Bansong-dong hotpot for two with 300g of beef: Lao Chongqing Hotpot

Where is Lao Chongqing Hotpot in Bansong-dong, and is there parking?

I went to Lao Chongqing Hotpot, a Bansong-dong spot in Dongtan that felt straight out of mainland China. It's on the first floor of the Dongtan Paragon mixed-use building, and you can park in the building's lot.

I made a Naver reservation, and I'm glad I booked the day before — even on a weekday evening, there were quite a lot of customers. If I hadn't reserved, I might have had to wait. I'm only organized when it comes to eating ✌️

• Hours 17:00-23:00
• Address: 172 Dongtan Bansuk-ro, 1F, Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, South Korea
• Parking available, Naver Reservation possible

The sauce bar costs 3,000 won per person

Sauce bar

Ordering was easy via tablet at the table, and the sauce bar at ₩3,000 per person had every kind of sauce you could want. What I liked most was how neatly it was kept.

Why we chose the Chengdu mala red broth

For broth I usually like the two basics, white and red, but even the white broth comes in mushroom, bone, and short rib versions — a happy dilemma just choosing. Most other hotpot places only have one type of red broth, but this Bansong-dong favorite, Lao Chongqing Hotpot, has two: Chongqing mala red broth and Chengdu mala red broth. To taste an authentically Sichuan-style spicy hotpot, we ordered the Chengdu mala red broth.

First round: 150g of beef brisket

The meat lineup was just as varied — beef, pork, lamb, all by cut and weight — and we started with 150g of beef brisket. The fat-to-lean ratio was absolutely perfect 👍

The cherry tomatoes and side dishes came from the sauce bar. Refreshing before and after eating — great for cleansing the palate.

There were combo options like mixed vegetables, mixed mushrooms, and mixed tofu that take the guesswork out, but I wanted plenty of my favorite vegetables, so I ordered them individually. All I need is bean sprouts, napa cabbage, and crown daisy ♥️

Fried tofu for my friend. It soaks up all the broth and bursts with juice in your mouth — that's the charm.

How does the Chengdu mala red broth taste?

On the subject of red broths — I've reached a certain level of hotpot mastery by now, so instead of the usual crowd-pleaser I was curious about something new, so I ordered the Chengdu mala red broth. It turned out to be a thicker, more viscous kind of spicy. Next time I'll have to try the Chongqing mala red broth too. They were also running lots of promotions — we got a discount on the Chengdu mala red broth, and there was even a 1+1 deal!

What order to cook hotpot in, and a tip when it gets too spicy

Once the broth boils, drop in vegetables first, then meat. I've heard that in China they sometimes put the meat in first to make a meat stock, but the K-Korean way I always follow is vegetables first.

You have to pull the meat out the moment the redness fades, and dip it in your own custom majang sauce made to taste — that's when it really shines. This is happiness 😘 Though it's a bit pricier than malatang, so maybe happiness isn't entirely free.

A tip for when the red broth gets too spicy: cook the meat in the red broth but the vegetables in the white broth, then combine them. Vegetables cooked in the red broth get really, really spicy. Today the crown daisy smelled amazing, and the bean sprouts and napa cabbage were so fresh — proof that you should come to a busy Bansong-dong favorite like this. The ingredient turnover here is top-notch.

Beef brisket vs. beef chuck: which one wins

At this Bansong-dong favorite, I debated between the handmade shrimp balls and glass noodles, but ended up adding 150g of beef chuck instead. The brisket was already excellent quality, but the chuck came out even more premium, and it tasted just as fantastic. It depends on taste, but if you make me choose, chuck wins!!

This Bansong-dong favorite is definitely better with a bigger group — the two of us ordering 300g of meat left us so full we had to skip the shrimp balls and glass noodles, unfortunately. Instead, we grabbed some green pea crackers on the way out.

The entrance, plus Chinese liquor and wine at Lao Chongqing Hotpot

I entered through the parking lot side, so I didn't notice at first, but on the way out I saw the entrance had its own events going on, giving off an even stronger authentic-China feel. Those doll-topped tables are seriously adorable.

On top of that, there's a very upscale selection of Chinese liquor and wine. No wonder this Dongtan Bansong-dong favorite is packed with customers, whether for company dinners or gatherings. I'm just grateful a high-end hotpot spot like this — hard to find in the neighborhood — opened up in Dongtan.