Gyeongju hot pot course with beef ribs at Hyoeunok

Hyoeunok in Gyeongju's Bomun Tourist Complex, our reserved final meal

For the last meal of this Gyeongju trip, I chose Hyoeunok in the Bomun Tourist Complex. Its dedicated parking lot was spacious and easy to use, and because I had reserved ahead, everything was ready for us to eat right away. There were people waiting when we entered, so I was glad I booked ahead haha. If you're looking for a good restaurant in Gyeongju's Bomun Tourist Complex on a weekend or at mealtime, reserving in advance might be a good idea.

Ordering the Gyeongju minari beef short-rib hot pot SET

That day, we ordered the Gyeongju minari beef short-rib hot pot SET, ₩65,900.

Why does Ppyeoberest come out like a mountain of bones?

The menu name was intense: Ppyeoberest. Not Everest, but Ppyeoberest—bone-verest haha. I thought the name was so clever, then the food arrived and I instantly got it. The bones really did come piled up like a mountain.

Huge beef bones were heaped over minari (water dropwort) and bean sprouts, and seeing it in person was far more overwhelming than in the photos.

But that wasn't all. On the side were meat for shabu-shabu, kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), and gondre juk (Korean thistle porridge). Wait... were the two of us really eating all this? Haha.

For an appetizer, I had a bite of the rice for the gondre porridge with the side dishes, hehe.

The first taste of the broth and bone meat

Once it started bubbling, I tried the broth first. Maybe because of the minari and bean sprouts, the first taste was refreshing and clean, but the rich, nutty flavor of the beef-bone broth lingered heavily afterward. Refreshing yet rich, rich yet not greasy. It was a little like shabu-shabu and a little like a deeply flavored galbitang (beef short-rib soup), but hard to explain as just one thing. And this broth... made me think of soju haha.

I hadn't really seen this menu elsewhere, so just encountering it for the first time in Gyeongju was fun.

Gyeongju really must be a hot place these days, hehe.

“Isn't it just a lot of bones?” That was my first thought at the sight of it. “With that many bones, is there much meat to eat?” Totally unnecessary worry.

The rib bones had thick meat attached, and the other bones had a decent amount too. What was especially fun was that the texture of the meat differed a little from bone to bone. Some were tender, while others were a bit chewy, so it was fun choosing and picking them clean one by one.

How to pair it with pickled chili peppers and salted seafood

The self-serve bar had broth, kimchi, jeotgal (salted seafood), pickled chili peppers, and more. Personally, the pickled chili peppers went best with the meat.

Chopped finely and added to the sauce, they were salty with a little heat and paired beautifully with the meat. A little jeotgal on top was also a treat. Pick apart one bone, have some pickled chili pepper... and before I knew it, the mountain of bones was disappearing haha.

Shabu-shabu and kalguksu that keep coming even when you're full

After the two of us diligently picked apart the bones, we were already pretty full. But then I looked at the table again...

There was shabu meat. There was kalguksu. There was gondre porridge too. It wasn't over yet? Haha.

Time for round two. I lightly cooked the shabu meat and picked it up with minari and bean sprouts. After tearing meat from the bones, the tender shabu meat felt completely different. I definitely said I was full, but maybe because it was thin, this still went down haha.

One tip for broth lovers here: if you like the first broth, I recommend setting aside a bowl before adding the shabu meat. Once the meat went in and boiled, its flavor was added and it became a little different from the original clean broth. It was delicious too, of course, but I loved that first broth so much that I thought, “Ah... I should have set aside a bowl.” Next time, that is the first thing I'll do haha.

I thought we were done after the shabu meat, but... there was still kalguksu. Once the noodles went into the broth infused with meat and vegetables, it transformed into a rich beef noodle soup. Even after all that meat, I still couldn't resist noodles soaked in broth haha.

At this point, I understood why Ppyeoberest is such a fun menu. It's one pot, but it feels like you're continually eating different dishes. So there was a lot, but it didn't get tiresome as quickly as I expected.

The real final course: gondre porridge

The finish was gondre porridge. Once you've made it this far, saying you're full doesn't mean anything anymore haha. After eating the gondre porridge with the remaining broth, I thought, yes, now it was really over.

In the end, with one Ppyeoberest, we ate bone meat → shabu-shabu → kalguksu → gondre porridge in that order. It felt less like having one menu and more like finishing an entire course.

If you want something more memorable than an ordinary menu, this was worth experiencing among the restaurants in the Bomun Tourist Complex.

A final Gyeongju meal I'd like to repeat with family

This trip ended with Hyoeunok. Walking out after such a filling meal, it felt like we had properly done our final meal of the trip. From the mountain-high presentation of bones to the progression through shabu-shabu, kalguksu, and gondre porridge, it definitely stayed with me.

There were lots of families with children in the restaurant, and after trying it myself, I could see why. When you come to the Bomun Tourist Complex with parents or children, it is a good menu for everyone to sit around and share. I've visited many restaurants in Gyeongju, but it had been a while since a menu stuck in my mind from the moment it arrived. And one thought I had on the way out: next time, I need to bring my mom. I really want to see her expression when Ppyeoberest lands on the table haha.