[CLOSED] MiGaBon (미가본)

UPDATE: This restaurant is permanently closed 😦

Singaporean food bloggers DanielFoodDiary and ladyironchef highly recommended MiGaBon in their blogs (no, not paid advertising!) which really lends a lot of credibility to how good this restaurant must be.

I tried abalone porridge in Korea before and it was absolutely delightful to have in the cold winter. Porridge is also a staple in Korean breakfast, but I’m not used to eating such a full meal in the morning so it became our lunch.

We went to eat at around 10-11am after our flight, and the place was already super packed by then. One of the staff told us that we would have to wait for no more than 5 minutes, so we said okay. In less than a minute, we actually got ushered to a table. We wanted to order both abalone porridge for every one of us, and a serving of samgyetang to share.

Now, most staff would have been happy to let you order more, right? Well, not with this guy serving us. He told us that one porridge per person would be sufficient, and offered to upsize the porridge for guys FREE! We were slightly surprised, but we just went ahead with his suggestion. So we looked at the beverage menu and told him we wanted to order some tea (I can’t remember what flavour), and then he told us that they serve hot tea for free, so we could just not order more tea.

In all fairness, maybe the staff at MiGaBon are trained to help reduce food wastage, especially with tourists who like to over-order, or are just not sure about food portions. However, I’m thoroughly impressed by the customer service in this restaurant. It’s definitely better than that at some tourist hotspots, and it really helps to give tourists a good impression of the country.

Anyway I digress, you’re probably more interested in the food photos:

I had the abalone porridge, which is a highly-recommended item at MiGaBon. I’m not a big fan of porridge, but this is something I honestly don’t mind eating everyday. It also tastes even better in winter – just think of the warm goodness in your stomach on a cold, freezing day.

If my memory does not fail me, one serving of abalone porridge was 10 000 won. Absolutely justifiable for the portions, quality and fantastic customer service.

DIRECTIONS

Address: 2F, 2-2, Myeongdong 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
서울특별시 중구 명동2가 2-23, 2F
Tel: +82 2 752 0330
Opening Hours: 8:00am – 9:00pm (Mon – Sun)

I don’t have exact directions to the place, but what I usually do is ask for directions from the cosmetic promoters, who are always standing outside the shops. They know the area pretty well (you would too, if you worked at one Innisfree store out of many located in Myeongdong alone) and can usually help a tourist out.