Squid jeotgal and gondre porridge at Hyoeunok, a Gyeongju restaurant

An honest review of Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch, a Bomun-area favorite in Gyeongju ♡ Should I say there's never been a beef bone hot pot quite like this? Haha, the Ppyeoberest was just visually stunning from the start ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა I was looking for something good to eat near Bomun and stumbled on this place — it was genuinely delicious ㅠㅠㅠ I already want to go back ദ്ദി◍•ᴗ•◍)♡

Parking and the dining room at Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch

It was convenient that Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch has its own parking lot, since I drove there. The first thing I saw after arriving was the parking lot haha.

When you're traveling and hunting for good food, not knowing where to park can be stressful. Here I could just park and walk right in, which was nice.

The inside was clean and had a nice vibe too. You'd think a meat restaurant might feel a bit chaotic, but it was more comfortable to sit and eat than I expected ૮₍˶• . • ⑅₎ა

I loved the mother-of-pearl inlay decor!!! And the windows are so pretty too 👍🏻🤍

Squid jeotgal: the side dish worth asking about

Once you sit down at Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch, the basic side dishes come out one by one — the kimchi and squid jeotgal (salted fermented squid) were especially good. This is where I was genuinely surprised haha. Why is this squid jeotgal so good ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

I'm usually not someone who goes out of my way to eat jeotgal, but I kept reaching for this one. Good with rice, good grabbed between bites of meat ദ്ദി◍•ᴗ•◍)♡ I ended up asking the owner if they sell it, haha — it's been a while since I asked a restaurant if a side dish was for sale ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა

Ppyeoberest beef bone hot pot: meat that lifts off the bone

The Ppyeoberest at Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch is a beef bone hot pot piled up like a mountain of bones. The name already hinted at something serious, and it really did arrive looking like a mountain haha. There was so much beef bone stacked up that at first I wasn't sure how to even start eating it ૮₍˶• . • ⑅₎ა

The meat just falls off the bone ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I expected bone-attached meat to be chewy, but a light pick with chopsticks and it came away tender — I loved that ദ്ദി◍•ᴗ•◍)♡

The meat itself was tender, and soaked in the broth it was so good. And what I loved most about the Ppyeoberest was actually ~~~ the vegetables

A beef bone hot pot with shabu-shabu vegetables

The vegetables in the Ppyeoberest weren't your usual hot pot veggies — they were more like what you'd get with shabu-shabu. I really love shabu-shabu haha. I like eating vegetables alongside meat, and here I got that shabu-shabu feeling while eating a beef bone hot pot — completely my type ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა♡

Grab a piece of meat, soak it in the broth, take it with vegetables, top it with kimchi — genuinely delicious ㅠㅠ Especially the longer you eat, the more the broth seems to draw out flavor from the meat and vegetables, so it kept getting tastier toward the end ദ്ദി◍•ᴗ•◍)♡

I was full but kept wanting more broth, and even as the meat ran out I kept scooping the broth because it felt too good to leave haha.

The shabu kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) is so, so good. I debated adding a noodle refill like a hundred times haha.

Finishing with gondre rice porridge in the broth

And that wasn't even the end. At the very last, they bring out gondre (mountain vegetable) rice — I'm honestly not a big gondre rice fan haha, I'd eat it if it was there, but nothing more. But stirring it into the leftover broth to make it like porridge — wait, what is this ૮₍˶• . • ⑅₎ა It was so, so good ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

The broth soaks thickly into the rice, and combined with all the flavor from the meat and vegetables, it felt less like typical gondre rice and more like just eating a really good porridge. I never liked gondre rice much, but this completely converted me haha — eating it, I actually thought, wait, I do like gondre rice ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა♡

Why Hyoeunok is worth a stop near Bomun in Gyeongju

• The meat was tender
• The vegetables were generous
• The broth was delicious
• Even the side dishes were great
• The gondre porridge finish was perfect ദ്ദി◍•ᴗ•◍)♡

Since I love shabu-shabu, having so many vegetables in the pot was a huge plus for me. And I still think about that squid jeotgal haha — it was so good I want it again ૮₍˶• . • ⑅₎ა

If you're trying to decide where to eat near Bomun in Gyeongju, Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch is worth a visit. I'm going back next time I'm in Gyeongju haha — more Ppyeoberest, more gondre porridge, more squid jeotgal, all over again.

Honestly, it's been a while since I wanted to revisit a place right after eating there ♡ I'm coming back here whenever I'm in Gyeongju ദ്ദി◍•ᴗ•◍)♡