Suwon Ingye-dong pork bone soup restaurant: extra size with Cheongha

I had to eat dinner alone tonight, and after mulling over where to go, I thought — right, let's go eat the pork bone soup that only I seem to love! So I headed straight to the pork bone soup place in Ingye-dong famous for its spicy flavor.

The extra size gave me a generous meal, so I paired it with a smooth bottle of Cheongha rice wine as my drink. There's parking available, but since Cheongha was joining me for this solo meal, I walked here instead — counted it as exercise.

Where is Eolkeunhan Ppyeo Haejangguk Suwon Ingye Branch, and when is it open?

Eolkeunhan Ppyeo Haejangguk Ingye Branch is located on the 1st floor of 52 Gyeongsu-daero 466beon-gil, Paldal-gu, Suwon. It's open 24 hours, closed only from Tuesday 9am to Wednesday 10am.

Since it's open 24 hours except for one day off on Tuesday, it's open no matter when you go — perfect for a late-night drink on the weekend followed by a haejangguk (hangover soup) to sober up.

The parking lot entrance is behind the building, and you get 2 hours free, which is convenient for anyone coming to eat. I left my car at home today since I was having a drink with my solo meal.

Suwon Pay, Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, and Face Pay are all accepted, and of course takeout is available too — for uncooked takeout orders, there's no rice included, but they add one extra bone instead, which feels like a good deal.

The restaurant is spacious too, great for group dinners or a second round to soothe your stomach. It's also practically right in the Ingye-dong box, so the walking distance is short and convenient.

Menu and prices at Eolkeunhan Ppyeo Haejangguk in Ingye-dong

The basic pork bone soup is ₩10,000 (spicy flavor costs extra), and the extra size is ₩14,000. Bone hot pot (gamjatang) comes in small/medium/large at ₩29,000/₩38,000/₩48,000.

The basic side dishes for pork bone soup are the same everywhere, right! Onion, kkakdugi (diced radish kimchi), and cheongyang chili peppers.

How much food is the 14,000 won extra-size pork bone soup?

The extra size arrived piled high with shredded green onions, and yep, the earthenware bowl itself is a different size right away. When I was a kid, my mom used to buy pork back bones and occasionally make gamjatang for us, so I've loved it ever since. With the extra size available, I figured I'd eat my fill ^^

If you look at the rice bowl sitting right next to it, you get a rough sense of just how big the earthenware pot is, right?

Sometimes when you open the rice bowl lid, you find so little rice you wonder if they even bothered filling it — but here, you can actually see it's been packed in tight and full.

Spicy broth and pulling the meat off the back bones

I tried the broth in the spicy option first, and honestly I think I could've gone with the extra-spicy option too ^^ It's not spicy like jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) — even bumping it up a level wouldn't be too much to handle. There's plenty of green onion in it too, so you get that sharp, tangy kick along with it — just the right amount to go with a drink.

At a glance it looks like a solid lump of meat, completely hiding the bone underneath! I tried pulling the meat off here — usually you'd need to wedge chopsticks between the back bones and use leverage to separate them, but there was no need for that; I just grabbed it with my hands and it pulled apart easily. It was boiled so thoroughly that it was easy both to eat and to pick the meat off.

Moist and tender meat, and plenty of it. If the regular size feels a bit lacking but the hot pot feels like too much for eating alone, this extra size would be just right.

Before I moved to Suwon, I used to have pork bone soup with a drink with a friend of mine — those days suddenly came flooding back. I'd say let's just get one bottle of soju and split it, and that guy would say that'll ruin the taste, he'll drink a bottle and a half himself, so let's order two…

Cheongyang chili warning, plus the free ice cream after the meal

Just so you know, the cheongyang chili here is genuinely spicy! Good thing I only took two — if I'd taken three, I probably would've had to leave one uneaten.

The earthenware pot was packed full of bones — there were even two sitting side by side, so generous is the portion — so I pulled a few out to gnaw on and picked the meat off the rest to eat with the broth.

Maybe it's because I kept eating the soup after the cheongyang chili, but by this point the broth felt even spicier, even though nothing was reboiled 😂 Come to think of it, doesn't it look a little redder than it was at the start?

A hangover soup spot in Ingye-dong that even comes with dessert after the meal! Sure, it's just one per person, but finishing off something spicy with a cold dairy ice cream cleans your palate right up! I went with a Dongas bar! Calories restocked, now time to walk myself all the way home!