If you’re researching on the best places to eat in Myeongdong, most guides would direct you straight to Myeongdong Kyoja. Unfortunately, my review of Myeongdong Kyoja may deter you from this – but more on that later!

Why is Myeongdong Kyoja so popular?

The main reason why this dumpling shop is highly recommended and entertains longggg queues at both (yes both) its outlets at Myeongdong? None other than the fact that is is listed in the Michelin Guide.

Just like Grandmother’s Recipe, it offers Michelin-approved food at very affordable prices, which explains its appeal.

Every time we’re in Myeongdong the queues at both Myeongdong Kyoja outlets seems to go on and on, and we simply didn’t have the patience for it.

Our Myeongdong Kyoja review & experience

We got lucky on one of the days where we had additional time to have an early dinner, so we decided to try our luck at queueing!

For reference this queue is the SHORTEST I have ever seen at 5.53pm. However, as it turns out, there were TWO more queues inside the restaurant itself. There’s 1 queue for smaller groups downstairs and another for larger groups upstairs.

When it was finally our turn, the service staff brusquely showed us our table, gave us the menus, and then almost immediately asked us for our order. Granted, they don’t have much on the menu. It still wouldn’t hurt to give us some time to look and decide right??

Anyway I guess they were expected to turnaround fast due to the long queues. Some of the food was probably already prepared in advance so the food came really fast.

I’m not sure if it was because we had high expectations of this Michelin Guide restaurant or the long wait or the bad customer service. Either way, I found the food served at Myeongdong Kyoja rather disappointing.

The famed mandu looked and tasted like they had been cooked way in advance. Perhaps they were steamed just before they served us to ensure that they were hot. I didn’t find the mandu fillings particularly tasty either.

Frankly, they were kind of on par with the frozen offerings I could find from the supermarket?

Most of my companions ordered the signature Kalguksu (soft noodles in thick chicken broth). I wanted to try something else so I ordered Kongguksu (chlorella noodles in grinded black bean paste/soup).

Surprisingly, my Kongguksu actually tasted much better than I expected! It was a bowl of cold and refreshing noodles that really hit the spot – perfect for eating in summer but also works for winter. I did find the soup a bit filling after a while though because it’s like soy bean paste.

Is Myeongdong Kyoja worth queueing for?

After the meal, we unanimously agreed that this was not worth the queue, the long waiting time, and the poor customer service.

I don’t know how they even got featured in the Michelin Guide. I sure am not returning again and don’t recommend braving long queues in bad weather for this.

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DIRECTIONS

Main Restaurant Address: 29, Myeongdong 10-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul,

Branch Address: 8 Myeongdong 10-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Opening Hours: 10.30am – 9pm daily

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