Gangneung breakfast Korean restaurant: Jeong Eunsuk Chodang Sundubu

The Gangneung restaurant I’m introducing today is Jeong Eunsuk Chodang Sundubu (정은숙초당순두부), a Chodang-dong spot that serves breakfast in Gangneung and puts its own name on the line.

Jeong Eunsuk Chodang Sundubu: an honest three-line review

• A great Gangneung spot for breakfast
• There’s a reason it’s so popular
• A restaurant whose name is its guarantee

How are breakfast and parking?

A great sundubu restaurant in Chodang-dong, Gangneung—and yes, breakfast is available 😊 This Gangneung breakfast spot opens from 8:00. It is good for breakfast and just as good for curing a hangover.

This sundubu restaurant is right across from the Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon Memorial Park. If the lot is full, use the free Heo Nanseolheon parking lot. But this restaurant’s own lot is wider than I expected—so wide that I thought, can it really ever fill up?? A Gangneung sundubu restaurant with easy parking.

A Chodang tofu table featuring Gangneung samhap (a three-part combination), created by a selected 15th-generation culinary master. Jeong Eunsuk Chodang Sundubu is a sundubu restaurant run under the owner’s own name.

There is a Tableling waitlist kiosk and an event kiosk at the entrance. I hear this place gets seriously busy on weekends too. If you are worried about waiting, be sure to reserve before visiting. I reserved through Naver too. There is currently a 10% discount event for Naver reservation visits 👍

Inside the restaurant at weekday lunch

I visited at weekday lunchtime, and there were already quite a few customers. They seemed like people who had checked out of their accommodations. Or perhaps Gangneung locals, like me, coming in for lunch.

There were quite a lot of four-person tables. It would be good for family meals, and groups should be fine too. There was no grease or stickiness on the tables at all; the restaurant overall felt pleasant and clean.

Chodang Premium Table with added boiled pork

A wonderfully simple menu.

We serve only pure handmade tofu dishes made with 100% Korean soybeans. The Chodang tofu table’s tofu samhap was selected as a Gangneung special food.

We ordered the restaurant’s signature Chodang Premium Table.

For an add-on, we got the boiled pork. Got to replenish that protein after working out 😉

Chodang Premium Table: ₩25,000 per person / boiled pork add-on: ₩11,000

Three Chodang Premium Tables plus added boiled pork. Sundubu hot pot, tofu samhap, and seasoned grilled half-dried pollack filled the table.

First off, as you would expect from a good restaurant, the basic side dishes were delicious. I especially liked the salad and cheongpomuk (mung bean jelly) 😋

How did we eat the tofu samhap?

Tofu samhap: boiled pork + tofu + gajami sikhae (fermented flatfish).

We ate the boiled pork with gajami sikhae and wrapped it in lettuce too. It had just the right amount of juice and was not dry at all, so it was delicious. Personally, I really liked the gajami sikhae.

Chodang tofu made with 100% Korean soybeans. Pop the tofu, boiled pork, and sikhae into one bite. It was a samhap where the nuttiness, moisture, richness, and sweet-tangy flavor all came together beautifully. The tofu itself is simply delicious here.

Seasoned grilled half-dried pollack and sundubu hot pot

Seasoned grilled half-dried pollack. The seasoning on this was insane—a total rice thief. If grilled pollack had been available as an add-on, I think I would have ordered more. It only comes with the Premium Table, so make sure you try it.

Sundubu hot pot. A place with delicious tofu will always make delicious sundubu hot pot. The crab gave it an extra-refreshing flavor, and it was so good for a hangover. The tofu was nutty and full of savory depth. This is not the jjamppong-style sundubu; it is proper, traditional Chodang sundubu. It was not spicy at all—about as mild as Jin Ramen Mild?

Overall thoughts after the meal

Right across from Gyeongpo Lake’s Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon Memorial Park, this is a sundubu restaurant where a 15th-generation culinary master cooks under her own name. Every part of the meal was delicious, without a single weak link, and we left feeling good after a healthy-feeling meal. I expect the weekend wait to be fairly long, so I recommend making a Naver reservation.