Hot pot restaurant with baby chairs near Magongnaru: J's Pot Magok

Hi everyone, this is Miyako, mom on duty! These days when I eat out with Oki, taste matters, but I always check one more thing first: can we actually eat comfortably with a baby in tow?

This time we went to J's Pot Magok Branch (제이스팟 마곡점) at COEX Magok. I've always loved hot pot, and while looking up good restaurants near Magongnaru I found this place — what won me over was that everyone can pick their own broth and enjoy it their own way!

Where is J's Pot Magok Branch, and what is the space like?

J's Pot Magok Branch sits on basement level 2 of COEX Magok. It's connected to Magongnaru Station, so getting there by public transport was no trouble at all.

We visited with our baby, and the interior turned out to be much wider than I expected, with tables spaced comfortably apart. There's even a section of solo seats set aside — with so many people eating alone these days, that would work great too.

There are also group tables, so it could work well for a Magongnaru work dinner, a gathering with friends, or a date spot. And it seems like a nice place to stop for a meal after visiting the Magongnaru botanical garden or COEX Magok with your kids.

Baby chairs at J's Pot: what worked with a child along

J's Pot Magok Branch had a baby chair ready for us, which let us eat comfortably with our Oki. When you're eating out with a baby, finding a restaurant with a baby chair is honestly its own quest, haha, sigh. As a mom, this was such a relief!!

A lunch hot pot set for 17,500 won?

J's Pot Magok Branch serves a lunch hot pot set for just ₩17,500 between 11:00 and 15:00, and since we happened to arrive during lunch hours, we ordered the lunch set!

The lunch set lets you pick one of five broths, and comes with assorted vegetables, 100g of beef brisket, rice, and 2 fish balls — such a generous spread that we didn't hesitate to order. We chose beef broth and mala broth. I love a clean, mild broth but I also love that numbing mala kick, so I couldn't give up either one... hehe.

Looking at the ingredients that arrived first, along with the beef there was a generous pile of napa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms and more — fresh and clean, which made me really satisfied.

I'm the type who likes vegetables cooked through, so we put everything in from the start and let it boil. Since it's a personal pot, it heated up to a rolling boil after just 4 degrees on the dial — I really liked that.

Beef broth vs mala broth at J's Pot: how they differed

The beef broth is on the mild side, so I added a little chili and it simmered up into a nicely spicy, tasty bowl.

The mala broth had that signature mala aroma rising up along with the numbing tingle — I have to say the mala broth was delicious too! Even with the same ingredients, the flavor changes completely depending on the broth, so splitting the two isn't a bad idea at all.

How to mix your own sauce at the J's Pot sauce bar

You can't have hot pot without the sauce!

At J's Pot you can mix the sauce ingredients on offer however you like. I threw together a few things to make my own sauce, and depending on what you add, the flavor shifts a little each time...

My own sauce recipe uses five ingredients: onion, minced garlic, chopped scallion, cheongyang chili, and haixian soy sauce. It came out simple but savory and delicious. Dipping well-cooked beef straight into that sauce gave a totally different flavor from eating it in the broth — I kept reaching for more...>_< There were also sauce-making tips posted in the restaurant, so I'd recommend checking those out too!

What to watch out for when visiting J's Pot Magok with a baby

What I loved most about J's Pot Magok Branch was being able to pick the broth I wanted and enjoy hot pot exactly to my taste!

In particular, choosing beef broth and mala broth one each, like we did, meant the same ingredients tasted different depending on the pot, so we could switch back and forth between two flavors. It's connected to Magongnaru Station so it's easy to get to, and having a baby chair ready meant mom and dad could actually eat in peace while dining out with our baby...

That said, since it uses induction burners, you do need to pay extra attention to safety if you're visiting with a baby. We kept a close eye the whole meal to make sure our baby didn't reach toward the pot!!!

Next time I'd like to try the tomato broth! I'm so curious what it tastes like~~ If you're looking for a good hot pot restaurant near Magongnaru, give J's Pot Magok Branch a try!