Peanut sprout pork at Bobo Sikdang, an Apgujeong Chinese restaurant

A Chinese restaurant with pretty private rooms, great for gatherings — Bobo Sikdang near Apgujeong Rodeo Station, good for family meals and blind dates. It's an Apgujeong Chinese room restaurant where you can try course meals.

I visited Bobo Sikdang Apgujeong, which is known for its pretty dining space. The taste of food matters to me, but I also don't love restaurants that don't feel clean, no matter how good the food is.

Bobo Sikdang, located near Apgujeong Rodeo Station, had an interior atmosphere that really suited my taste. I loved that there were lots of private rooms, and the table spaces were cute too. Instead of feeling like a stiff, formal Chinese restaurant, it had a lovely vibe that seemed perfect for business meetings, blind dates, or family meals. Here's my review of Bobo Sikdang, an Apgujeong Chinese room restaurant.

What kind of Chinese restaurant is Bobo Sikdang Apgujeong?

Bobo Sikdang, which also appeared on Culinary Class Wars 2 (흑백요리사2), is run by a chef with 20 years of experience who is third-generation ethnic Chinese-Korean (hwagyo). Bobo Sikdang has locations in Apgujeong and Gwanghwamun.

Where is Bobo Sikdang Apgujeong, and when is it open?

Bobo Sikdang Apgujeong is on the 1st floor of 640-2 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Hours are daily 11:30–20:50 (last order), with a break time from 15:00–17:30.

• Address: 1st floor, 640-2 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
• Hours: Daily 11:30–20:50, last order
• Break time: 15:00–17:30

It's a 6-minute walk from Apgujeong Rodeo Station exit 6, so it's convenient by public transit too. It's near the Galleria Department Store, so it also seems like a good spot to eat before or after shopping.

There's also a JAJU store across the street, so I stopped by to browse after my meal haha.

How much is valet parking at Bobo Sikdang Apgujeong?

There's valet parking across the street from the restaurant. The first two hours are 5,000 won, with an additional 1,000 won per 10 minutes, up to a maximum of 20,000 won.

Since parking is available, it's a good place to visit by car too. I liked that you could use it for up to two hours just by paying the valet fee.

Inside Bobo Sikdang Apgujeong

The large lovely mirror on the wall was a nice idea, visually making the space look bigger. The long cozy bench seats look comfortable.

The pastel green tones felt stable and warm. The cute lighting fixtures were pretty too.

True to a Chinese restaurant, the tables are nice and big. The open kitchen looked clean too, which was reassuring.

There was a large room at the entrance, but there were also rooms lined up further inside too — the more rooms, the better, right? haha

The five private rooms at Bobo Sikdang

Bobo Sikdang Apgujeong has a total of five rooms of various sizes. I think the rooms might be Bobo Sikdang's biggest strength — they're so pretty.

They're not cold, stiff generic rooms, but warm, stable spaces. The kind of place anyone would want to sit down in haha. They seemed great for enjoying a meal in various small gatherings — blind dates, family meals, business meetings, company dinners. Both the table seats and private rooms are all lovely.

What we ordered at Bobo Sikdang, and what it cost

• Dongpo pork ₩45,000
• Peanut sprout stir-fried pork ₩28,000
• Bobo-style jajangmyeon ₩15,000
• Mala sauce eggplant fritters ₩29,000
• Total = ₩117,000 / paid out of pocket: ₩37,000

Served free: jasmine tea and vegetables

Since it's a Chinese restaurant, they serve warm tea.

Vegetables with a nice crunchy texture also come as a complimentary side. I forget the name haha.

Peanut sprout stir-fried pork, 28,000 won

The peanut sprout stir-fried pork came out first. I'd never seen peanut sprouts before, so I asked the staff — they said it's a new crop that's just started being cultivated recently. The staff were really kind.

They looked like bean sprouts but with a thicker stem. I ordered it because the peanut sprouts seemed intriguing haha. Since peanut sprouts seemed to be the main feature, there wasn't much pork visible, and the amount of pork was small. The seasoning wasn't strong, so it was mild and clean-tasting.

Mala sauce eggplant fritters, 29,000 won

This was a staff recommendation — I like mala tang and eggplant dishes, so I ordered it.

It was piled high with cilantro, which I love. The mala sauce was rich and had a bitter edge to it — this dish seemed like it could be a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing.

There was eggplant inside the fried batter. My foreign friend doesn't eat mala, and I was already full, so I skipped the batter and just picked out the eggplant haha.

Dongpo pork, 45,000 won

The dongpo pork came with bok choy, and four steamed buns came alongside it. Seems like a lot of dishes these days use this style of steamed bun haha.

After the staff placed the dish on the table, they cut it for us. This is dongpo pork that's been simmered whole for a long time. The meat was so well cooked that when I tried to pick it up with chopsticks, it just split in half on its own.

I like eating the fat and lean meat together, taking a big juicy bite, so I put the split-in-half piece onto a spoon and popped the whole thing in my mouth haha. There were four pieces of bok choy too, so two people could share evenly, two each.

Bobo-style jajangmyeon (black bean noodles), 15,000 won

Whenever I go to a new Chinese restaurant, I like to try the jajangmyeon (black bean noodles), but Bobo Sikdang doesn't have a regular jajangmyeon lol. There's abalone samseon jajangmyeon at ₩25,000, and Bobo-style jajangmyeon at ₩15,000. I couldn't bring myself to order a 25,000-won jajangmyeon, so I ordered the Bobo-style version, which reportedly has an unusual doenjang (soybean paste) mixed in lol.

Every table had jajangmyeon on it. It tasted like a rich stir-fried doenjang. The staff told us to taste it as we mixed in the sauce, so I added half and mixed it, but it was too mild, so I dumped in the rest lol.

A soft-fried egg comes with it too. Even when making jjapaghetti at home, a fried egg is a must, right? haha My foreign friend, who was trying Korean Chinese food for the first time, ate the jajangmyeon well.

Is Bobo Sikdang Apgujeong worth it for a private-room Chinese meal?

This was my review of Bobo Sikdang, near Apgujeong Rodeo Station, where an authentic ethnic Chinese-Korean chef cooks. I really loved the lovely private rooms in various sizes. Rather than feeling stiff and antique like a typical Chinese restaurant, it had a lovely vibe — a great Apgujeong Chinese restaurant for a family meal or date.

Since it's in Apgujeong, the prices are on the higher side, but I'd recommend visiting at least once to try distinctive Chinese dishes in a private room, chatting together — you don't need to be wealthy to enjoy it. We visited for lunch and picked à la carte dishes, but there's also a lunch course available.