Myeong-Dong Kyoja - affordable Michelin ⭐ restaurant in Seoul.

On our second day, we were walking along Myeong-Dong Street, a famous shopping and fashion district where you can enjoy complete shopping and dining experiences in the pedestrianized (car-free) zone in Myeongdong. When I first laid my eyes on this restaurant, it was not so crowded and, I had no idea it was a Michelin-star restaurant.

Julia had something else in mind and "Topoki" was on top of our radar, and we were willing to have as much topoki as we could hehe, plus fact dumplings are made of flour, and Julia is intolerant so, maybe next time, right?

A positive surprise on our last day, my tourist guide (Ju) brought me back there as a surprise. A bit of gluten would not kill us, and it is not every day you are in KOREA.

The restaurant is open from 10.30 am, with people queuing up patiently before it opens. Myeongdong Kyoja offers only four items on the menu, specializes in dumplings and noodle soup. It is famous for its thick and unctuous broth in its Kalguksu, which is a full-on flavor bomb, and its pork-filled Mandu, which is best enjoyed with kimchi.

There was a big line for large groups, if you are dining by yourself or with someone else it would be easier to get settled, in less than 5 minutes we had seen the menu, chosen, paid, and were ready to start eating.

We ordered one dumpling noodle soup for each of us while sharing the best dumplings I have ever had. We had unlimited free refills on the side dishes, known as banchan. I also heard you can ask for more noodles for free. The kimchi being made in-house grants an extra charm and a unique taste.

Friendly staff and unusual customer service

The waiters were friendly and there were many of them, the team seemed to be working in great sync what explains the surprisingly fast service, staff could accommodate the crowd, with a steady flow of people entering and leaving the shop, perfect timing.

Generally restaurants this big have 'food runners', not here, instead, there, waiters were helped by 'runner' robots, with bringing and returning dishes, can you believe it? lol

An innovative culture, such as Korea, did surprise me here.

"The food is superb and really worth trying, friendly staff and unusual customer service."