Kid-friendly Gunpo Korean lunch: squid set and cheonggukjang

Does anyone know Hongheamong, the famous Seongsu-dong restaurant? It has landed in Sanbon and opened as Deodolpan Sanbon Branch. Seongsu-dong isn't an easy neighborhood to visit with kids, so being able to taste it in Sanbon meant I had to go! If you're looking for a lunch spot near Sanbon Station, this post might help :)

Deodolpan Sanbon Branch location and hours

Deodolpan Sanbon Branch is at 16-7 Sanbon-ro 323beon-gil, Gunpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, 2nd floor, Unit 201. It's open daily 11:00 to 22:00, with last order at 21:00.

Walk from Sanbon Station Exit 3 toward Sanbon Rodeo Street and you'll find it. It's right next to Sinmajang, so it wasn't hard to find. It's within walking distance of the station, which makes it a great pick for a Sanbon lunch. For parking, you can use the public lot or the paid parking in the building (₩2,000 per 60 minutes).

Atmosphere and the self-serve bar

Maybe because it's newly opened, the whole place felt fresh and clean! The tables are nicely spaced, so it was easy to sit with the kids, and the hall is quite big, so it looks good for groups too :) If you're planning a gathering here for lunch, seats don't look like a worry! The tables come with tongs, scissors, serving spoons and even sesame oil for mixing rice, so there was little need to call anyone over :)

At the self-serve bar next to the kitchen you can refill side dishes freely, and there's also a broth ready to calm down the spice.

Deodolpan Sanbon Branch menu and prices

• Set meals (for 2): squid stir-fry set ₩29,000 / spicy pork stir-fry set ₩29,000 / squid and pork stir-fry set ₩31,000 / squid and daechang (beef intestine) stir-fry set ₩41,000
• Stir-fry à la carte (for 2): squid stir-fry ₩24,000 / spicy pork stir-fry ₩24,000
• Sides: minari (water dropwort) squid pancake ₩17,000 / double cheese Chapagetti ₩8,000 / soy pork bulgogi ₩9,900

With à la carte dishes, hot pots, drinking sets and sides, it works as a lunch spot near Sanbon Station by day and a place for drinks in the evening!

The basic side dishes look like this, and they set them out first :) If you need more, you can grab it from the self-serve bar! That day I ordered the squid stir-fry set (for 2) and the soy pork bulgogi. The squid stir-fry set includes a stew, self-serve fried rice and jjolmyeon (chewy wheat noodles) :)

Squid stir-fry set: flavor and spice level

The squid stir-fry set arrives sizzling on a stone plate, and the smoky fire flavor hit right away! They said it's stir-fried over direct flame once the order goes in, and the smoky flavor really came through. They also said they keep the same method used at Hongheamong in Seongsu.

The red-seasoned squid is topped with scallions, and they went well together :) The squid wasn't tough at all and was tender to chew! I ordered the default spice level, and even for someone who can't handle spice it was just right, so keep that in mind :)

Family meal with kids: soy pork bulgogi

The soy pork bulgogi I ordered for the kids! It isn't spicy at all, and it had a great smoky flavor. My 6- and 7-year-olds ate it all up :) When you have kids you can't go for spicy food, right? But here there are dishes the kids can eat too, so it's a good place to go together!

Because it's a stone plate, we could eat it warm down to the last bite. Stir-fries usually get watery over time and the seasoning thins out, but here it stayed rich to the end! Even while chatting slowly, the temperature stayed the same, which was comfortable :)

Personally, I think wrapping it in a perilla leaf like this tastes the best.

Cheonggukjang instead of doenjang for the set's stew

The stew in the set meal can be either doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) or cheonggukjang (strong fermented soybean stew), pick one, and I chose cheonggukjang!

It was full of soybeans and tasted like the cheonggukjang I used to eat in the old days. A nutty flavor came up with every bite, and I finished a whole bowl just with rice mixed in. If you're looking for proper Korean food near Sanbon Station, this cheonggukjang alone is a reason to go. It tasted like a place that specializes in cheonggukjang!

Finishing with stone-plate fried rice

We wrapped up with fried rice. It gets stir-fried with the seasoning left on the stone plate, so every grain of rice soaks it up, and I'd have regretted skipping it. The slightly scorched, crispy part was the best.

Even while saying we were full, we ended up scraping the whole plate clean.

Overall verdict

• Kids' menu items make it doable for a family meal
• A good restaurant for when you crave something spicy
• Great for people who love smoky fire flavor
• On Sanbon Rodeo Street, so easy to get to!
• Good for lunch and for evening drinks too!!
• But the portions were disappointing T.T