MAO (마오), Itaewon Korea

I was disappointed by my usual go-to jjajangmyeon delivery when I was here during the summer, so we decided to try out Mao in Itaewon instead.

Getting here

I’d recommend driving or taking a cab here since it is a bit of a hike from the subway station.

They're known for their pecking duck

But if you’re craving something else, they have other options on the menu too.

Open kitchen

I love open kitchen concepts and like how the staff were speaking in Chinese (don’t worry, they know Korean too!) and were laughing with each other. It kept the mood light and vibrant.

Pork tangsuyuk (탕수육)

The meat was tender - you’d be surprised at how many hard tangsuyuk’s I’ve had - and I liked how the meat wasn’t overly drowning in the sweet and sour sauce.

Seafood crispy noodles

Now this is a dish I haven’t had in a while. The sauce was light, the noodles were nice and crispy (except at the bottom) and they filled your plates with some broccolis, scallions, shrimp, mushrooms, and others.

자장면 time!

One of my favorite comfort foods.

Jjajangmyeon (noodles in blackbean sauce)

I’m still a child so I always ask for scissors to cut my noodles. The sauce wasn’t thick, it was actually a bit watery, but it didn’t taste like your cheap take-out jjajangmyeon.

My favorite jjajang place I’ve ever had is still the one in Chinatown, Incheon (post here), but if I’m looking for something simple, good tangsuyuk, and I’m in the area, I wouldn’t mind coming here to satisfy my cravings.

P.S. rumor has it that seats gets filled quickly at this restaurant on the weekends, so come for lunch on a weekday or arrive a bit early on a weekend to skip the crowd.