Jongno Korean restaurant for spicy dumpling hot pot: Jongga Mandu

Dumpling hot pot for a chilly day near Jongno 3-ga

Hasn't the weather gotten pretty chilly lately?? It was even a little cold this evening. And what food does that make me crave? Hot pot!! I heard there was a great dumpling hot pot place near Jongno 3-ga, so I went straight over 🤍

Wait... is this one of those Jongno 3-ga gems..? You know a restaurant packed with older locals is the real deal, right??? There were seriously so many older diners, and lots of people were having a drink with their soup at dinner too.

In summer, they also have kongguksu (noodles in cold soy milk broth, even made with Korean-grown beans), bibim kalguksu, and joraengi-tteok dumpling soup!

The restaurant was spacious too, which was so nice and relaxing!! Honestly... if a place is messy, I hesitate even if the food is good. So I really loved that it was clean and tidy too 👍🏻👍🏻

Spicy hot pot for two with joraengi-tteok

We ordered the spicy hot pot and a joraengi-tteok add-on! Just a heads-up: hot pot dishes have to be ordered for two or more people, matching the number in your party~~ And it was only ₩29,000 like this!!! Isn't ₩13,000 per serving for hot pot such a kind price..?

And the thing that truly surprised me... I've been to dumpling hot pot places, but it is hard to see dumplings being made right in front of you, you know??? At Jongga Mandu (종가만두), you can watch them hand-making dumplings nonstop as soon as you walk in 😆😆😆 And they make them so beautifully.. They are truly a dumpling master ㅠㅠㅠ

The side dishes were kimchi and danmuji (yellow pickled radish). They bring them out first, then you can refill them yourself as much as you want! As you'd expect from a hot pot place, the kimchi was so good too~~

We refilled ours twice each, haha.

The joraengi-tteok came out quickly! The kalguksu noodles come with the hot pot as standard~~

There were two of us, so we ordered two servings and got four meat dumplings and four kimchi dumplings—eight in total!!! Looking again, they really were beautifully made..

It comes with bok choy, napa cabbage, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and meat like this. Looking around, lots of people were getting the half-and-half broth too?? It seems even better because you can choose according to your taste.

Handmade dumplings and chewy joraengi-tteok

And it cooks quickly, which was even better!!! I was going to add more meat, but there was secretly quite a lot, so I was glad I didn't. (Honestly, we almost burst just from this.)

You saw those rice cakes earlier, right..? I think there were about 50 pieces.. hahaha. But such a good choice.. They were wonderfully chewy and so tasty!

Once the broth boiled, in went the dumplings!! I placed them neatly so I wouldn't mix up the flavors, haha.

I already really love shabu-shabu.. and, as expected, this was totally my style!!! The spicy broth warmed me right through after I'd been feeling chilly.

These weren't store-bought dumplings—they had that distinctive handmade dumpling flavor, you know?? Lighter and more wholesome tasting!!!! I think my parents would have loved this too ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

This one is the kimchi dumpling! The filling was packed full, and it was so good with danmuji too.. This is ₩13,000 per person? Why isn't there somewhere like this in front of my office ㅠㅠㅠ Such a shame ㅠㅠㅠ

Finishing with the included kalguksu noodles

You thought it was over, right? There are kalguksu noodles left. After finishing the vegetables, meat, and dumplings, adding kalguksu noodles is basically the rule! And the noodles aren't even an extra add-on—they give them to you as standard. So amazing..

The noodles were nice and springy, and eating them with kimchi and broth was just the best.. So I totally understood why the older diners at the next table were having them with drinks.. hahaha.

Can you see it.. the evidence of how hard we ate.. We were so full that we had to take a serious walk home, hahaha.

One more look at the dumplings on the way home~~~

It is a popular place that can have a wait, so keep that in mind.

They even sell dumpling keychains hahaha. Me, seeing how to get one for free only after I had left... This is such a great handmade dumpling hot pot spot that I think I'll come back and pay for it myself when I start craving it again! Officially approved as a Jongno 3-ga dumpling hot pot gem~~