I love stuffing my face, so I've been around. First off, the place I visited the most is Matfia's restaurant. I've been going there since they opened in Yeonnam-dong. My friends used to bitch about it being too salty, and Matfia said he heard that a lot early on. Back then, I actually begged him never to lower the salt level. Well, he’s stubborn too, so he just pushed through without lowering it. I thought Koreans loved intense, salty flavors, but turns out way more people don't. Anyway, I'm a huge regular at Via Toledo so I go there most often. He even taught me a lot when I asked about pasta, so to me, he’s a great guy and the food is delicious.

AI Translated Image

I also used to go to Imokase’s 'Jeulgeoun Sulsang' in Chang-dong during the early days. (Back then it wasn't an omakase; she just wrote available dishes on a whiteboard and you ordered). Honestly, there are plenty of grandmas with better 'hand-taste' than her. But the portions were huge, and when you're almost done, she mixes the leftovers into bibimbap and makes a toast—that was so damn good. It's not 'mid' per se, just decent enough.

AI Translated Image

AI Translated Image

AI Translated Image

Then there's Delivery Chef's 'Doryang.' I went because I got an invite, and their main was hot pot? So I had hot pot, Dongpo pork, and one more thing. The hot pot was just average, and they said Dongpo pork was their pride and joy... but Gyehyanggak (Chinese Food Speedster) is my gold standard for Dongpo pork. So I was super disappointed. It lacked that characteristic jiggly, pudding-like vibe, and the inside of the meat was too dry. Gyehyanggak's Dongpo pork absolutely mops the floor with it.

AI Translated Image

AI Translated Image

AI Translated Image

AI Translated Image

Gyehyanggak (Chinese Food Speedster) is f-ing delicious. I've been going there since the year before last. It's so good that I often host group gatherings there. They have seasonal dishes, the Dongpo pork is the real deal, and they serve stuff you can't find at typical Chinese restaurants, so the uniqueness is a plus. Anything you order is a total banger.

AI Translated Image

AI Translated Image

AI Translated Image

This is getting long, so the most tasteless one: Jung Ji-sun’s dim sum place, Tien Mimi. The dim sum has zero personality, the taste isn't anything special, the price has no merit, the vibe isn't great, and the tableware isn't even high-end lol. I seriously don't know what the advantage is. I tried other dishes too, and they were just whatever. There's a Chinese place called Bokmanru in Daerim-dong run by Korean-Chinese folks—they could easily crush this place. I wouldn't go to Tien Mimi even if someone else was paying.

AI Translated Image

AI Translated Image

AI Translated Image

AI Translated Image