The first thing you need to know about Mi Mie Dang at The Darmawangsa Square is that it offers Vietnamese comfort food with a very concise menu. The next thing you should know is that the eatery—adorned in a mix of yellow and green that makes it pop amidst the shopping centre’s neoclassical interior—is also, sort of, Korean.
Founder Ha Sung Kwon, or Jonh Ha, moved from Seoul to Jakarta after falling in love with the city during his many business trips here. An experienced restaurateur, it would have been simple for him to open an eatery serving Korean staples as he did back home, especially with the city’s evident interest in his country’s cuisine and the bustling Korean community in Dharmawangsa—but it was Vietnamese food that attracted him.
“I love Vietnamese food,” the man simply said. “The cuisine is actually quite popular in Seoul. What we’re doing here, though, is not exactly ‘authentic’, as I have added some Korean ingredients into the mix. It’s fusion in a similar way that jjajangmyeon (sweet bean noodles) was derived from the Chinese dish zhajiangmian.”
Mi Mie Dang’s signature bowl of phở bò (beef noodle soup) subtly showcases this with a lighter, clear broth and housemade rice noodles that are prepared fresh daily, offering a slightly chewier texture than one might expect. However, it’s in their bún chả (cold noodles and pork) dish where this fusion of two cultures truly stands out. Served on a circular bamboo tray, the noodles and barbecued pork meatballs arrive with scissors, lettuce and perilla leaves. Diners are encouraged to cut the noodles, wrap them with the pork inside the greens, and dip the bundle into a tangy broth—much like enjoying a ssam in Korean BBQ.
At a time when ‘authentic’ stands as the à la mode buzzword in the city’s dining scene (up there alongside ‘hidden gem’ and ‘artisanal’), it’s a refreshing surprise to see a restaurant fully embracing the fusion label. At the same time, this approach aligns with Korea’s ability to pull diverse influences into their culinary repertoire and make it their own, as they do with French pastries, which is rooted in their appreciation of the food itself.
And if one were to judge by Mi Mie Dang’s loyal regulars of locals and Korean expatriates who both patiently wait through the ceaselessly long waitlist, it seems that the city has warmly welcomed Ha’s cooking of Vietnamese food—even if it is ‘inauthentic’.