Yeonje chicken stew bar with spicy broth: Yetnal Tongdak & Tang

A chicken stew bar in Yeonsan-dong open until dawn

I visited Yetnal Tongdak & Tang (옛날통닭앤탕), a Yeonsan-dong bar known for dakdoritang (spicy braised chicken stew). It is already famous locally as an old-school hidden gem, and once I went, I totally got why. The food is great, and that old-school atmosphere makes the drinks go down way too easily.

Yeonsan-dong has an unusually large number of great old-school spots, and Yetnal Tongdak & Tang is one of them. Maybe it is because more office workers and older people come here than younger crowds. I barely went around Yeonsan-dong when I was younger, then somehow started going in my late twenties haha. Honestly, people who love drinking go crazy for old-school gems, and so often when you find a good one, it turns out to be in Yeonsan-dong.

They are open until 6 a.m., so I recommend it to anyone looking for a late-night bar in Yeonsan-dong! Quite a few Yeonsan-dong bars serve dakdoritang, but this one has more of a dak-maeuntang (spicy chicken soup) feel, which sets it apart. It is good as a first stop, or as a second or third stop with a little hangover-curing on the side after drinks.

Even from the outside, it had that real old-school-gem smell, so I was excited. My friend said this was already their nth visit.

Dakdoritang ordered extra spicy

They have dakdoritang and fried chicken, but since there were two of us, we ordered only the dakdoritang. Dakdoritang was ₩24,000. We asked for it extra spicy, and it was exactly that delicious level of heat, which I loved. Spicy and refreshing—it felt like a hangover cure while eating it 🥹

An interior that shows its years

You can feel the passage of time right from the walls. It definitely has that old-school restaurant vibe, right?

I arrived around 6:20 p.m., and it was already half full. How does everyone get here so early? Am I the only one working again?

The classic chicken-place basic snack: mayo-ketchup dip. I really love it. The tiny shrimp crackers were so crispy and tasty too, but they were even better dipped in the dakdoritang broth.

It looked delicious before I had even tried it. Aren't the quail eggs so cute? They give you four of them..🫶 The broth was not that thick, rich style; it was clear and refreshing, but seriously so soothing and still deep and absolutely deliciousㅠ

First, just have an ice-cold somaek (soju-and-beer mix). Anyone who knows how to resist somaek after work, please do not tell me.

There was a whole chicken in there, so the portion was generous, and it came packed with only the good add-ins: rice cakes and glass noodles.

When two people go, each person gets a chicken drumstick, which is perfect.

You can tell just by looking that the drumstick meat was tender and juicy, right? It was unreal levels of tender—it just melted away in my mouth.

Cook the wheat rice cakes well from the middle onward

No, seriously;; these rice cakes were legendary. Since they were wheat rice cakes, the sauce soaked right in, and they were sooo soft and chewyㅠㅠ I recommend not eating them from the start. Around the middle of the stew, tuck them in so they are not visible but are not touching the bottom either, let them cook for a long time, then eat them.

The glass noodles were cooked through too, so soft and deliciousㅠ I was fishing out noodles and splashed sauce on Dusil's white clothes.. sorry..

Why were even the green onions and onions so good? This stew has that dak-maeuntang style—really clean, peppery, and warming—and it was so, so goodㅠ Totally my taste, totally my taste.

I am someone who likes chicken breast too. Eat it with the broth and it is ridiculously good. This place is seriously tasty.

Please share your secret for boiling quail eggs. They cooked them so tenderly that they just melted in my mouth.

You know this part is really good, right? As expected, it was delicious.

I carefully pulled off all the meat so I could eat it with the broth. The chicken was tender throughout, which I loved.

I slurped it up diligently right to the very end. No wonder this place is famous as a Yeonsan-dong old-school gemㅠ The dakdoritang was so peppery and refreshing—this is a flavor I will keep thinking about. I heard the whole fried chicken is good too, so next time I am dragging three more people along and getting the set. There is a reason it is known as a great Busan fried-chicken spot~ If, like me, you love clean, peppery dakbokkeumtang (spicy braised chicken) and old-school restaurant gems? Run there.