mixed udon)
• Pollock roe butter udon
• Katsuo cold soba
• Skewered fish cake udon

What we ordered: pot rice + katsu set, ₩21,900

• Salmon soboro pot rice + katsu set (₩21,900)
• Steak pot rice + katsu set (₩21,900)

I liked how neatly the Gomemui pot rice table is laid out. Of the side dishes, the seed jeotgal (salted seafood) in the middle was delicious. The water to pour over the pot rice even comes in a thermos, which feels extra clean haha

A card explaining how to eat it best comes along too.

What does the salmon soboro pot rice taste like?

Gomemui's salmon soboro pot rice has big, thick salmon sitting there so prominently you can't even see the rice. It's not small cut pieces but a whole grilled salmon fillet, so it passed on first impression alone! Savory, lightly salty golden egg soboro (crumbled scrambled egg) wraps around the salmon, topped with chopped scallions and flying fish roe for a pop of texture as the finishing touch.

You flake the salmon and mix it into the rice. The skin is crispy and the flesh is moist, so it breaks apart easily. The rich salmon flavor and mildness met the fluffy egg soboro, and it was totally my taste >.<

Rather than mashing the salmon completely from the start, I found that leaving some big pieces and scooping them up with the rice lets you enjoy the salmon's texture even more!!!

How much meat is in the steak pot rice, and how is it cooked?

Gomemui's steak pot rice is packed edge to edge with thick cube-cut steak. So generous with the meat! The glossy beef, green scallions and plump egg yolk make such a perfect color combo that I automatically picked up my camera haha

The steak is cooked to a perfect medium, and juicy flavor bursts out. With every bite, a subtle smoky grill flavor and savory juices went really well with the rice.

Is the mini loin katsu worth adding to a set?

Gomemui's mini loin katsu is ₩6,000 as a separate side, but ₩5,000 if you order it with pot rice as a set. I felt pot rice alone wasn't quite enough, so I got the katsu set.

As you can see from the cross-section, this isn't some thin, skimpy snack-bar tonkatsu. It's packed with meat, so thick you can feel the heft just looking at it. There's not a bit of dryness, and the cross-section full of tender lean meat lets you taste the hearty, rich flavor of pork in every mouthful.

Gomemui while shopping at Gardenfive: final verdict

The thick salmon, the juicy steak and the meat-packed katsu: I was completely satisfied with every one. If you want something filling but not too heavy before or after shopping, I recommend Gomemui💖