Spicy gamjatang near Meokgol Station with extra sujebi: Wanttuk

Today's story is about a gamjatang (pork bone stew) I enjoyed over the weekend. The weather has turned cold, so it's officially hot-food season. It warms you right up, haha!

Where is Wanttuk Gamjatang Meokgol Main Branch, and what about hours and parking?

Wanttuk Gamjatang Meokgol Main Branch (완뚝감자탕 먹골본점) is at 101-dong Sangga Unit 101, 941 Dongil-ro, Jungnang-gu, Seoul. Come out of Meokgol Station Exit 7 and it's the fastest walk! It's open daily 10:30 to 22:30, and on weekdays (not weekends) there's a break time from 15:00 to 17:00!!

You can park behind the shopping arcade, haha. I drove too, so I parked easily and ate in comfort.

How do you choose the menu and size at Wanttuk Gamjatang?

Sorry for the long intro, let's get to the review. The signature pork bone gamjatang comes in small, medium and large, and adding extra bones costs ₩19,000 more, haha. The base portion is big, so personally I think even three people with small appetites would be fine with just a small!!

There's also braised pork bones (ppadagui-jjim)!! You can pick mild or spicy, and it's a bit pricier than the gamjatang. They also have bone hangover soup, beef bone clear soup, spicy gukbap (rice soup), pork cutlet, giant fried shrimp and whole fried squid~~! Just so you know.

What's at the self-bar?

Side dishes come to the table, and if you run out you can grab more from the self-bar~~ It has kimchi, radish kimchi, pickled onion, green chilies, onion and ssamjang, haha. I wanted my gamjatang nice and spicy, so I took some green chilies and snipped them up small with scissors into the pot.

The restaurant is spacious, so it looks good for groups too!! I snapped this once the crowd had thinned a bit, and even then it looked like the whole neighborhood was packed in!!

How big is the standard noodle add-on portion?

I love extras, flour to be exact? Lol. I ordered extra glass noodles and sujebi, but Wanttuk Gamjatang already gives a lot by default.. This photo shows the standard amount, so take note! There's a cute mushroom on top. It seems Wanttuk Gamjatang started back in 2005!!

Perilla leaves, enoki mushrooms and scallions~~ plus meat, glass noodles and potatoes, a solidly packed lineup, haha.

How long should you boil the gamjatang?

Cut the mushrooms and perilla leaves into bite-size pieces and boil for about 10 minutes, and it cooks quickly!! The more it reduces, the more the flavor soaks in, so it just gets tastier, right~~ If the broth runs low, just ask the staff for more.

Yaaay~ it's cooked perfectly and looks so good!! The enoki and the ugeoji (dried cabbage leaves) cook first, so I fished those out to eat first, haha. The meat and glass noodles taste better when they're cooked through a bit more and nice and hot.

How are the meat and broth at Wanttuk Gamjatang?

The pork bones at Wanttuk Gamjatang have really meaty, solid lean meat, hahaha. It wasn't tough, just tender, haha. The seasoning of the broth soaked into the meat well too, so delicious!!

Writing this is making me hungry;;

The meat in gamjatang is great, but you know the broth-soaked perilla leaves and ugeoji are the real kick!! Wrapping them around the meat like a ssam is so good!! hahaha

How was the extra sujebi?

The sujebi was totally chewy and delicious, haha. After adding it, it's honestly magic: you eat and eat and it keeps coming. Funny thing, you think you've finished, stir once, and another piece pops up, again and again, hehe.

My dad told me to take a photo, so here's the giant bone!!!!

Tip for adding extra noodles

If you love noodle add-ons at Wanttuk Gamjatang, add them like I did, and since the broth reduces a lot with extras, order extra broth at the same time~~ On a cold day like these, a sip of hot gamjatang broth with rice is absolutely the best 👍👍👍