The Best Bibimbap Restaurant in Seoul

Those of you who read my blog regularly, you have noticed that I periodically put up posts about different restaurants I’ve visited. I don’t cook, an basically out of necessity, I eat out every meal. And just to let you know, there’s no economic benefit in me writing these reviews. If there is one, it’s just in providing good information for those of you either visiting or living in Korea.

I would say I have had bibimbap from 10 different restaurants in Korea, plus a few more in the US, but hands down, the best bibimbop I’ve ever had is at Min Seong Mak Kuk Soo near Geubendari station. Geubendari is near Cheonho, so if any of you readers are near the area, definately make a visit to taste one of the best executed traditional Korean dishes in Korea.

Just look at the pictures of the bibimbap in the Wikipedia entry versus the ones in the blog post. I don’t need to say anything more.

I switch between the dol sot bibimbap (hot, temperature-wise) and the yang poon bibimbap (cold), although the dol sot bibimbap is my favorite. Dol means “stone” and sot means “pot” in Korean. Yang poon is simply the name of the metal container. Eunmi commented that the yangpoon bibimbap was served in a “real” yangpoon pot at Min Seong Mak Kuk Soo, and is particularly hard to find in Seoul.

(Eunmi told me the owner can’t believe how I can eat bibimbap almost every day without getting sick of it).

10 Reasons Why Min Seong Mak Kuk Soo Has the Best Bibimbap

1) The overall taste is awesome.

2) All the ingredients are fresh.

3) The ingrediants are thoughtfully used, i.e. onions on the bottom with oil in the dul sot bibimbap to add more flavor to the rice.

4) They use the right pots.

5) The complimentary side dishes are high quality and generous (you know this places doesn’t “recycle” their side dishes)

6) All the customers leave the restaurant without leaving a single morsel left in their dishes (including the side dishes)

7) Fast and friendly service.

8} The bathrooms are impeccably clean (a rarity in most family restaurants in Korea). Generally, I check out the bathrooms before the food in a restaurant. If the bathroom is digusting, just imagine how they prepare the food, or worst yet, the hygiene of the employees.

9) Paper towels and toilet paper in the bathrooms. Some of you may laugh that I even mention this. But those of you familiar, you know what I’m talking about. Paper towels in a bathroom are a rarity in Korea. I’ve been there at least 50 times and I have never seen the paper towel dispenser or toilet paper dispenser empty. There’s nothing worse than needing to go #2 and realizing there’s no toilet paper.

10) The entire restaurant is spot-less. An indicator of the freshness of the food and the cleanliness of the kitchen in which the food is being prepared in.

Spicy red kimchi. Excellent, authentic Korean kimchi (not the cheap kind that is often imported from China). I have never left this side dish empty.

Baek kimchi. Baek means “white” in Korean. I have never left this side dish empty either. This one’s hard to find in Seoul.

Dulsot bibimbap (black stone pot) and yang poon bibimbap (metal pot) with assorted side dishes in the middle (there are more that are left out of the picture).

Store front of the restaurant located about a block and a half away from Geubendari Station.

Min Seong Mak Kuk Soo. You can give them a call at 02-473-8349 or 010-5123-5143. Both the dul sot bibimbap and the yang poon bibimbap are 5,000 won each. Taste one the healthiest traditional Korean dishes, in what is my humble opinion, the best bibimbap restaurant in Korea.

What’s funny is that the restaurant name Min Seong Mak Kuk Soo literally means “Min Seong Korean Noodle Restaurant.” This restaurant is known in the neighborhood for their noodle dishes, but really, the hidden gem is their bibimbap.