Yukhoe bibimbap and special seolleongtang near Ansan Jungang Station

Today's post is a revisit to my go-to spot, Morakmorak Seolleongtang Ansan Seongpo Main Branch, haha. I've lost count of how many times I've gone for seolleongtang (ox bone soup) or galbitang (short rib soup), but every single time I leave satisfied — it's the place that comes to mind whenever I want a filling lunch near Jungang Station.

Location and parking for Morakmorak Seolleongtang Ansan Seongpo Main Branch

Morakmorak Seolleongtang Ansan Seongpo Main Branch 📍 Basement Unit 8, 9.9-2, 513 Hwarang-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea ⏰ Daily 10:00–20:30

Morakmorak Seolleongtang is located in the basement of Star Plaza, right in front of Yesurin Apartment in Seongpo-dong. It's not far from Jungang Station, and if you're driving, you can use the Star Plaza underground parking lot — that's how I always go, comfortably by car.

As soon as you step off the elevator, it's right there, so it's not hard to find even on a first visit. I came again during lunchtime this time, and as expected, it was packed.

The menu — from broth dishes to yukhoe and suyuk jeongol

The crowd ranged from solo diners having seolleongtang to families eating together. This place isn't just about soup dishes like seolleongtang and galbitang — the menu is more varied than you'd expect, with yukhoe (raw beef) bibimbap, yukhoe, yuk-sashimi, and suyuk jeongol (boiled meat hot pot) too.

There's also a butcher shop next door where you can grill your own meat, and I keep telling myself I'll try it someday, but I still haven't, ugh. I'm planning to come back for dinner soon and properly grill some meat.

First-time order: yukhoe bibimbap

This time I started with yukhoe bibimbap, and honestly I had high expectations even before ordering. I'd had yukhoe from the butcher shop next door before, and the quality was really good back then.

So I figured the yukhoe bibimbap would be delicious too, and I finally ordered it for the first time — and sure enough, it was amazing.

The side dishes are kimchi, stir-fried bracken fern, onion, and chili peppers.

The moment it arrived, the amount of yukhoe was the first thing that caught my eye. Some yukhoe bibimbap places pile on the vegetables and barely give you any raw beef, but here the yukhoe is genuinely generous.

Even after mixing it all with the rice, yukhoe kept showing up all the way to the last bite. The soft texture of the fresh raw beef was great, and mixed with the vegetables it added a nice crunch too — I kept eating without stopping.

The broth that comes on the side with yukhoe bibimbap

When you order yukhoe bibimbap, you also get a warm broth on the side. A bite of bibimbap, a sip of broth — the combination was just right.

For anyone who just wants yukhoe bibimbap without ordering seolleongtang too, the broth comes along with it, so it makes for a pretty solid meal on its own.

I ordered it expecting a lot because of how good the yukhoe was before, and it lived up to those expectations.

What makes teuk-seolleongtang different from the regular size

The other dish we ordered that day was teuk-seolleongtang (special seolleongtang). I already knew the regular seolleongtang here was good since I eat it so often, but this time I ordered the special size to really dig in, haha.

Compared to regular seolleongtang, the teuk version reportedly has double the meat, broth, and noodles. Once it arrives, the portion is clearly much bigger. The meat especially is so generous that every spoonful keeps bringing up more.

The broth is still clean-tasting yet rich. Seolleongtang here is basically unseasoned by default, so you season it to taste with the salt or pepper on the table.

I usually like eating the seolleongtang here with just pepper added, so I did the same this time, tapping in only pepper. Even without heavy seasoning, you could really taste the meaty flavor of the broth itself, so I kept spooning it up. I also love the thin noodles inside the seolleongtang, and since I ordered the special size, there was plenty of noodles too, which made it even better.

Why this has become my go-to spot

I came for galbitang and ended up eating seolleongtang, then came for seolleongtang and this time ended up trying yukhoe bibimbap too — the more menu items I try, the more I understand why I keep coming back. Especially since the yukhoe bibimbap I tried for the first time this visit was even better than I expected, I think I'll have a hard time deciding what to pair with seolleongtang next time.

If you're trying to figure out lunch near Ansan Jungang Station, or looking for good seolleongtang and yukhoe bibimbap in Seongpo-dong, I'd recommend Morakmorak Seolleongtang Ansan Seongpo Main Branch. It's consistently delicious no matter how many times I go — it really is my go-to spot, haha.