Korean restaurant lunch with a baby, revisited with a cold: Baekok

I've been thinking about Baekok Dongtan ever since my last visit blew me away with how good it felt going down, so I came back again! Haha. This day, too, I was craving a rich, hot broth, so I headed straight there with the baby, no hesitation at all :)

Baekok Dongtan's location and seating

During real peak hours a lot of places don't have shared seating available, but this spot has tables right out front where you can eat, which I honestly prefer haha. It's on basement level 1 of Lotte Department Store, near Sisihosi and Isungdang.

Menu and prices

The menu ranges from the clean, basic pork gomtang (₩11,000) to the tonic-style yak-gomtang (₩16,000) that feels extra nourishing, plus the specialty cabbage dumpling soup (₩13,000).

There's also a wallet-friendly kids' gukbap (rice soup, ₩7,000), which makes this the perfect spot to feed a baby while shopping at the department store. I actually saw two kids' gomtang bowls being eaten by an elementary school kid at the table right in front of us haha.

The spicy gomtang set again

We ordered the spicy gomtang set again without hesitation — the spiciness is the whole appeal! The set comes with a generous bowl of gomtang, two cabbage dumplings, and a soda, all together, and they really go well with each other. There's a Naver receipt review event going on right now too, so don't miss out on the cabbage dumplings! The dumplings here are seriously memorable. The gomtang is great, but next time I want to try the dumpling soup too!

They also have a specialty dish called bulggorangi (spicy braised tail) here haha. It looks unusual too, so it's something I want to try at least once~!

A proper table, made toreom-style

After ordering and waiting a bit, a neat spread arrives. It's made using the traditional toreom method, where hot broth is poured over the rice several times, so the broth really soaks into every grain of rice — it's the real deal.

The cabbage dumplings that come with the set are a specialty I'm amazed by every single time I visit T_T. I used to only eat thin-skinned dumplings because I don't like flour, but who knew dumplings this genius existed! T_T_T_T Seriously, I want to recommend this side dish to everyone~

When you gently stir in the spicy chili paste hiding beneath the green onions, you get a red broth that looks like it'll clear your head just by looking at it!

Inside the cute cabbage wrapping, kimchi and meat are packed full — the soft cabbage skin paired with the spicy filling is so satisfying eaten alongside the gomtang that you feel like you'll burst. Dipping it lightly in the broth is also delicious ♥

The spicy gomtang broth and meat

The spicy gomtang broth is refreshing and packed with heat — the best! There's plenty of chili paste mixed in too.

The portion of meat is really generous too — every scoop of the spoon brings up a big chunk of meat. And the meat is so tender that it cuts easily with just a light press of the spoon, so even kids who won't eat meat if it's even slightly chewy would do really well with this.

I ended up sweating buckets and scraping the bowl clean, not a drop of broth left.

Back again with a cold coming on

The funny thing is, right after enjoying that meal so much, the following week my body started feeling chilly and a cold started coming on T_T. My throat was scratchy and I was cold, so without even thinking about it I ran straight to the department store and bought the exact same spicy gomtang set again lol.

Surprisingly, after finishing a whole bowl of rice in that spicy, piping-hot broth and sweating it all out, I felt really good — like I'd had a proper meal.

Baekok is a great Hwaseong gomtang restaurant, whether you want it as a hearty tonic meal when you're feeling run down, or as a spicy hangover cure. It's great to enjoy properly at the store, and also great to take home and simmer up yourself — I genuinely recommend it to anyone craving hot broth as the seasons change :)