Pyeongtaek kalguksu restaurant with meatball dumplings: Songdam

After finishing beolcho (grave-clearing), I was looking for somewhere good to eat on the way home and found Songdam Kalguksu, a well-known spot in Anjung, Pyeongtaek. Traffic back to Seoul was so bad I searched around Pyeongtaek instead, and the reviews plus the value pulled me in even more. Best of all, my favorite kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) served as a hot pot!

An imposing kalguksu restaurant — the exterior alone gave off that good-restaurant smell, which I loved. Places like this rarely disappoint♥

Where is Songdam Kalguksu? Hours and parking

• Location: 129 Gangbyeon-ro, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do
• Hours: Tue–Sun 09:00–21:00, last order 20:10, closed every Monday
• Parking: plenty of space in front of the restaurant

Inside Songdam Kalguksu: a wide hall for family meals

Songdam Kalguksu's dining hall is just as spacious as it looks from outside. It's divided into sections too, so it seemed like a good spot for family or group gatherings. Lately so many restaurants have tiny tables, which is a bit of a shame — but this Anjung, Pyeongtaek Korean restaurant has plenty of table space.

Selected as a Pyeongtaek "Good Price" establishment. The noodles are milled fresh in-house, right when you order!

What comes with beef kalguksu at 8,000 won per person?

This isn't just a bowl of noodle soup, it's a whole hot pot — for ₩8,000 per person! It even comes with fresh clams, beef, vegetables, and meat-filled dumplings. I heard the shabu-shabu menu is only available on weekdays!

We ordered beef kalguksu for two (₩16,000) plus mushroom add-on (₩5,000), beef add-on (₩7,000), and meat-mandu dumplings (₩5,000). If you order just the beef kalguksu alone, you basically end up eating noodles with just meat added, so I'd recommend adding vegetables or mushrooms!

Also, ordering the kalguksu comes with complimentary barley rice, and one piece of corn bread per person. Having dessert included like this is such a genius move.

Two plates of beef brisket, mushroom broth, and barley rice first

Two plates of beef came out — one plate is the portion for two that goes into the kalguksu, the other is our add-on. The cut is beef brisket (usamgyeopsal). The broth and barley rice arrived first, so we started with those.

Next came the mushroom add-on and the corn bread >< The restaurant also sells the corn bread separately, so being able to taste it before buying is a nice touch! The mushroom add-on has wood ear, enoki, and oyster mushrooms. Pretty generous for ₩5,000.

I mixed the barley rice with just gochujang (chili paste) and honestly the quality was impressive; I also scooped up the broth, and since it's homemade sanghwang mushroom broth it had a deep, slightly spicy edge — delicious even just sipped on its own.

The kalguksu noodles hadn't arrived yet, so we shabu-shabu'd the meat and mushrooms first ~ The beef brisket had zero gamey smell, and the combo with enoki and wood ear mushroom was really clean-tasting.

Meatball dumplings, 5,000 won for six

The meat-mandu dumplings arrived while we were still doing shabu-shabu. Usually people seem to add these into the kalguksu, but we ate them plain. Piping hot, like they'd just been freshly steamed. Chewy with juicy meat filling — we devoured them in no time. And the nice touch: they gave us six instead of five.

How are the house-made chive kalguksu noodles?

The kalguksu noodles finally arrived! House-made chive noodles! Rather than green, the noodles were white with what looked like shredded chives mixed in. Maybe that's why there was a savory depth as we ate. We added in the remaining beef plate and dropped the noodles in ><

True to an Anjung, Pyeongtaek Korean restaurant known for kalguksu, the geotjeori (fresh cabbage kimchi) and yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi) were really good. We even went back to the self-serve bar for a refill.

We simmered the remaining mushrooms, meat, and noodles together in a bubbling boil~ It thickened up a bit as it cooked, so we grabbed more broth from the self-serve bar. After that it cooked up soft and tender. No flour taste at all, just that chive savoriness and chewy texture — the noodles that looked like a lot at first disappeared fast.

Finishing spicy: stirring dagadi chili paste into the broth

And because the meat was so good,, we added one more plate ^_^ We asked if they had spicy dagadi (chili paste condiment), and they did, so at the end we stirred that in too! It turned into a broth like Deungchon Kalguksu style, letting us enjoy two different flavors in one hot pot..♥ Scraped it clean.. Nothing left but broth haha

Dessert at Songdam Kalguksu: corn bread and a free coffee corner

I was so full but couldn't resist trying the corn bread lol, and it was genuinely delicious. A subtle corn flavor with a soft, chewy texture.

On the way out, they were selling ppeongtwigi (puffed rice snacks) and corn bread, and I thought about buying some, but I was too full and just left.. Writing this post right now though, I regret it so much ㅠㅠ Seeing the photos brings the taste right back~ I want to tear into one with my hands right now haha. I bet you could freeze it and thaw it naturally later!

There's also a coffee corner, and they even have ice ready for iced coffee haha. I was too stuffed to have any, but next time I'll definitely grab some corn bread and an iced americano!!!! Noted!

Is Songdam Kalguksu worth a stop? Final verdict

Songdam Kalguksu, an Anjung, Pyeongtaek Korean restaurant I stumbled onto on the way back to Seoul. I went in with no expectations and left more than satisfied. A place that would work perfectly for dates, family gatherings, any kind of get-together. Generous portions, great value, and above all genuinely delicious — this is a place I want to visit again. If you're looking for a shabu-shabu or kalguksu spot in Anjung, Pyeongtaek, I recommend giving it a try.