Nuru Pyeongchon Academy District Grilled Rice Ball Lunch Review

Hi! Today I visited Nuru, a specialty shop for grilled jumeokbap, or Korean rice balls. It is located in the Pyeongchon Academy District, and even though I went on a weekend, it was extremely popular with students.

The shop is near the front of the main street in the Pyeongchon academy area. There is no separate parking. Hours are listed as 11:00 to 21:00, with break time from 14:30 to 15:30 and last order at 20:45. On weekends it opens at 10:00, and on Sundays only it closes at 14:30. Since students from the academy district seem to be the main customer base, the schedule feels like it is matched to academy hours.

The dining area has five counter seats. From 20 minutes before break time, in-store dining is not available. Maybe because the space is small, most customers seemed to order takeout.

Since it is a restaurant near the academies, they also had prepaid meal vouchers. It really does feel like a convenient menu for feeding kids between classes.

Samgyeop Kimchi Nuru, Kimchi Tuna Nuru, Tuna Mayo Nuru.

I ordered these three and got them to go. In front of the kiosk, there was a model showing the actual size of a Nuru rice ball. After seeing it, I thought one would be enough for me. For kids or teenagers who are eating a lot, two looked fine too.

After ordering, I looked around and saw that Nuru is made right after the order is placed. That explains why it was so warm when I received it. You also cannot save a seat in the dining area in advance; you need to order first and then sit down.

My takeout order took about five minutes, and it was packed in a paper bag. They say that when it is packed to go, the grilled part can become moist from steam. To eat it crispy, you can put it in an air fryer or warm it briefly over low heat. I did not know that and just ate it as it was, so the outside that I expected to be crisp was more chewy. Next time, I should warm it in a pan first.

When you order several, they mark the wrappers for you. Each one felt fairly heavy and was very warm.

It is a cute rice ball with one side grilled and the other side covered with seaweed. It looked like about a bowl of rice.

From the left: Samgyeop Kimchi, Tuna Mayo, and Kimchi Tuna. The fillings were more generous than they first appeared. After trying all three, the Samgyeop Kimchi was the best to me, while the Tuna Mayo and Kimchi Tuna were familiar and easy flavors. It is a taste many people already know, just with the rice grilled.

It is convenient for a simple meal you can grab one at a time. If you eat inside, there is also a Nuru + Nuru udon set menu, which seems like a filling, good-value meal. If I were still a student going to academies, I think I would have gone once a week. Next time, I will take it home and reheat it.