Weekday 5pm dinner in a room at Hyoeunok, Gyeongju Bomun restaurant

We recently took a family trip to Gyeongju and booked a stay near Bomun-danji, so we scoped out good restaurants nearby too.

That's when we found Hyoeunok, a Gyeongju Bomun-danji restaurant with the kind of visuals you'd only expect on a trip — and great reviews to match! Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch specializes in sohanmaritang (whole beef hot pot), and it's popular enough with locals that its flavor has been proven.

It's also a restaurant with baby chairs and dog-friendly seating, so all kinds of groups can visit comfortably. Now let me share our review of eating the signature Ppyeoberest and finishing with shabu-shabu at Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch.

What the private room at Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch is like

Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch is a hanok-concept restaurant on Bukgun 3-gil in Gyeongju, with spacious parking too. It has that classic Gyeongju hanok feel, so it was a spot I really wanted to include on our trip itinerary.

The interior is also full of old-school charm — an atmosphere you can only really feel here. Maybe because of the distinctive vibe and great menu, even though we arrived right at 5pm on a weekday just as break time ended, the staff already looked busy prepping for a group reservation.

We were seated in a private room toward the back.

Looking up at the ceiling, the walls depicted tall mountains and the fabric above billowed like clouds — really lovely. As you'd expect from Bomun-danji's top restaurant, every detail of the interior was carefully designed.

How to order at the table kiosk and what's on the menu

At Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch you order via table kiosk once seated, with the menu board displayed above. From the main beef rib hot pot to soups, tang, gopchang hot pot, bibimbap and more — the menu is packed with dishes to eat as a full meal or as anju (drinking food). So it's a place you could visit for either lunch or dinner without hesitation.

For the grand finale of our last night on the trip, we ordered Hyoeunok's signature dish — the Ppyeoberest mountain beef bone hot pot.

Side dishes that come with the meal, and refills

After ordering, barley tea arrives along with basic side dishes — kimchi and kkakdugi (diced radish kimchi). A soy dipping sauce for the meat is also provided.

Side dishes can be refilled freely as you eat, and if you're having the hot pot like I was, broth refills are available too — worth keeping in mind.

How the Ppyeoberest mountain beef bone hot pot is served

A little while later, the Ppyeoberest beef bone hot pot came out! It's a 5-course special menu piled with premium beef ribs and beef bones simmered down to perfection.

Each piece is impressively large, and just as tender — a generous heap of soft beef rib meat on the bone. Underneath, there's a thick layer of bean sprouts, minari (water dropwort) and mushrooms.

Then, to enjoy the leftover broth shabu-shabu style, they set out shabu beef, kalguksu noodles, and gondre porridge! My husband couldn't stop marveling at how there was no way the two of us could finish all this.

What to eat first, and how the beef bone hot pot tastes

Eating the Ppyeoberest beef bone hot pot isn't complicated. The meat already comes cooked, so you just move it aside to keep it warm. Meanwhile, once the broth boils, start by scooping out the vegetables once they've slightly wilted.

The warmed-up meat is delicious too, tender and full of flavor. The bones themselves are big, with plenty of meat still attached.

Eating the meat straight off the bone is great, but for easier eating we pulled it off a bit and dipped it generously in sauce along with the vegetables. Soaked in that deep broth, everything tasted even more savory and clean.

Finishing the broth with shabu-shabu, kalguksu and gondre porridge

With the deeply infused leftover broth, we added shabu-shabu beef and cooked it just right.

Dip the shabu-shabu beef in sauce along with minari and mushrooms too! Thanks to the subtle minari fragrance, the Ppyeoberest beef bone hot pot tastes even more upscale.

After scooping out all the meat, we added the kalguksu noodles, cooked them through, and ate them with kimchi.

To finish, we left just a little broth and cleared it completely with the gondre porridge!

That's our review of eating the Ppyeoberest beef bone hot pot and finishing with shabu-shabu at Hyoeunok, a Gyeongju Bomun-danji restaurant. With its stylish atmosphere and flavors you can only find in Gyeongju, it's a must-eat when you come to Bomun-danji — give it a try yourselves!