[Mondrian Seoul] SMT China Room - NDW Chinese Gourmet Club Chinese Restaurant Hotspot. Chef Jeong Chan-hee. Recommended for Family Gatherings. Accor Membership Discount Not Available!! Valet Available.

Baekwonjang rating ★★★★☆

Hello.

This is Baekwonjang’s Food Michelin Guide.

It’s been a while since I introduced a hotel Chinese restaurant. As I’m writing this, if you search for “NDW Chinese Gourmet Club,” it comes up at the top.

If you visit through Naver Reservation, it seems you can enjoy course meals at a 10–20% discount.

As for restaurants at Mondrian Seoul, I have a record of visiting “Cleo” last year.

The Accor-affiliated Mondrian Hotel is a place that revitalized the old Capital Hotel with a European vibe through remodeling, and it’s loved as a gathering spot for residents of Yongsan-gu. haha

SMT China Room Mondrian Hotel Branch

The place I visited was SMT China Room. As you can probably tell from the name, the difference from Cleo is that it is a leased store.

Mondrian Hotel uniquely has an arcade in the basement, with several restaurants operating there as leased tenants, and SMT China Room can also be understood in that context.

** Valet parking is, of course, available when using the store.

*** Therefore, Accor membership points cannot be earned, and hotel discount benefits from premium cards such as Hyundai Card are also not available.

Location: 2nd floor, Mondrian Seoul Itaewon, 23 Jangmun-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Parking: Valet available.

It’s a small hotel located right in front of The Parkside Seoul apartment complex, which is currently under construction.

The valet staff are very friendly and helpful, and if you use any store inside the hotel (even a Coffee Bean), you can receive valet parking benefits, so it’s a place I personally really like!

Siksin app rating

The rating on my favorite Siksin app.

It had a 2025 Table Grade. There was still no rating.

It’s a bit hard to say Mondrian Seoul is an extremely luxurious place (!?), but I visited with the belief that hotel restaurants are delicious... haha

Exterior

No matter when I visit, the lobby at Mondrian Seoul is always a very pleasant place.

Personally, I like interiors that boldly use stone.

It doesn’t feel old or worn out... I think stone is something that never really goes out of style :)

The valet parking fee is 28,000 won, so it’s relatively inexpensive, but over several visits to Mondrian Seoul, I’ve never actually paid the valet fee. They usually don’t check... and if you only use one store, they don’t charge for valet parking. (Maybe because there are many foreign guests?)

If you enter through the main entrance and go up the stairs on the right, you can easily find the entrance to SMT China Room Mondrian Hotel Branch.

There’s a menu at the entrance, so feel free to take a look!

I understand that Chef Jeong Chan-hee’s course meals are famous here, but my wife and I just visited for a light à la carte meal.

We like jajangmyeon, jjambbong, and tangsuyuk, after all lol

Since it’s NDW (Naver Dining Week) right now, I’d recommend visiting to enjoy the course meals. haha

Interior

Under the simple words CHINA ROOM, various awards are displayed very prominently and catch your eye.

Praising yourself is something you have to do yourself, right?

A large number of medals received by Chef Jeong Chan-hee are on display.

When you enter the store, a pleasant outdoor view opens up.

Although it was remodeled from the old Capital Hotel, one feature of Mondrian Seoul is its low ceiling height. To reduce the feeling of being boxed in when you enter, the ceiling is covered with mirrors reflecting the floor below.

Outside, you can see plenty of green trees, and it seems like it would be such a nice place to sit and chat on a quiet day. It has a neighborhood hangout feel~

This is part of the menu at SMT China Room Mondrian Hotel Branch.

We didn’t come to eat anything extravagant~ we came because we wanted tangsuyuk and jjambbong lol

So we ordered the signature black pork tenderloin tangsuyuk, seafood jjambbong, and seafood fried rice.

What was a little disappointing was that at Cleo, which I visited before, if you had an Accor membership or a special credit card, you could get a 10% discount, but SMT China Room didn’t offer that.

The total came to 89,000 won, so I think it’s fair to say the price range is on the higher side.

Meal starts!!!

The side dishes served, such as jatsae and stir-fried peanuts, taste really good.

Oh! The staff member thoughtfully asked if they should split the jjambbong into two bowls.

I really love this kind of service~ haha

The jatsae was something my wife and I kept thinking was really delicious while eating.

The fresh taste, as if it hadn’t been made long ago, was especially impressive!!

SIGNATURE Black Pork Tenderloin Tangsuyuk (Small, 45,000 won)

The black pork tenderloin tangsuyuk was the perfect size for the two of us. At first glance, the visuals are a bit shocking. It looks much darker than expected, right??

If you look closely, it doesn’t seem black at all, but rather as if something deep green has been applied on the outside.

I should have asked... maybe it’s seaweed? haha

Black pork tenderloin tangsuyuk made with black pork.

The thin fried coating with a satisfying chew is impressive.

The meat is layered several times, so the bite is definitely satisfying, and the juices are trapped inside the coating. Personally, I thought it was really delicious.

And it has one of the characteristics of good tangsuyuk, right? It stays tasty even as it cools.

The flavor when it’s hot and when it’s cooled is different. It’s like the essence of fried food that doesn’t get soggy even when it cools...

Seafood Fried Rice (19,000 won)

Since there are large shrimp stuck on top, this is definitely seafood fried rice, right? haha

No jajang sauce is served separately.

So you have to enjoy the fried rice on its own, but personally, I’m more of a kid-palate person who doesn’t prefer bland food...

Still, it was definitely well stir-fried, and the wok aroma was rich. The somewhat separated rice grains gave off a lot of nutty flavor. Good!

Seafood Jjambbong (25,000 won)

25,000 won for one bowl of jjambbong.

Since they split it into two bowls, that’s worth 12,500 won each.

The broth looks quite rich, but it wasn’t extremely spicy.

It had an elegant taste, as if it had been simmered for a long time with many ingredients. The moment you taste it, you can’t help but say, Ah! This is delicious. haha

The noodles were also moderately thin and went very well with the fried rice.

If there was one disappointment, although it has a price tag of 25,000 won and the name “seafood” jjambbong, there wasn’t much seafood...

That was a bit disappointing to me personally. haha

And so our happy mealtime came to an end.

It was a pleasant experience.

We really enjoyed our meal today as well.!!! Conclusion

It was delicious, but there was a sense of it being a little plain for the price.

At Cleo, the Mediterranean restaurant at Mondrian Hotel, I was more impressed than expected. The ingredients were so fresh, and anyone could tell it was the kind of restaurant that isn’t easy to find in Korea! I was really glad to have the chance to visit SMT China Room, which I had noticed that day.

If I may give my personal opinion, I think the food is excellently delicious. The black pork tenderloin tangsuyuk, with its eye-catching visuals, was sweet and delicious, and the jjambbong broth was excellent... However, I wished the seafood jjambbong had a bit more seafood, even if that meant a slightly higher cost. I also wished the seafood fried rice came with jajang sauce at least (since maybe because we ordered jjambbong, no additional broth was served either..) Those were my small regrets.

The tangsuyuk’s unique appearance is commendable, but it lacks that one standout element that makes you say, “This is a taste I’ll remember!”

(This is truly just my personal opinion.)

Taste: ★★★★☆

Value for money: ★★★★☆

Accessibility: ★★★★☆

Facilities: ★★★★★

Parking: Valet available.

In the end, all the disappointment comes down to the balance between price and taste, right?

I didn’t look into whether Mondrian Seoul has its own membership system, but with memberships at Chosun Hotel, Lotte Hotel, and InterContinental, the perceived price level felt similar (after discounts...), though satisfaction felt slightly lower.

Still, I’ve heard the course meals are truly excellent, so if I get the chance, I definitely want to go for a family gathering.

(If possible... it would be even better to visit during NDW Naver Dining Week ^^)

Seeing what others ordered, the course dishes in the photos looked really gorgeous and delicious... hahaha

After you finish eating, be sure to stop by Coffee Bean and have a cup of coffee. The view outside the window is also really pleasant. If you spend over 40,000 won, they also give you a free drink voucher. lol

It has private rooms too, so I recommend it as a Chinese restaurant for family gatherings with reservations.

Thank you for reading my self-paid dining review again today,

I’ll continue to be a memorable food guide with carefully selected posts. :)

This has been Baekwonjang, a dentist who dreams of being both an implant craftsman and a gourmet.

Thank you.!!