Cheonan perilla-broth dumpling hot pot, first table at 4:30: Omi Omi

Today my girlfriend and I came to Cheonan for a day out, and I'm writing up our visit to a healthy dumpling place you're supposed to try when you're here, with shiitake mushrooms and fern inside: Omi Omi Handmade Dumpling Hot Pot & Kudzu Naengmyeon Sono Bell Main Branch (오미오미 수제만두전골&칡냉면 소노벨 본점) haha

Omi Omi Sono Bell Main Branch: location, hours and parking

Omi Omi Sono Bell Main Branch is at 10 Dongpyeong 3-gil, Bukmyeon, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan, Chungnam, South Korea, and it's open daily 11:00–21:00. Break time is 15:00–16:30, last order is at 20:00, and there's a parking lot in front.

• Address: 10 Dongpyeong 3-gil, Bukmyeon, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan, Chungnam
• Hours: daily 11:00–21:00 (break time 15:00–16:30 / last order 20:00)
• Parking: lot in front of the restaurant

We had errands in Dongnam-gu, Cheonan, and heard there was a famous dumpling hot pot place, so I searched it up and we went straight over. Omi Omi is near Independence Hall, so it's easy to get to and convenient!

Most Korean guys visit Independence Hall at least once during their military service, and it's been over 10 years since I went. Even after more than 10 years I remember it so clearly, haha.

Omi Omi waiting time: what if you arrive right after break time?

The dining hall at Omi Omi's Sono Bell main branch is huge, big enough for 100 people at once! We arrived at 16:30, right when break time ended, so we were the first dinner customers!

At normal times this is a place where you'd wait in line because it gets so crowded, haha. Right after we came in, the whole place filled up with no empty seats!

Dumpling hot pot ordering tips: mild or spicy broth and free refill noodles

We ordered the handmade dumpling hot pot for 2! You can pick a spicy or mild broth, and since we like the mild flavor, we chose the mild broth haha.

The instructions on the left side of the menu say the following, so it's good to know before you eat haha.

• You can choose the mild broth when ordering hot pot
• With the hot pot, ramen noodles and sujebi (hand-pulled dough flakes) are free to refill
• After the hot pot, mul naengmyeon (cold noodles in chilled broth) is served as dessert

Side dishes and meat and kimchi dumplings bigger than a fist

The basic side dishes are napa cabbage kimchi, white kimchi, pickled radish, chili peppers and macaroni, and when you order hot pot they bring out meat dumplings and kimchi dumplings! No joke, the dumplings are bigger than my fist!!

If you need more side dishes there's a self-serve bar, so you can bring whatever you like haha. And to the right of the self-serve bar are the ramen noodles, which are free to refill with a hot pot order!!

How do the shiitake and fern handmade dumplings taste?

The handmade dumplings at Omi Omi are really packed full haha. Dunk one in the special wasabi soy sauce and, wow!

They're not just the usual meat, chives and glass noodles. You can strongly taste the shiitake aroma and the fern, and the flavor is amazing haha.

What's in Omi Omi's dumpling hot pot: meat, seafood, vegetables and dumplings

While we were eating the steamed dumplings, the owner brought out the dumpling hot pot like this haha. Can you see how fresh and well put together each ingredient is haha?

Fresh meat and seafood, plenty of vegetables, and dumplings as the star of the pot... It tastes great and the spread is so generous that I couldn't wait for it to come to a full boil haha.

What does the mild broth taste like?

Omi Omi's mild broth stands out for its sweet, perilla-powder-based soup. It was also richer than a long-simmered bone broth haha.

Once the meat cooks shabu-shabu style, wrapping it in the various vegetables is so good too. How many different flavors can you get from one dumpling hot pot... this lineup is really perfect!

Plus nicely cooked shrimp and glass noodles...!

Finishing with ramen noodles and dessert mul naengmyeon

After the meat, seafood and dumplings, of course the ramen noodles can't be skipped haha. The starch from the noodles mixed into the rich perilla broth made the soup even thicker. The best part was how many different flavors you get from just one dumpling hot pot haha.

After you finish the hot pot at Omi Omi, the owner brings out dessert naengmyeon! After such a rich hot pot, it settles your stomach and feels refreshing? The cool finish was perfect too haha.

And for a last palate cleanser, I grabbed a candy from the pile of candy by the counter haha.

Is Omi Omi Sono Bell Main Branch worth recommending?

I stopped by Omi Omi Handmade Dumpling Hot Pot & Kudzu Naengmyeon Sono Bell Main Branch, a dumpling hot pot spot, while visiting Cheonan. The healthy dumplings with shiitake and fern were really distinctive, and the more than ten flavors you can get from a single dumpling hot pot were excellent too!

It was better than I expected, enough that I'd recommend it to family and friends haha. If you're looking for a good dumpling and hot pot place in Cheonan or near Independence Hall, I recommend a trip to Omi Omi Sono Bell Main Branch!