Shio ramen and chicken skin gyoza after preschool pickup: Mentsuru

After eating there a few times recently, this ramen place became one of my kid's favorite meals — and it turns out there's one right by Children's Grand Park Station. Since the location was so convenient, we stopped by Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch for some ramen my kid loves after preschool pickup.

Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch hours and parking

• Open daily 11:00–23:00
• Last order 22:30
• On foot: 1-minute walk from Exit 4, Children's Grand Park Station (Line 7)
• No parking on-site (use Gwangjin Plaza public parking lot, paid, across from the store)

Comfortable solo seating and an open kitchen

The location is right in front of Children's Grand Park Station, and with Sejong University nearby, a lot of university students seemed to come here. We visited around 3pm, and even at that hour there were people eating alone or with a friend. With a mix of solo seats and two-person tables, it looked like a comfortable spot to eat by yourself.

The bar-table seating stood out too — I like eating alone myself, so even though I could sit at a two-person table, having solo seats available makes it easier to drop in and eat. And since there's no break time and it's open year-round, it's a convenient ramen place to visit anytime. The open kitchen, where you can see the food being made right in front of you, also gave off a clean, hygienic feel.

How shio ramen and shoyu ramen differ

The menu photo here is a screenshot from Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch's Naver page. My kid chose shio ramen while I ordered shoyu ramen and chicken skin gyoza.

Looking at the photos, the shoyu ramen's broth is clearly darker than the shio ramen's, likely because it's soy sauce-based. Mentsuru, which says it serves authentic Japanese ramen, describes its shoyu ramen as a light, clean clam-chicken broth ramen, while the shio ramen is a chicken broth ramen seasoned with salt. (They also recently launched a spicy shio ramen with a pleasant kick of heat added to the shio ramen.) I went back and forth between the spicy shio ramen and the shoyu ramen, but since I like shoyu ramen, I went with that.

Kid on shio ramen, mom on meat duty

My kid said the shio ramen was delicious, and as soon as I ladled some into a bowl, blew on it, and started eating without stopping.

I was busy taking photos, but a video caught me eating hungrily in front of the camera. Watching it back, it was both cute and funny how eagerly I ate. My kid didn't want the meat and handed it over, so I got my protein in. (Adding meat costs extra, but I certainly didn't mind.)

Let the chicken skin gyoza cool a little

The chicken skin gyoza (교자, pan-fried dumplings) we ordered alongside was also genuinely delicious. The first bite was packed with juices, so it can be hotter than expected — I'd recommend letting it cool slightly before eating. The contrast between the crispy outside and the juicy filling was great, and it made a good side dish alongside the ramen.

Takoyaki coupon and late-night specials

Right now, Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch is offering a downloadable takoyaki coupon on Naver to celebrate their new takoyaki menu. It said the coupon can't be combined with other coupons but can be used when ordering other menu items.

They're also offering late-night specials (applied from 21:00):

• Asahi draft beer 420ml: ₩8,000 → ₩4,000
• Asahi draft beer 320ml: ₩6,000 → ₩3,000

Why it was a good spot to visit with a kid

With Children's Grand Park nearby, it seemed like a great spot for a simple, tasty meal before or after an outing. When I go out to eat with my kid, I try to be careful, but I still worry about being noisy and bothering other people, so we don't eat out often. But the food came out quickly here, and my kid kept eating without stopping, so we finished up quietly and quickly. And they even had toddler chairs ready, as noted on their page. The staff were kind too — Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch is a spot near Children's Grand Park I'll probably keep coming back to after preschool pickup.