Abalone Porridge, Migabon Review - Seoul, South Korea

Migabon was one of the places that was a little hard to find but I had read about it on Tripadvisor before we left (Incidentally - Tripadvisor has been a godsend while here, we've found places MUCH easier to find using this rather than googlemaps and it found us some real gems!)  We wanted to try the abalone and mushroom porridge for breakfast.  It had great reviews and is definitely a taste of something different. It's also another thing I can tick off my facebook food list (you know I love trying new things on that list!  I'm now on 55!)

So, off we went following the arrow on the tripadvisor app once we were off the subway.  We'd read it was difficult to find so when we were close, we checked the photos on-line and managed to spot it above us!  It had no English name, hence the difficulty, but it was the green restaurant on floor 2 (the 1st floor to us) on the main street (we'd already checked up 2 alleys).

The menu outside the building

It was well worth the effort to find!  The staff were so welcoming and despite speaking minimal English, very friendly and happy to help us figure out (with their smart phones translating via google) what side dishes we'd eaten when we asked.  Turns out what we thought was a version of kimchi (fermented cabbage) was actually cuttlefish!  All the side dishes were delicious and the porridge itself was lovely!  It isn't made with oats like our porridge but with rice.  We were also served some kind of tea which was free and refilled as needed, as soon as you sit down in most restaurants they serve you with tea.  As meals go in Seoul, it was a bit on the expensive side but we were warned of this by the Tripadvisor reviews yet assured it was worth it and we'd definitely agree!

15,000 Won is about £10

The place was very airy and light with modern decor...

We both ordered the abalone and mushroom porridge which came with loads of sides (as does pretty much every meal in Seoul).  The porridge is actually made from rice rather than oats and it absolutely delicious.  I prefer savoury breakfasts anyway so I didn't find it strange to have this for breakfast.

It came with sesame seeds and seaweed on top which we were instructed to mix in but that our sides were to eat separately.  All the side dishes were delicious and the porridge itself was lovely!

The sides (starting top left and anti-clockwise) were shredded beef (SoGoGi JangJoRim), radish (Moo Saeng Chae), squid or cuttlefish (Ojinguh Jut), bean sprouts (Sukju Namul), burdock (Ueong Jorim) and a different kind of radish (Dong Chimi). 

There was some kind of opening happening next door with a long line up of people to cut the ribbon, each with their own pair of scissors...

After breakfast we had a wee wander around the area and I had a sneaky waffle with cream cheese - YUM!  You can't beat a two course breakfast ;)