No break time at 3pm: Dongtan mall gomtang restaurant Baekok

Where is Baekok Dongtan?

Baekok Dongtan is a gomtang (bone broth soup) restaurant on B1 of Dongtan Lotte Department Store, at 160 Dongtan-yeok-ro, Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It's open weekdays 10:00-20:00 (last order 19:30) and weekends 10:00-20:30 (last order 20:00), and you can use the Lotte Department Store parking lot.

Hi, it's Zoey! I was meeting a friend at Dongtan Lotte Department Store and our appointment was 3pm ㅜㅜ Too late to call it lunch, too early to call it dinner... I was wondering where to eat at that awkward time, but luckily a lot of restaurants at Dongtan Lotte don't have break-time! I'd been eating greasy food nonstop lately so I was craving Korean food, and I happened to spot this gomtang place, Baekok, so I went straight in haha.

Baekok Dongtan was easy to find since it's on B1 of Lotte Department Store, and best of all, being inside a department store restaurant meant no worries about parking! When making plans by car you always end up thinking about parking first, but here you can just use the department store lot, so that was convenient haha. And I think it's a good option for anyone looking for a place to eat at an awkward time like 3pm~

What we ordered: pork gomtang and dumpling soup

We ordered two dishes at Baekok Dongtan: pork gomtang and mandu-guk (dumpling soup). Since we were sick of greasy food, we went for warm, clean broth dishes.

We ordered: 🍖 pork gomtang 🥟 mandu-guk. I guess because I'd been eating too much greasy food lately, I was really craving something warm and clean with broth that day haha. So I picked gomtang without hesitation~!

How is the meat and broth in Baekok Dongtan's pork gomtang?

Baekok Dongtan's pork gomtang comes with plenty of wide-sliced meat, and the broth is already seasoned enough that you don't need to add extra salt.

I tried the pork gomtang first and the meat was genuinely tender. The pieces were pretty big but not thick or chewy — they were sliced wide, so they were easy to chew. Even though it's pork, I barely noticed the usual gamey pork smell while eating, which I liked. The broth was also seasoned quite saltily so there was no need to add extra salt, I just added a little pepper haha.

With so much meat in there, it went well with rice too. A spoonful of broth, then a bite of meat~ eating like that, I finished the whole bowl before I knew it! Warm broth dishes like this really do leave your stomach feeling comfortable afterward .ᐟ.ᐟ

Dumpling soup and the cabbage dumplings

My friend's mandu-guk (dumpling soup) came with Baekok's signature cabbage dumpling. It's a kimchi dumpling, but the outer wrapper had a cabbage-like feel.

My friend ordered the mandu-guk and that looked good too. I was debating between gomtang and mandu-guk and ended up going with pork gomtang, but next time I'd like to try the mandu-guk too. It might be nice for two people to order different dishes and share haha.

The cabbage dumpling in the mandu-guk is actually Baekok's signature dish! It's a kimchi dumpling but the wrapper feels like cabbage. I tried one and it was delicious~!!!! haha

Side dishes and the self-serve seasonings

The side dishes that came out with the meal were clean and simple, going well with gomtang haha.

It was nice that you could add more salt and pepper to taste~

Mouthwash self-bar, takeout and other department store perks

On one side of Baekok Dongtan, there's a self-serve area with mouthwash and floss, and takeout is also available. It felt like a fitting setup for a department store restaurant, where you go straight into shopping or your next appointment after eating.

There was mouthwash and floss set up on one side of the restaurant — isn't that a nice touch haha. Especially since a lot of people eat and then go straight into shopping or another appointment at the department store, I liked that they'd prepared a way to freshen up quickly after the meal.

Takeout is also available, so it seems like a good option to bring home and share with family too-!

We met at that awkward 3pm slot that day, and it was actually nice not having to worry about break-time. After eating greasy food for so long, having warm Korean food after a while somehow made it taste even better haha. And most of all, being inside Dongtan Lotte Department Store made parking easy and it was convenient to move straight into shopping or another appointment afterward — the location really has clear advantages-!

Who is Baekok Dongtan best for?

Overall, Baekok Dongtan was a great place for a clean, satisfying meal! If you suddenly crave Korean food like I did, or you're looking for somewhere to eat lunch at Dongtan Lotte Department Store, I think it's worth checking out haha. Especially if you've got an appointment at an awkward time like I did and don't want to stress over break-time, looking for a restaurant inside a department store seems like a solid strategy. Next time I'll have to try the mandu-guk I missed out on this time 😻