Euljiro pork bone hangover soup lunch for three: Eulji Baektan

Erme's food life. Today I'm writing up a visit review of Eulji Baektan Ppyeogui (을지백탄뼈구이), a Euljiro restaurant. I always think who you eat with matters just as much as what you eat, and this time I visited with my father and younger brother.

Inside Eulji Baektan Ppyeogui: open kitchen and wood-tone tables

The inside of Eulji Baektan Ppyeogui is decorated like this. A head-chef-like figure stands at the center, cooking away in full view thanks to the open kitchen. I think this really boosts trust in the food. And in fact, the ppyeohaejangguk (bone soup) we ordered was made deliciously by this very person — we watched the whole process.

The tables are clean, wood-toned. Honestly, it's the kind of atmosphere that makes food taste even better, since I personally love a cozy wood-tone feel. It just feels like a comfortable place to eat — much more settled than a modern, glossy vibe.

Lunch special menu and prices, plus QR code ordering

Eulji Baektan Ppyeogui's menu is simple. For the lunch special, there's ppyeohaejangguk, spicy ppyeohaejangguk, woosamgyeop (beef brisket) garlic scape bibimbap, janchi guksu (banquet noodles), and more. We ordered the basic ppyeohaejangguk. It's ₩13,000, so with my father and brother along, it came to about ₩39,000.

You don't order through staff — you use the QR code attached to the table. Only the available menu items are active on the screen. As you can see, the lunch special is only available between 11am and 3pm.

Next time I want to try the kimchi-mari guksu (cold noodles in kimchi broth) too — it seems like it'd be amazing in the middle of summer. But since this was our first visit to this Euljiro restaurant, Eulji Ppyeogui, all three of us ordered the baektan ppyeohaejangguk. It came to ₩39,000 total.

A pub by night, and how to find Exit 11 of Euljiro 3-ga Station

Rows of liquor bottles lined the shelves. Since we visited at lunchtime, none of us even glanced at them, but if I come back for dinner, I'd definitely want a drink. It seems like the place opened not too long ago, but I have a feeling it'll do well. It's right in front of Exit 11 of Euljiro 3-ga Station, so it's super easy to find.

Side dishes at Eulji Baektan Ppyeogui: green chilli, kkakdugi, raw onion

A variety of side dishes started coming out. As you probably know, for gamjatang (pork bone stew), peppers, kkakdugi (diced radish kimchi), and onion are basically the golden rule. Honestly, with just these three, you don't need anything else.

How does the pork bone hangover soup taste? Meat portion and spice level

And then the signature lunch dish of this Euljiro restaurant, ppyeohaejangguk, arrived. It looked so clean and well put together.

My father seemed to be practically drooling at the sight of the soup and got ready to eat fast. Makes sense — since we'd met well past noon, everyone was starving.

My brother picked up his spoon too. He can't handle spicy food, so I secretly worried about him. He later admitted he'd debated whether to even come to this rare get-together, because he'd heard it was spicy.

And then all of us started eating.

Something I noticed while eating — the amount of meat is really generous. And I liked that it was just slightly spicy. My father, on the other hand, said it felt really hot to him. And my brother, who can't handle spice, said it wasn't spicy to him at all. I ended up finishing even the rice I'd left behind.

He said he was glad he showed up. My brother and I both finished our bowls of ppyeohaejangguk completely. Eating this made me think of something I've believed for a while — spiciness isn't a single, simple thing. People feel the 'spicy point' differently. Some people get hit hardest by cheongyang chili peppers, some by chili powder, some by gochujang (red chili paste).

So you really can't just call something 'spicy' as one fixed thing. Setting that aside, I thought the organ meat, the lean meat, and the overall balance of the dish were all really good. I kind of get why people order soju even at lunch now, haha.