Autumn lunch clear-broth mandu hot pot in Jongno, Seoul: Jongga Mandu

It's gotten properly cool out now. I'm so glad the coming autumn is finally here — I can't tell you how relieved I am that the hot summer days are behind us.

I'd been saying "it's so hot, so hot" while eating cold naengmyeon, but then I started craving hot broth, so I went and had mandu (dumpling) hot pot instead.

Where Jongga Mandu is and what the restaurant looks like

Jongga Mandu (종가만두) is on the 1st floor of 88 Supyo-ro, close to Jongno 3-ga Station. It's easy to reach by public transit, and parking is available too.

The place is bigger than I expected, and really comfortable. Overall it's a clean, tidy restaurant.

If you love handmade dumplings, this hot pot is worth it

Jongga Mandu menu and prices

• Clear hot pot ₩13,000
• Half-and-half hot pot ₩14,000
• Domestic soybean kalguksu ₩13,000
• Fried mandu ₩9,000

The hot pot prices are pretty reasonable, and there's a good range of add-ons to go with it. Meat noodle add-on is ₩8,000, mandu add-on is ₩7,000.

What comes in the 13,000-won clear hot pot: four handmade dumplings per person

I like a clear broth, so I went with Jongga Mandu's clear hot pot. It's loaded with vegetables and handmade dumplings. The side kimchi that came with it was really tasty too.

There was more meat than I expected, and the handmade dumplings were big — four per person. Pretty good value for the price.

Bok choy, enoki mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, napa cabbage and more all came out on a full plate of vegetables — with ingredients like that, the broth is bound to taste clean and refreshing.

What I liked most were the handmade dumplings themselves. It was great having both kimchi and meat versions together — it felt like the style of dumplings you'd make at home.

They even gave us disposable gloves for when the broth starts boiling — a really thoughtful touch. Once the mild broth comes to a boil, you add the dumplings, then the vegetables, and just wait.

It bubbles away deliciously. It really is a hearty hot pot. I come to Jongno 3-ga fairly often, and having a date at a mandu hot pot restaurant here made it even better — plus you really feel the value for money in how generous the portions are.

I especially liked being able to eat plenty of bok choy and mushrooms along with everything else.

Thanks to the mild, not-too-strong broth, the dumpling hot pot felt like it had a deeper flavor.

Getting to enjoy both kimchi dumplings and meat dumplings is a big part of the appeal too.

With the hot broth and dumplings stuffed full of filling, it made for a really hearty lunch.

The clean broth flavor went really well with the dumplings' full filling. Coming to Jongno 3-ga and eating at a proper dumpling hot pot restaurant felt great.

The dumplings were so good I wanted to get some to take home, but since I wasn't headed straight home, I skipped it. I feel like takeout dumplings from here would be great.

How were the dumpling wrappers and filling?

Jongga Mandu's handmade dumplings have a really packed filling, and the skin is very soft and tender, making them easy to eat. They're stuffed full just like homemade dumplings.

The meat dumplings were also very clean-tasting, and eating them with the broth made the meal feel even more filling.

Eating them together with the meat, mushrooms, and vegetables made everything more filling and clean-tasting.

With so much meat packed inside, this style of dumpling was really satisfying.

Eating them together with the refreshing hot pot broth brought out an even deeper flavor.

Eating them with the fresh kimchi (geotjeori) made things even cleaner. It paired really well with the mild dumplings.

After the handmade dumpling hot pot, I even had a hearty helping of kalguksu

Finishing the hot pot with kalguksu noodles

And here's another highlight — the kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) add-on. The portion was really generous, and the noodles slid down smoothly with each slurp — amazing.

Thanks to the broth, deeply infused with meat and vegetable flavor, the kalguksu tasted even better.

Hot broth and slurpy kalguksu go really well together. Meeting a friend at Jongno 3-ga and enjoying a hearty meal at a mandu hot pot restaurant was great.

I even got to watch the handmade dumplings being made. After tasting dumplings stuffed that full, I'll definitely be back for more.

The complimentary candy was a nice touch, and the mandu-shaped keyring was so cute. A really hearty lunch overall.

How to get to Jongga Mandu from Jongno 3-ga Station

Jongga Mandu, where you can enjoy delicious handmade dumpling hot pot near Jongno 3-ga Station, is located on the 1st floor of 88 Supyo-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea.