Hongdae tripe hot pot restaurant: rice and udon to finish at Doonjeong

I heard there's a clean, tasty gopchang jeongol (beef tripe hot pot) place in Hongdae, so I stopped by Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch (도온정 홍대직영점). To find out whether the rumors are true, Dr. Gom, our gopchang jeongol specialist, went in person.

Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch hours and parking

Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch is on the 1st floor at 183-12 Donggyo-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, and it is open from 11:00 to 21:00. Break time is 15:00–17:00, and last orders are at 14:30 and 20:30.

There is no parking lot of its own. The nearest alternative is the Toros Parking Tower (180 Donggyo-ro, Seoul), 120 m from the restaurant.

Doonjeong Hongdae exterior and Blue Ribbon

Walk through a quiet Hongdae side street and you'll see the glowing Doonjeong sign.

Two years in a row with a Blue Ribbon, and it shines. Here's to a third year next year! Fingers crossed, haha.

What is the atmosphere inside Doonjeong Hongdae?

The interior is clean and calm, and I liked how calm it was.

In a no-frills atmosphere like this, you expect neat, high-quality food.

Doonjeong Hongdae menu

The menu is just as tidy, and it's well set up with dishes that drinkers love.

What we ordered: gopchang jeongol + udon noodles.

What goes into Doonjeong's gopchang jeongol?

The staff handle the heat and the broth very carefully, so we didn't have to do anything until it was boiled and ready to eat. What an appetizing pot of gopchang jeongol.

The seasoned tripe looks so good.

Besides tripe, Doonjeong's pot holds a variety of other cuts. There's beef tendon (suji) and you can spot boiled beef (suyuk) too. What a luxurious gopchang jeongol!

It's loaded with tripe, meat and vegetables, really generous. The tripe is thick and plump, and the white wood ear mushrooms soak up the spicy broth and are a real treat.

I scoop some up and try it.

It feels less like gopchang jeongol and more like a restorative health meal (boyangsik). The ingredients are seriously generous.

No matter how much I eat, more lean meat keeps coming, haha. A perfect drinking snack.

With a broth this good, even the napa cabbage is delicious.

Now I pick out just the tripe to taste.

The tripe dipped in Doonjeong's special sauce was a real treat.

Is adding rice to Doonjeong's gopchang jeongol worth it?

The broth is so rich that you end up adding rice. I meant to have only the udon noodles for carbs, but I couldn't resist and ordered rice. A rich broth that calls for rice...! I bet a lot of you can relate.

Rice mixed into the jeongol broth and eaten with kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) was a work of art.

There are still this many ingredients left? Haha. Can I finish it all? A happy problem. Mmm, so good. Chewy tripe.

Is adding udon noodles to Doonjeong's gopchang jeongol a must?

The finale of Doonjeong's gopchang jeongol is the udon noodles. I add the udon I'd been waiting for. There's more than I expected!

Wow... the look of it is almost violent. Udon simmered in rich gopchang jeongol...!

As expected. Chewy noodles in a rich broth never disappoint! If you eat gopchang jeongol at Doonjeong, please, please add the udon noodles.

Enjoy the gopchang jeongol, add rice, and finish with udon noodles. This course was perfect.

Dr. Gom's nutrition check: eating gopchang jeongol healthily

The main ingredient, beef tripe, contains the iron typical of organ meats along with vitamin B12 and zinc, which help red blood cell production, metabolism and recovering your energy.

The boiled beef in the pot is a high-quality animal protein source with a balanced set of essential amino acids, a great energy source for maintaining muscle and supporting the immune system.

However, the longer the spicy jeongol broth boils, the more fat and sodium leach out of the tripe. Rather than spooning up all the broth, it's much better for nutritional balance to pick out the hearty solids: tripe, beef, and cabbage and mushrooms soaked with broth.

Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch gopchang jeongol: overall review

True to its two Blue Ribbons, Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch gives you not greasy, heavy flavors but thick tripe, tendon and boiled beef in abundance, leaving the deep impression of a high-end restorative meal.

The staff took care of the heat and broth, so I could relax and focus on the taste, and the rice mixed into the spicy broth and the springy udon finish left me completely satisfied.

If you want the best of a clean, generous gopchang jeongol in Hongdae with no gamey smell, I recommend Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch without hesitation. Adding udon noodles isn't optional, it's a must.