Tae Hee Restaurant

Tae Hee Restaurant
Level 4F
22-5 Myeong-Dong 8(Pal)-Gil
Myeong-Dong Shopping Street
Jung-Gu
Seoul
South Korea

Haemul Pajeon / Seafood Pancake (KRW ₩7,000 / SGD $8)

Affordable Korean Home Cooking & Barbecue Hidden Find

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 8
Value for Money: 8
Spent about KRW ₩13,000 / SGD $14 per person.


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Located above the busy Myeong-Dong Shopping Street, Tae Hee Restaurant is not immediately visible, due to its location on the 4th floor of a building, with only signage along the street stating that it's there. A relatively new contender in the extremely competitive Korean dining scene, Tae Hee Restaurant is a down-to-earth, casual eatery, offering both rustic home-cooked dishes, as well as do-it-yourself grilled barbecue meals.

Ambience at Tae Hee Restaurant is simple, casual, and comfortable. The cushioned wooden furniture is spaced rather neatly, and the long windows offer a view of the busy street below. Ventilation is above average, despite the grilling going on, the smell of cooking is not obvious, and doesn't cling to your clothes. Being an out-of-the-way location, Tae Hee Restaurant is also rather quiet, and is suited for relaxing.

Service at Tae Hee Restaurant is very good. The service begins on the street, an assistant will guide you to the restaurant if you show interest in dining there. Staff are friendly and welcoming, able to understand very basic English, but can converse in Mandarin and Korean. At least the menu has helpful English translations of the dishes. Rather efficient too, orders are quickly fulfilled, and requests for more of the free-flow Banchan / side dishes are carried out quickly.

Food at Tae Hee Restaurant is pretty good! The rustic, home style Korean dishes are tasty and satisfiying, use fresh ingredients, with dishes being well executed. Portions sizes are large, meant for sharing, and communal dining is highly encouraged. Prices are affordable, cheaper than most other restaurants in this area, budget about KRW ₩13,000 / SGD $14 per person for a casual meal (ala-carte) here. If ordering the barbecue / grilled meals, the price will be slightly higher.


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Tae Hee Restaurant Signage

Tae Hee Restaurant Exterior

Tae Hee Restaurant Interior

The standard Beer Cass (KRW ₩3,000 / SGD $4) makes for an excellent, refreshing beverage to complement a meal, especially if you order heavily seasoned or barbecue dishes.

Beer Cass (KRW ₩3,000 / SGD $4)

They offer a good variety of Banchan / side dishes, and if fact, we requested for more because it was tasty! These include the Kimchi Baechu / Kimchi Pickled Cabbage, the Kimchi Kkakdugi / Kimchi Cubed Pickled Daikon Radish, the Eomuk Bokkeum / Stir-Fried Fish Cake, and the Kongnamul / Cold Soy Bean Sprouts. They have more variety, but usually serve according to the number of diners in your group.

Kimchi Baechu / Kimchi Pickled Cabbage

Kimchi Kkakdugi / Kimchi Cubed Pickled Daikon Radish

Eomuk Bokkeum / Stir-Fried Fish Cake

Kongnamul / Cold Soy Bean Sprouts

The unique thing about the Haemul Pajeon / Seafood Pancake (KRW ₩7,000 / SGD $8) is the pancake base made of buckwheat, which gave it a slightly earthy, grassy taste! The fresh chunks of seafood on top are sweet and clean tasting, though I would have liked a more generous topping.

Haemul Pajeon / Seafood Pancake (KRW ₩7,000 / SGD $8)

A signature item on the menu, the Samgyetang / Ginseng Chicken Soup (KRW ₩15,000 / SGD $18) has a light yet flavourful chicken soup / broth, warm and comforting. The chicken itself is tender, with fall-off-the-bone meat, though I note the stuffing of sweet glutinous rice seems rather lacking, wish there was more, but I understand the constraint of a small chicken. The other ingredients; red dates, water chestnut, scallions, and Korean ginseng, were present, and contributed flavour to the dish. Great on a cool day!

Samgyetang / Ginseng Chicken Soup (KRW ₩15,000 / SGD $18)

Samgyetang / Ginseng Chicken Soup

Samgyetang / Ginseng Chicken Soup

Wasn't too excited about the Bibimbap / Mixed Rice (KRW ₩10,000 / SGD $12). It was tasty for sure, and the ingredients were fresh, but the variety of ingredients, and arrangement of colour, could be improved. As it stands, this is a decent dish, and sufficient for sharing.

Bibimbap / Mixed Rice (KRW ₩10,000 / SGD $12)

Bibimbap / Mixed Rice

Bibimbap / Mixed Rice

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