Dongdaemun chicken hot pot turned spicy with dadaegi: Sunhuine

Was in the Dongdaemun area wondering what to eat for dinner, and you can't skip dak hanmari (whole chicken hot pot) when you're in this neighborhood!! Wanted hot soup and also makgeolli with bindaetteok (mung bean pancake), so I went to Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun main branch!

Where is Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dongdaemun, and when is it open?

Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun is at 20 Jongno40ga-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, tucked inside the Dongdaemun dak hanmari alley.

It's between Jongno 5-ga Station and Dongdaemun Station, so it's a good spot for a meal after checking out Dongdaemun or Gwangjang Market!

Open daily 10:30-22:30

Inside the two floors: seating and who eats here

The place was bigger inside than it looked from outside. There's a first floor and a second floor, and the tables weren't cramped together, which I liked!

There were a lot of foreign tour groups, some office workers who looked like they'd stopped by after work, and plenty of tables of older guys having a drink together haha. From tourists to nearby office workers, the crowd was pretty diverse — you could tell this is a Korean dish that's been loved in Dongdaemun for a long time!

The menu, from chicken hot pot to mung bean pancakes

The main event is of course dak hanmari! Beyond that, there's meat mung bean pancake, seafood mung bean pancake, yukhoe, nakji tangtangi and more — more variety than I expected. After some back and forth we ordered dak hanmari and meat mung bean pancake. With that combo, you can't not drink makgeolli, so we added Jangsu makgeolli right away lol. Dak hanmari, bindaetteok, and makgeolli — what a combo 👍🏻

The chicken-cutting show begins haha. They trim it into bite-sized pieces for you, so all we had to do was wait for it to cook and eat.

The dak hanmari comes out in a big metal bowl, and once it starts bubbling away on the table, just watching it made me feel warm.

Once the rice cakes float up, eat those first, and once the potatoes are cooked, dig in properly.

How did the dak hanmari broth taste?

I tried the broth first — it wasn't harshly spicy or salty, but a clean, light broth where you could really taste the chicken!! As it kept boiling, the broth got richer as the flavor from the chicken and vegetables came out, which I liked too. The chicken wasn't dry at all, nice and tender, so dipped in the sauce it was really good!

Mixing your own dipping sauce at the table

Sauce is everything with dak hanmari, right haha. Instructions were on the table, so it was easy to make. You mix minced garlic, mustard, soy sauce, vinegar, and chili paste to taste, and it comes out tangy with a bit of a kick, pairing really well with the mild chicken.

Pick up a piece of chicken, dunk it generously in the sauce — amazing 😋 The rice cakes soaked up the broth too and got nice and chewy haha. But we didn't stop at the clean version haha. Partway through we added dadaegi (chili paste) and kimchi and made it spicy.

When to add dadaegi and kimchi for a spicy broth

We ate the plain broth first, and once we'd worked through a fair amount of chicken, we added dadaegi and kimchi into the pot! The clean, light dak hanmari broth turned into a spicy, punchy broth, and honestly I loved this version just as much!! I'd recommend eating it plain at first, then adding dadaegi and kimchi partway through to make it spicy!!

Meat and mung bean pancake with Jangsu makgeolli

And the meat mung bean pancake, which we enjoyed just as much as the dak hanmari! Since 'bindaetteok' is literally in the restaurant's name, I figured we had to try it, and it turned out better than expected. It's a thick pancake, golden and crispy on the outside, moist and soft inside. The nutty flavor of the mung bean combined with the bites of meat made it the perfect makgeolli pairing.

And the Jangsu makgeolli we ordered alongside! Bindaetteok without makgeolli feels like something's missing, right?..haha. Poured a cold glass and had it with the crispy pancake — great match, as expected. Looking around, plenty of other tables were drinking too, and I got why people come here for a drink haha. With dak hanmari and bindaetteok both on the menu, it works whether you're here for a proper meal or a drink after work.

Mix coffee and brewed coffee are also available!!

Worth it for a Korean meal near Dongdaemun Market?

Visited Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun wanting proper Korean food in the Dongdaemun area! Hot dak hanmari, crispy nutty meat mung bean pancake, and cold Jangsu makgeolli together — the combination was just so good. If you're near Dongdaemun or Gwangjang Market looking for a Korean restaurant, this place lets you get dak hanmari and bindaetteok in one visit, so it's a solid pick👍🏻