Gimhae Korean restaurant, boneless haejangguk: Ppyeodae Itneun

Since we were taking a trip to Gimhae and planning to visit Costco too, I looked for somewhere nearby to have lunch. I tend to love haejangguk (Korean hangover soup) and gamjatang (pork bone soup), and Ppyeodae Itneun Haejangguk Juchon Branch (뼈대있는해장국 주촌점) was said to have both a good spread and great food, so I decided to visit. What especially caught my eye was that they sell boneless haejangguk for people who find picking meat off the bones a hassle.

Ppyeodae Itneun Haejangguk Juchon Branch🍚 is where we stopped for lunch while visiting Gimhae and Costco! The restaurant was spacious and tidy, with its own parking lot and generous spacing between tables, so it looked great for a family meal or a group visit too. We ordered sundae-and-ugeoji haejangguk and boneless haejangguk as part of the Dae-ga Set Meal. It came with handmade pork-skin pyeonyuk (pressed meat terrine) and marinated raw crab too, making for a really abundant spread. The rich broth was packed with meat and ugeoji (dried cabbage greens), so we had such a filling meal✨

A spacious restaurant with parking

When we arrived, the restaurant itself felt spacious and clean. There was a separate parking lot, making it easy to visit by car, and the place was fairly large, so it looked suitable for families or bigger groups as well.

It has even been featured on TV already, which gave me the sense that it is a well-known place to eat in Juchon, Gimhae. Haejangguk and gamjatang are the sort of dishes you look for in all kinds of situations, from dining alone to a family meal, and this place seemed well suited to larger parties too.

Inside: private rooms and a self-service bar

Once inside, there were lots of tables throughout the spacious dining room. Most were four-person tables, and there was plenty of space between them, so we could eat without feeling cramped.

Along with the regular tables, I also spotted private rooms. If you are planning a family meal or company dinner with several people, it may be a good idea to contact the restaurant in advance and check whether a room is available.

There was also a self-service bar inside, and I could see that pot-cooked rice was available too. Overall, the restaurant was large and felt like a fairly comfortable place to visit even during busy times.

What we ordered from the Haejangguk Dae-ga Set Meal

The menu had far more choices than I expected. There were several kinds of haejangguk as well as gamjatang, so you could choose according to what you felt like that day. Ordering dishes separately would be nice too, but there were also set spreads to suit different preferences, which made choosing easier.

This time, we ordered the Haejangguk Dae-ga Set Meal. The components vary by the number of diners: the two-person set comes with handmade pork-skin pyeonyuk and marinated raw crab, while the three-person set adds seasoned skate.

• Three-person Haejangguk Dae-ga Set Meal
• Changed to pot-cooked rice
• Sundae-and-ugeoji haejangguk
• Boneless haejangguk

Kkakdugi and kimchi banchan

While we waited for the food, the basic side dishes arrived first. There was kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and kimchi, along with onion and chili peppers. Kkakdugi or kimchi really pairs wonderfully with haejangguk.

Tangy seasoned skate on the side

The seasoned skate was a dish where plump skate and the seasoned dressing worked nicely together. The ingredients felt fresh and the texture was good, so it was lovely alongside the haejangguk. If you enjoy tangy seasoned dishes, it would be a good one to have with your meal.

Marinated raw crab and handmade pork-skin pyeonyuk

Marinated raw crab came with the meal too. There seemed to be about two whole crabs in the spread, and they were more substantial than I expected, with a decent amount of meat, so I enjoyed them. I had visited thinking only of haejangguk, but with the pyeonyuk and crab included, the spread felt quite generous.

And the handmade pork-skin pyeonyuk was something I personally enjoyed a lot! It came with garlic, jellyfish salad, cucumber, and other accompaniments. The pyeonyuk itself was so tender that it was easy to eat, and adding the ingredients served with it gave each bite varied textures, so I kept reaching for more. Having a little pyeonyuk before the haejangguk made the whole spread feel even more abundant.

Haejangguk packed with sundae and ugeoji

At last, the haejangguk arrived. The sundae-and-ugeoji haejangguk we ordered was, just as its name suggests, absolutely packed with sundae (Korean blood sausage) and ugeoji.

I was especially surprised by how much sundae there was. It felt like there were more than ten pieces, the portion was so generous, and there was plenty of ugeoji to eat with the broth too. One bowl alone felt very filling, making it a great lunch option.

Haejangguk with no bones to pick clean

And then, the boneless haejangguk I had been looking forward to! Pork bone haejangguk is delicious, but I usually find the process of picking the meat off the bones a little bothersome. This boneless haejangguk was such a favorite because I could eat it right away without that process. It was full of meat, along with what seemed to be ugeoji or siraegi (dried radish greens), so it was generous with the solid ingredients. Above all, the broth was rich and delicious, making it great for mixing with rice.

For anyone who finds it annoying to pick meat from bones, or simply wants to enjoy haejangguk comfortably, I think a boneless option like this is a very good choice.

A filling finish with pot-cooked rice

This time, we changed our rice to pot-cooked rice, and it made the meal even more filling with the haejangguk. The soup already had plenty of ingredients, but adding pot-cooked rice made it feel like a truly complete meal.

If you are looking for a hearty place to eat in Juchon, Gimhae, I think this kind of spread would be a good option. This time I tried the Haejangguk Dae-ga Set Meal at Ppyeodae Itneun Haejangguk Juchon Branch. I went in thinking only of haejangguk, but the pyeonyuk and marinated raw crab came with it too, so I ended up eating much more generously than expected.

If you are looking for a filling meal before or after visiting Costco around Gimhae, or searching for a good restaurant in Juchon, Gimhae, it may be worth stopping by. I would recommend the boneless haejangguk not only to haejangguk lovers, but also to anyone who has hesitated over pork bone haejangguk because they do not want to pick meat off the bones.