Abalone pot rice topped with 4 abalone in Ansan: Dongyang Sotbap

Went to Dongyang Sotbap Ansan Main Branch near Ansan Jungang Station looking for a hearty, well-put-together Korean meal with the kids! It turned out to be a real gem — our 6-year-old scraped the bowl clean to the bottom, completely satisfied.

Where is Dongyang Sotbap Ansan Main Branch, and where do you park?

Dongyang Sotbap Ansan Main Branch 📍11 Yesuldaehak-ro, 202-203, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea ⏰ Daily 10:00–22:40 (last order 22:00) 🚗 No parking

It's a 7-minute walk from Ansan Jungang Station, so easy to reach by public transit too, and we used the paid public parking lot right in front of the restaurant. (The building itself doesn't provide parking.)

A big sign reading Dongyang Sotbap stands out on the 2nd floor of the Heavy Steak building!

Note that the building elevator doesn't run to the 2nd floor. Climbing the stairs, I noticed it opens at 10 a.m., perfect for a late breakfast/lunch, plus there's a free birthday table event running for VIP guests!

I'd seen several Dongyang Sotbap branches before so the brand felt familiar, but finding out Ansan is the main branch made me even more excited. It's a leading Korean restaurant brand that has expanded to Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon and even Taiwan, so the flavor felt guaranteed already!

You can quickly scan the menu even from outside the entrance,

and a waitlist sign-up sheet was ready too.

Inside Dongyang Sotbap: the dining room and the stamp card

The interior of Dongyang Sotbap Ansan Main Branch felt wonderfully open, with a deep wood-tone clean interior and wide floor-to-ceiling windows. The soft lighting sets a nice mood too, making it a great spot for dates as well as family dinners or solo dining.

There's also a loyalty stamp coupon event, the kind you usually see at cafés. Collect 10 stamps and you get one main dish free, so this could turn into a regular spot after one visit~~

You can order easily from the tablet on the table,

There's also a separate paper menu with detailed photos and descriptions, which made choosing easy.

Water and three side dishes are freely refillable, and there's also warm nurungji (scorched rice) water available separately.

How many pieces of abalone come on the abalone pot rice?

We ordered three pot rice dishes — abalone, steak, and aged kimchi pork belly — plus a refreshing green grape ade.

The basic sides come on a tray: a cool seaweed soup with dried shrimp, plus three side dishes — salted seafood, nuts, and pickled chili peppers.

The moment the abalone pot rice arrived, I gasped a little~ It comes topped with a whopping four generous pieces of abalone, along with shiitake mushrooms and chopped green onion piled on generously. Dongyang Sotbap, the go-to spot near Ansan Jungang Station, already wins on looks alone~~

It comes pre-seasoned, then you pour in the extra sauce and mix it all together! With four big pieces of abalone in there, there was zero fishy taste — genuinely tender.

It's a healthy, clean-tasting dish that would hold up fine even bringing your parents along! Topping the mild abalone rice with the salted seafood side that comes with it was an amazing combo.

What does the aged kimchi pork belly pot rice taste like?

The aged kimchi pork belly pot rice at Dongyang Sotbap Ansan Main Branch comes with a subtle smoky char on the stir-fried aged kimchi and pork belly, topped with two thick pieces of tofu as the highlight.

Mixing everything together for a bite, the distinctive umami and smoky flavor combined so well I couldn't put the spoon down! Anyone who loves Korean food will definitely like this one.

Steak pot rice a 6-year-old finished to the last grain

The steak pot rice was visually stunning too, with a generous cut of steak, yellow egg scramble, and finely chopped green onion on top!!

This was the dish our 6-year-old picked! They even brought out proper kids' tableware neatly.

The meat wasn't cut into cubes but came in a thick, elongated cut, so I wondered if I'd need to cut it up for the kid... but it wasn't tough at all, super tender, and my 6-year-old ate it just fine without me cutting it! (Since it comes topped with red flake garnish, if you're visiting with a young child it's a good idea to ask them to leave it off beforehand.)

Instead of scooping the rice out of the pot, you mix it right in with the seasoned sauce already added — the sweet-and-salty special sauce combined with the tender meat was outstanding.

The portion was fairly generous, but aside from a couple of spoonfuls I tried, my 6-year-old scraped the bowl clean to the bottom! If you're visiting Dongyang Sotbap near Ansan Jungang Station with kids, I highly recommend this one.

Finishing the meal with nurungji (scorched rice) tea

After eating, we finished with warm nurungji (scorched rice) tea! Instead of just pouring water into the sauce-coated pot, they serve a clean, nutty nurungji tea separately, which made for a much tastier finish.

On the way out, they even handed us Polo candy for dessert, a thoughtful touch.

Is Dongyang Sotbap worth it for a family meal in Ansan?

I've been to plenty of pot rice restaurants, but Dongyang Sotbap near Ansan Jungang Station stood out as one of the most satisfying in taste, composition, and atmosphere alike. If you're looking for proper Korean pot rice or a hearty lunch or dinner spot near Ansan Jungang Station, I confidently recommend Dongyang Sotbap Ansan Main Branch!