Japanese dinner in Bongdam, Hwaseong: tuna belly set at Sindong Lab

A Japanese restaurant near Yunggeolleung: Sindong Lab Hwaseong Bongdam Branch (신동랩 화성봉담점).

I'd had a rough weekend and wanted something delicious for dinner, so I went searching and found Sindong Lab. The reviews were all great and the food looked gorgeous, so I decided to eat dinner here, booked ahead and went. It tasted like it washed all my tiredness away, and I left so satisfied that I'm leaving this review.

Sindong Lab Bongdam: hours, reservations and parking

Sindong Lab Hwaseong Bongdam Branch is open from 11:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., with a break time from 3 to 5 p.m. You can reserve on Naver, and there is a private parking lot right in front of the restaurant.

• Hours: 11:00 a.m.–9:30 p.m. (break time 3–5 p.m.)
• Reservations available on Naver
• Private parking lot
• High oil price relief subsidy accepted
• A wide range of Japanese dishes, including gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet), sukiyaki and mazesoba
• Baby chairs available, so it works for family meals

Sindong Lab is near the University of Suwon, and with a private parking lot right in front, it's easy to visit by car.

Sindong Lab Bongdam: exterior and dining room atmosphere

The exterior of Sindong Lab is so cute and pretty. It's a popular restaurant, so there's a separate waiting area, and even that has such a great atmosphere, doesn't it? There's a cutie of a character too, and my sister kept saying it looks like me, haha.

The inside is just as cute, trendy and hip, and it was impressive to see people from their 20s to their 60s eating here. I loved the interior with its wood and green.

What's on the Sindong Lab menu, and what did we order?

The menu at Sindong Lab is so varied that choosing took forever, haha. The best sellers are grouped together, and you can enjoy gyukatsu, cream udon, tonkatsu curry and more as set meals.

After much deliberation, we picked the sukiyaki set ♥, the tuna belly and salmon set + ricotta cheese salad, and the tonkatsu curry rice bowl. And look, it's already a feast.

How to eat the sukiyaki set at Sindong Lab

For the sukiyaki set at Sindong Lab, you put the meat into the simmering katsuo (bonito) broth and eat it like shabu-shabu, then finish with the udon at the end. It looked almost like something served at a Japanese ryokan (traditional inn).

Cook the vegetables in the broth until soft, then dunk the meat in. Honestly, almost anyone would like this flavor.

Break a fresh egg yolk and dip the meat into it. The tenderness of the meat and the richness of the egg go so well together that it just slid down. Finish with the udon noodles, which were springy, exactly the way I like them.

How was the tuna belly and salmon set?

The tuna belly and salmon set at Sindong Lab comes with salmon and tuna sashimi, and the rice is seasoned, so eating them together felt like eating sushi. Can plating really be this pretty?

The sashimi was super fresh, thick and soft. Put a little wasabi on it and wrap it in seaweed, and it brings back an appetite lost to the summer 👍

Tonkatsu curry rice bowl: a tip for keeping it crispy

In the tonkatsu curry rice bowl at Sindong Lab, rice sits at the bottom with curry and tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) on top, so you can dip the cutlet as you go. Just look at how it's presented, how did they plate it so prettily?

To keep the cutlet crispy, we moved it to another plate, mixed all the curry into the rice and ate them together.

Sindong Lab self-bar ice cream: is the dessert worth it?

You absolutely have to have the self-bar dessert ice cream at Sindong Lab. Seriously, what brand is the ice cream at the self-bar? The ice cream at restaurants like this is often cheap-tasting, so I usually skip it, but a sign said you must try it, so I did, and it was unbelievably good 😭😭

The first time I took a little of each flavor, then I went back out and scooped a huge amount into a fresh cup. The best were vanilla and green tea. Please do try this ice cream 👍 The food is delicious too, but the dessert ice cream was the final kick.

Sindong Lab in Bongdam has a trendy vibe and doesn't neglect the flavor of its food. Manzoku desu ne (I'm satisfied)! 😍