Ansan Korean restaurant with a high chair for babies: Dongyang Sotbap

My beloved Dongyang Sotbap! I used to go often with friends who love pot rice, but this time I went with my mom, husband and our little one Bbojjagi!

🍚 Dongyang Sotbap Ansan Main Branch 🍚

Dongyang Sotbap Ansan Main Branch: hours, parking and high chair

Dongyang Sotbap Ansan Main Branch is on the 2nd floor of a building on Art College Road near Ansan Jungang Station, open daily 10:00–22:40 (last order 22:00). There's no dedicated parking lot, so we used the public parking near Ansan Lotte Department Store or Megabox. They have a high chair, which made it great to bring the baby along.

• ⏰ Hours: Daily 10:00–22:40 (last order 22:00)
• 🚘 Parking: No dedicated lot / use the public parking near Ansan Lotte Department Store or Megabox
• ✅ High chair available
• ✅ Building elevator does not stop on the 2nd floor — use the stairs!

What the building looks like and how to find the 2nd floor

The elevator in the Dongyang Sotbap building doesn't run up to the 2nd floor, so you have to take the stairs! Once you climb up and reach the 2nd floor, you'll immediately see a sign pointing to Dongyang Sotbap!!

Finally arrived at Dongyang Sotbap!! If there's a wait, just write your name on the waitlist at the entrance. We got lucky and walked straight in with no wait 😆

And apparently Dongyang Sotbap, a Korean franchise brand, is about to open a branch in Taiwan!!! My true favorite spot, living up to its name!

Inside Dongyang Sotbap: seating and atmosphere

Even though we arrived in the early evening, the place was already pretty full! People kept coming in after us too, which made me realize this really is a popular spot haha. There were groups eating with friends, and quite a few people dining solo too!

There were plenty of tables, so we could eat at a relaxed pace! And I especially liked how clean and tidy the interior was 🫢

Menu and self-bar, down to the nurungji water

Looking at the menu, there were way more types of pot rice than I expected! From meat to seafood to eel, you could pick whatever suited your taste, which I loved!!

They also had simple side dishes ready to pair with the meal, just so you know!! 👀

If you have allergies, be sure to tell the staff before ordering!

What we ordered: ✔️ Steak pot rice ✔️ Eel special pot rice ✔️ Wando abalone pot rice ✔️ Kkulkkwobwaro

Water is self-serve at the self-bar! Side dishes are also there, so you can grab more whenever you need. And there's nurungji (scorched rice) water too — help yourself as much as you like 👍🏻

How the steak, abalone and eel pot rice tasted

Alright!! Before digging in, let's check the instructions for how to eat it best! Confirmed how it matched what we ordered!

Our pot rice has arrived! 🍚 Already feels filling!! It's not easy to put together a proper Korean meal at home while raising a baby, so getting to go out and have a warm bowl of pot rice like this felt amazing!! 🧡

Steak pot rice

The steak pot rice I ordered!! 🥩🍚 Looked delicious from the start!! Packed with meat and topped with a generous amount of egg — I couldn't wait to mix it all up and take a bite!! 🤤

Time to mix it up and take a bite! The savory egg and salty seasoning soaked right into the rice grains for real umami!! The steak wasn't tough at all, it was tender and paired perfectly with the rice! 🧡 With that much meat packed in, one bowl left me totally full!! 🤤

Wando abalone pot rice

Next up, the abalone pot rice my mom ordered! Loaded with abalone and shiitake mushrooms! Let's mix it up so everything blends with the rice!! 🥄

There was a separate sauce provided to add extra seasoning if you wanted! My mom usually likes her food on the milder side, so she ate it without adding the sauce! Eating the abalone and shiitake together, the chewy texture was absolutely delicious!!! 🧡 I also tend to prefer plain flavors, and it was plenty tasty even without the sauce!! I ended up stealing bites from my mom's pot rice the whole time haha.

Eel special pot rice (only 10 a day)

The eel pot rice my husband ordered! Apparently they only sell 10 servings of eel pot rice per day! But we managed to snag one!! 🫢🫢🫢

For the eel pot rice, you first move the eel on top onto a separate plate! Mix the pot rice well so the rice and ingredients combine, then place a piece of the eel back on top and eat it together with the rice!! 🤤

Eating the tender eel meat together with the fluffy pot rice went surprisingly well together!! 🤤

Kkulkkwobwaro, the sweet and sour pork bites

The side dish we ordered, kkulkkwobwaro (sweet and sour pork bites)!

Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside — loved the texture! With that sweet and tangy sauce, eating it alongside the pot rice really refreshed our palate in between bites haha. Perfect side to order and share!

The seaweed soup served with every pot rice

And the seaweed soup (miyeokguk) that came with each pot rice! Having that warm seaweed soup alongside made the whole meal feel even more filling 🧡 A spoonful of pot rice followed by a sip of seaweed soup made for a pretty great combo haha.

Verdict: is Dongyang Sotbap worth it for a family meal?

🍚 Final verdict 🍚 Overall, Dongyang Sotbap had such a wide variety of pot rice that our family could each pick what we liked! Steak, abalone, eel — each menu had its own charm, so ordering different pot rice and sharing worked great 👍🏻 Above all, the prices weren't overwhelming, and getting pot rice plus seaweed soup felt like such good value for a Korean meal! 🥹 It's not easy to cook a proper Korean meal at home while raising a baby, so getting to go out and enjoy a warm bowl of pot rice like this felt wonderful 🧡 Both the taste and the price were satisfying, so I'd recommend it as a real favorite I'd love to visit again next time we're in the area!! 👍🏻👍🏻🍚