[Seoul] One of the best finds in my recent trip to Seoul was a Japanese buckwheat noodle shop called Mimi Myeonga 미미면가, located at Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu – a short walking distance from Garosu-gil known for its trendy establishments, and cafes.
I honestly never really thought about having Soba in Korea, but its positive reviews and photos of queues made me look forward in anticipation.
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When I was there at 11:15am before shop opening, there were already a couple of customers in line. I read that waiting time for food can be rather long during peak hours.
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Mimi Myeonga 미미면가 is a small yet comfy quick-service restaurant popular for its traditional soba noodles. The noodle joint serves hot and cold soba dishes in an array of soups and tempura-style toppings.
It is also awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the Seoul’s Michelin Guide.
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What makes it special is that the soba is made in-house with one-part buckwheat flour to three-part wheat flour.
This ratio makes the thin noodles chewy and bouncy in texture, and the aroma delicately nutty.
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The Soba is divided into “Cold” and “Hot” choices, with options such as Salted Plum, Fishcake Tempura, Eggplant Tempura, Shrimp Tempura, Eel Tempura, Grilled Beef, Sea Urchin, and Sweet Shrimp with Sea Urchin.
Prices range from 9,000 Won to 19,000 Won for a bowl (SGD10.40 to SGD21.95).
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Try their famous Sea Urchin with Sweet Shrimp Soba (18,000 Won), with rich, creamy and sweet sea urchins that complemented the mild tasting broth.
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You will love how the seong-ge (sea urchin in Korean) melts in your mouth and mingles with the soba noodles.
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I also order the hot Tempura Eel Soba (15,000 Won), with a deep-fried conger (a large marine eel) even larger than the bowl itself.
Take note that the sea eel has a lighter taste and softer compared to Unagi, the batter was nicely-crisp and meat light and moist.
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If you love prawns, get the Prawn Soba which gives you two plump, crunchy-battered prawns topped in a bowl of soba noodles in a delicately salty broth.
Other fried toppings include the fried burdock, and fried lotus root stuffed with prawn filling. The crunch factor is remarkable due to the thin batter used.
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Between the Cold and Hot Soba, I much preferred the cold version which had a soothing and refreshing broth, and complemented the noodles very well.
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Mimi Myeonga 미미면가
29 Gangnam-daero 160-gil, Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
서울 강남구 강남대로160길 29
Tel: +82 70 4211 5466
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 2:30pm, 5:30pm – 9pm (Mon-Sat), Closed Sun
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