Dunsan-dong kaoyu restaurant with guobaorou add-on: Bantiannyao

I was looking for a hot pot restaurant in Dunsan-dong and ended up at Bantiannyao Kaoyu Daejeon Branch :) It's near Galleria Timeworld, across from Zara, so it's a great spot for meetups or after shopping in Dunsan-dong.💛 Here's my strong recommendation review of the ningbo fish tomato kaoyu!

Where is Bantiannyao Kaoyu Daejeon Branch, and what are the hours?

• 📍Location: 13 Dunsan-ro 31beon-gil, 2nd floor unit 1, Seo-gu, Daejeon, South Korea
• ⏰ Hours: 11:00 - 22:30

My sister loves hot pot and Chinese food in general, so I was especially looking forward to this visit! Bantiannyao is a huge global brand with over 1,600 locations worldwide, so it was somewhere I'd been wanting to try at least once.

Inside Bantiannyao: a spacious hall for groups and families

Bantiannyao Kaoyu Daejeon Branch is genuinely huge, so it's great for group gatherings and the tables weren't crammed together at all. There's a large screen and baby chairs are available, so it's also great for family visits ✨ Every table was set up neatly too, which made a great first impression.

Why we chose the ningbo fish tomato kaoyu

Bantiannyao Kaoyu's signature dish is kaoyu — a whole fish cooked entirely as one piece — and we went with the tomato version! I'd recommend it to anyone who finds spicy food a bit much, or who prefers something softer and tangier 💛 You can also choose the type of fish, and we picked ningbo fish.

Mixing your own sauce at the Bantiannyao self bar

Another great thing about Bantiannyao Kaoyu is ✨the self bar!✨ It has rice and all sorts of sauces you can mix yourself. There are even sauce-combination guides, so even first-timers can put something together without much trouble.

A whole ningbo fish came out filling a huge pan, piled high with tomatoes, cheongyang chili, red chili, and vegetables! It looked incredibly generous right from the start 👍🏻👍🏻

When the hourglass runs out, staff debone the fish for you

After the dish arrives, you wait a bit while the hourglass runs, and then a staff member comes and debones the fish so it's easy to eat.

They handle and break down the whole fish for you, so it's great to bring kids along or share with a group. The fish meat was much thicker than I expected! It wasn't just soft — it had a chewy, springy texture that I personally really enjoyed.

Because the fish is so big, there's plenty of meat, and the tomato-based sauce soaked into it nicely, so it paired well with rice too.

Is tomato kaoyu too mild to be interesting?

I assumed tomato kaoyu would be entirely mild, but the tangy tomato flavor combined with the chili and spices made it subtly addictive!

Soaking the fish in the sauce meant every bite stayed moist from start to finish. There were also noodles mixed in, so between the fish and the noodles I got really full.

Dip rice paper in the broth for a Chinese glass noodle texture

Dipping into the self-bar sauces doubled the deliciousness! And here's a tip: leave a piece of rice paper in the sauce and it turns into something with the texture of Chinese glass noodles! It's genuinely delicious, so you have to try it 🤤

Guobaorou: the add-on worth ordering with kaoyu

One dish I really want to recommend ordering alongside kaoyu is guobaorou (sweet and sour crispy pork)! ✨We ordered it separately from the kaoyu, and I personally thought it was such a good call.✨

The outside was crispy yet chewy, coated in a sweet and tangy sauce, so it was perfect to have in between bites of kaoyu 👍🏻 The meat was thicker than expected too, and the batter wasn't overly heavy, which I appreciated!

Finishing with ice cream from the self bar

There are snacks, soft drinks, and even ice cream, so you can help yourself freely before or after your meal 👍🏻 Especially after eating something spicy and intense, finishing with ice cream really rounded things off perfectly haha.

If you're looking for a good restaurant near Galleria, or a hot pot spot in Dunsan-dong, I'd say Bantiannyao Kaoyu Daejeon Branch is worth a visit :) I highly recommend the tomato kaoyu + guobaorou combo!