Gangnam restaurant for a mother-daughter date: Eulji Darak Dosan

Since I was up in Seoul, I made sure to go on lots of dates with my mom! Eulji Darak Dosan, which is apparently famous in Apgujeong for pre-wedding gatherings. We weren’t there for a gathering or a blind date, but it had been ages since our little date!!

Eulji Darak Dosan’s bookshelf entrance and quiet atmosphere

Such a pretty wood-toned entrance~~ It’s on the second floor!!

We got up to the second floor and went, “Wait, where even is the restaurant entrance?? Did we come to the wrong place? Where do we go in??” Total confusion.

My sensible mom said, “Read what it says,” hahaha. “The entrance is the bookshelf. Please pull the bookshelf!” Hahahaha. Pull the bookshelf full of pretty English-language books and it opens like a door!

As soon as we stepped in, I got it. I understood why this place is famous for Apgujeong pre-wedding gatherings and blind dates. The vibe is totally... that kind of vibe...!! Cozy but neat!! The natural light plus soft lighting made it feel pleasant, not overwhelming?

And most of all, it was quiet! The tables weren’t crammed together either, so I think I’d want to come here whether I had a pre-wedding gathering or a blind date. (Not that I have either to do... hahaha)

Also, aren’t the cutlery pieces so cute? Little details like this make me want to return, and it felt like the owner really paid attention to detail.

This was another seriously cute touch!! Instead of a call bell, they had this analog paper thing that said, “Shake it when you’re ready to order,” hahahaha. So fun. (I’m the kind of person who loves this stuff.) Honestly, I wanted to keep shaking it even when I wasn’t ordering, but I held back... hahaha. You know that duck toy at Daiso? It was that same urge to keep pressing it.

Ordering spicy crab risotto and cream pasta

Let’s look over the Eulji Darak Dosan menu.

The Darak omurice seemed like the signature dish! But Mom and I couldn’t give up spicy food. Like mother, like daughter... we love spicy food... We ordered the spicy crab risotto and spicy cream pasta. And since it felt like we were short on protein, we got the chopped steak too!

The wall décor was so cute too. I also liked that they had aprons available.

Looking around, there were lots of people with great vibes sitting nearby. Is that just Apgujeong..? It’s a hot spot for Apgujeong pre-wedding gatherings and blind dates, but since we went during the day, it seemed like lots of women had come together. I love this kind of girls’ time. The Little Prince illustration was ridiculously cute too.

Two starving women ordering three dishes hahaha. We were truly greedy... but doesn’t everything look delicious?

First, the spicy crab risotto. The visuals alone were insane—I was already drooling.

This one is the spicy cream pasta. Can you see the generous sprinkle of chili flakes? So satisfying... And the egg yolk on top was gorgeous too... Mom said, “Why is it plated so prettily? It’s almost too pretty to eat.” Hahahahaha.

This is the chopped pork-neck steak we ordered for a protein boost!!! I love pork neck the most, so that made me even happier. I liked that it was cut into easy-to-eat pieces, and that it came loaded with vegetables.

It had a slight Seoga & Cook pork-neck steak feel, but tasted more upscale and tender, if that makes sense? The cream sauce was sweet, nutty, and delicious.

I also loved how generous the garnish was. As someone who loves vegetables, I was happy. Eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, and more~ Why are cooked tomatoes so delicious? A bite of meat with a bite of vegetables was such perfect harmony.

The egg yolk on the spicy crab risotto,

and the egg yolk on the spicy cream pasta. Both looked so pretty, and mixing them in leveled up the flavor even more. I think the visuals were just like this when I visited Eulji Darak right after it first opened, so I love that it hasn’t changed, hehe.

Crab, shrimp, and tender pork neck

The spicy crab risotto really had loads of crab meat in it. Unreal. There were whole crab legs in there. My mom, a seafood and shellfish lover, absolutely loved it. They’ll give you pickles if you ask, too! I can’t resist the Western-food-plus-pickles combination.

I tried to photograph the chopped steak so you could see the cross-section of the meat—can you see it? It was genuinely so tender and delicious. I can’t eat tough meat, but this was really soft.

The rich spicy cream pasta was spicy enough that it didn’t get cloying, so we could eat it right to the end, hehe.

I mean, is this shrimp pasta or what? The amount of shrimp was insane. Shrimp lover... I lie down here.

Eulji Darak Dosan was full of cute things right up until the moment we left... These cute stones reminded me of Everything Everywhere All at Once stones hahaha. If you came here on an Apgujeong blind date, you could see something like this and casually say, “Have you seen Everything Everywhere All at Once?” haha.

On the way out, Mom and I took a mirror selfie. Aww, I love dates with my mom so much. Mom said Eulji Darak was so delicious and that we should come again next time. 100% willing to revisit!!!