Misty Pot Korean Grill Bar and Café

For Chef Jun Kwon, the memory of watching his mother prepare a hearty soup is where the story of Misty Pot begins.

That childhood scene — warm, homely, and filled with delicious aromas — inspired not just the name, but the heart of the Korean café and restaurant he now runs with his wife, Emily Seo.

The pair opened the door of their small West Melbourne site in December 2022, but Misty Pot’s roots go back further.

Like many pandemic pivots, it started in the thick of COVID.

Jun’s career in fine dining — spanning prestigious kitchens like the InterContinental Hotel and QT Melbourne — was put on pause. Emily was on maternity leave from her finance role.

With no certainty ahead and a one-year-old daughter at home, they turned to what they knew best: food.

“We started selling Korean food online,” Emily explains. “We took orders from Melbourne’s Korean community and it was very popular even from the first day. Jun cooked, and we delivered the food by ourselves — with the baby in tow.”

What began as home deliveries evolved into a brand. They named it Misty Pot, after Jun’s childhood memory of watching his mother conjure up dinner from a bubbling pot.

That sense of comfort now spills across Misty Pot’s menu. The restaurant is best known for galbitang, a rich beef short rib soup.

“Not many Korean restaurants in Melbourne serve galbitang,” Emily says. “Beef short rib is very expensive, and it’s not easy to cook properly. You need tender meat and a very good stock. It’s very hard to do.” Yet Jun has mastered it, and it has become both his personal favourite and their bestseller.

Other standouts include galbijjim — soy-braised beef short ribs slow-cooked to melt-in-your-mouth perfection — and familiar Korean favourites like bibimbap, rice bowls, fried chicken.

There’s one golden rule behind the menu: “We only serve the Korean food that we like,” Emily says. “Whatever we serve here, we love eating as a family."

Clearly Misty Pot is not just a restaurant but a labour of love — open six days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with Jun and Emily side by side in the kitchen and front of house.

Words by Joyce Watts & Photography by Anna Encio