Gyeongju hot pot restaurant 10 minutes from Hwangnidan-gil: Hyoeunok

The weather's been getting warmer lately, and when it comes to day trips near Daegu, it's Gyeongju again, isn't it?! My boyfriend and I have probably done ten thousand Gyeongju dates by now, and this time we found another really great restaurant 😙 We saw the visuals and knew we had absolutely had to go — and we came home surprised twice, once by how it looked in real life and once by the taste. Here's our review of Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch haha.

If you go to Gyeongju right now the weather is perfect…👍 This area is full of brassware shops, and there's a flower field nearby too, so it was great for a walk♡

Where is Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch? Parking and break time

Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch is on Bukgun 3-gil in Gyeongju's Bomun district. It's open daily from 11:00 to 21:00 with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00. There's a dedicated parking lot and high chairs for kids.

Since it's over by Bomun, we drove over after hanging out on Hwangnidan-gil!! Took about 10 minutes. Location was great too 👍

Here it is!! The building has that classic Gyeongju roof tile look — big and imposing — so it seemed like most visitors were there with their parents haha.

Because the menu is genuinely massive… the main draw is the hot, steaming hot pot that's perfect as the weather warms up.

There's a break time so please keep that in mind before visiting!! And for large groups I'd recommend booking through Naver Reservation ><

One more nice thing — since it's a little off the main strip like Hwangnidan-gil, there's a really large dedicated parking lot.

After driving around a lot, I've learned that no matter how good a restaurant is, it's tough to go if it's packed and parking is a hassle ㅠㅠ The parking here was really spacious with extra spots in the back too, so no worries there.

Inside Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch: mother-of-pearl decor and seating

Inside Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch is a spacious hall greeted by mother-of-pearl decorations, with seating big enough for group visits. In the back there are tables with cushioned chairs, a baby chair, and a clean indoor restroom.

As soon as you walk in, shiny mother-of-pearl decorations greet you!! Since people usually come to Gyeongju as travelers too, it really gave off that Gyeongju trip feeling, which made me happy haha.

The interior was as spacious as I'd imagined, with plenty of seating!! Seating size is fine even for group visits.

If you sit at the separate tables in the back, there are cushioned chairs too, which seemed like it would be comfortable and nice for elderly guests or families with kids.

We visited on a weekday during early dinner and there were still lots of customers, so it seemed like a spot locals come to often too 😌

There were quite a few people with babies too, so high chairs are ready haha. There's even a clean indoor restroom, which was comfortable and nice 😙

Hyoeunok menu and prices: can two people order the Ppyeoberest?

The signature menu at Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch is the Ppyeoberest mountain beef bone hot pot at ₩65,000, portioned for 2-4 people and including kalguksu noodles and gondre porridge. My boyfriend and I just ordered this one dish for the two of us and didn't order extra rice separately.

Here's the menu you're probably curious about!! Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch's signature menu is none other than Ppyeoberest!! Why it's a combo of 'bone' + 'Everest' — you'll understand once you see the visuals below lol.

We fell for the visuals and came just for this… so we ordered one Ppyeoberest mountain beef bone hot pot at ₩65,000!! Since the set comes with kalguksu noodles and gondre porridge included as sides, we didn't order rice separately!! The price might seem a bit steep, but this serves 2-4 people!! In fact the table next to us had four people eating it. The portion is so generous it might actually be a good deal haha.

There are also single-serving dishes like galbitang at ₩18,000, hanwoo gomtang at ₩15,000, and hanwoo yukhoe bibimbap at ₩13,000, so you can come here for a meal anytime 🙂↕️

While waiting for the food, make sure to grab some squid jeotgal (fermented squid) from the self-serve bar!! (Seriously delicious.) They seem to keep the hot pot constantly simmering since orders come in so fast!! So it doesn't take long to arrive ><

How the Ppyeoberest beef bone hot pot is eaten, course by course

The Ppyeoberest is a hot pot with beef rib bones stacked four levels high, with bean sprouts and minari (water celery) packed at the bottom hiding the broth underneath. Once the broth boils, you eat the vegetables first, then the meat dipped in sauce, and finish with kalguksu and gondre porridge.

Ta-da!!! You can see the Ppyeoberest visuals lol. Since the beef ribs are stacked as high as Everest, that's where the name Ppyeoberest comes from…

There was so much meat clinging to this hot pot, and they even gave us shabu-shabu beef plus kalguksu and gondre porridge on top — truly generous, and we were so full!!

Now you can see why it's for 4 people lol. That's only because my boyfriend eats a lot… for regular people (?), this would be more than enough.

The visuals still don't feel real no matter how much I look… lol. The meat is stacked in four layers, and there's so much bean sprout and minari at the bottom that I didn't even realize there was broth in there — they told us once it boils, the broth's inside, so eat right away!!

• The meat is already cooked, so just warm the bones through
• Once the broth boils, eat the vegetables first
• Then dip the meat in the sauce
• Finish with kalguksu noodles & gondre porridge

Since the broth is hidden inside, they just boil it up vigorously first haha. As the broth mixes with the vegetable stock inside, it cooks down quickly, and once that meat smell starts wafting up, you can't help but drool…🤤

First up, the cooked bean sprouts and minari!! Nicely cooked down, so soft, and the minari fragrance was so good I wanted to eat it with meat right away haha.

Look at that thick, well-cooked meat!! ㅠㅠ The bones are really big and thick so there's fun in gnawing on them too lol.

As for the taste — the broth isn't salty and is clean, and because the vegetable stock and broth melt together, it has a deeply blended flavor that people of all ages would like!!

The meat is cooked so soft and tender ㅠㅠ dipped in the prepared soy sauce, it tastes like that meat inside galbitang that everyone knows but keeps wanting more of…

Take a big bite with the vegetables and finish with a sip of broth to cleanse your palate ㅋ ♡ Genuinely delicious ㅠㅠㅠ It's the kind of flavor that soothes your stomach, and it's not salty at all and well-seasoned even eaten without rice!!

Round three at Hyoeunok: shabu-shabu beef, kalguksu and gondre porridge

The Ppyeoberest set comes with shabu-shabu beef, kalguksu noodles, and gondre porridge, leading into a second and third round. The portion was a bit much for two, but thanks to my boyfriend, who usually eats two bowls of rice, we cleaned everything up.

There was quite a lot of meat still stuck to the bones and vegetables, so just as we were both starting to feel full, round two begins… haha. You just add the shabu-shabu beef that comes prepared and keep simmering~ If you're still not full, adding rice and eating it with the meat and broth is also a great choice.

The amount of meat we'd already eaten was already huge, and by this point it was a bit much for the two of us haha. My boyfriend eats a lot (usually two bowls of rice) so that's how this portion was even possible…

Once you've fished out all the meat, you drop in the kalguksu noodles and boil them right away — this was so, so delicious that I want to go back and eat it again ㅠㅠ

The broth that wasn't salty while eating meat gets saltier as it reduces, right?! That's when you need to refuel on carbs… so you drop in the chewy, fluffy kalguksu noodles and simmer it down, and no matter how full you are, you keep eating.

After the kalguksu, the real final round — you ladle out some broth and drop in the gondre rice. Leave about one ladle of broth and fry the rice in it like making porridge, and this is another amazing treat… Eating rice fried or mixed in leftover hot pot broth is basically a Korean dessert tradition (?). So even though we were full, we finished it all cleanly.

As the weather warms up I've been going all over lately, but Gyeongju always feels good no matter when you go ♡⁼³ This was actually my first time going to the Bomun area, and I'm so happy we found a great restaurant there — I really recommend you all go check it out too!!