After-work claypot rice dinner for 4 in Sanbon: Dongyang Sotbap

It was one of those days when I wanted a hearty meal after work! When I think of a filling dinner, Korean food usually comes to mind, but I wanted something filling that's also easy to eat, so I thought, hmm, what's there~? Right in front of Wonkwang University Hospital in Sanbon there's a claypot rice place I love, so I went without a second thought ෆ

It combines the best of claypot rice and rice bowls (deopbap), so it's filling and tasty, and the prices are kind too. It's great for an after-work meal or when you're visiting Wonkwang University Hospital. Here's my record of the day I ate claypot rice at Dongyang Sotbap Sanbon (동양솥밥 산본점) 🤎

Dongyang Sotbap Sanbon: location, hours and parking

Dongyang Sotbap Sanbon is on the 2nd floor of the building at 10-18 Sanbon-ro 323beon-gil, Gunpo-si, Gyeonggi, South Korea, a 3-minute walk from Sanbon Station on Line 4. It's open daily 11:00-22:00 (last order 21:00). For parking you need to use the Sanbon Jungsim Sanggga public parking lot, as the restaurant doesn't offer any parking support.

Sanbon Rodeo Street has so many restaurants that there's tons of variety, so I go often, but it can also feel chaotic and sometimes keeps me away. Dongyang Sotbap Sanbon is on the 2nd floor of a building and clean inside and out, so it was nice for a family meal too.

There are really so many kinds of claypot rice that it feels easy no matter who you bring, which is probably why I come so often haha. Let's go inside!

Is Dongyang Sotbap Sanbon good for groups?

The interior is bigger and tidier than I expected. It looks good for eating solo, but also for coming in a group. We went as a party of four, and since the place is spacious it felt much more comfortable than other branches I've been to haha

Dongyang Sotbap Sanbon menu

The menu runs from Korean to Japanese and even Chinese-style claypot rice and sides.

• Jikabi daechang claypot rice / pork neck claypot rice / spicy pork neck claypot rice / gyudon (beef bowl) claypot rice
• Spicy minari octopus claypot rice / buta hajeong (pork jowl) claypot rice / aged kimchi pork belly claypot rice
• Seasonal greens claypot rice / minari pork jowl claypot rice / spicy Chinese-style pork jowl claypot rice
• Eel claypot rice / spicy gyudon claypot rice / yakitori claypot rice / Dongyang eggplant claypot rice
• Namdo cockle claypot rice / dongpayuk (braised pork belly) claypot rice / Wando abalone claypot rice / steak claypot rice
• Honey kkwabaerou (Chinese-style sweet and sour pork) / Dongyang pork cutlet / menbosha (shrimp toast)

The menu is so varied and everything looked good, so I agonized over what to eat. In the end we ordered minari pork jowl / Namdo cockle / pork neck / aged kimchi pork belly, and added honey kkwabaerou 🤍

Nurungji served separately, 10-20 minutes to cook

Unlike typical claypot rice, Dongyang Sotbap serves the scorched rice (nurungji) separately, like a soup. I actually liked that the rice and nurungji don't get mixed, and I didn't have to scoop the rice out first and then make the nurungji, so eating was quite easy. It's cooked to order, so the claypot rice took about 10-20 minutes to come out.

Four claypot rice dishes and guobaorou for four: how they tasted

Four people ordering four claypot rice bowls plus kkwabaerou made for a full table 🤎

We ordered pork neck, aged kimchi pork belly, minari pork jowl and Namdo cockle, and the toppings on the rice were seriously generous, like a finished dish sitting on top of each bowl.

Aged kimchi pork belly claypot rice

Aged kimchi pork belly claypot rice is hard for any Korean to dislike. It has not only aged kimchi and pork belly but tofu too, like a whole kimchi jjim (braised kimchi) set on top of the rice,

Pork neck claypot rice

The pork neck bowl also came piled with pork cooked with a flame-grilled feel. Rice bowls often disappoint on the amount of meat, but Dongyang Sotbap really piles it on, so just looking at it said pork! neck! bowl!, and I think that made it even tastier.

Namdo cockle claypot rice

The Namdo cockle claypot rice was also loaded with cockles.. 🤎

Minari pork jowl claypot rice

Personally, the minari pork jowl claypot rice was the one I was most curious about,

The seasoned pork jowl, minari (water dropwort) and egg went together in both flavor and texture, and the more I ate, the more I kept reaching for it.

How much does Dongyang Sotbap Sanbon cost?

All the claypot rice at Dongyang Sotbap Sanbon was in the low ₩10,000s. With the nurungji included, the claypot rice set alone was really filling, and all in the low ₩10,000s?! 🤍🤎 Isn't that a seriously kind price in this era of high prices 🥹

Is the honey guobaorou worth adding?

The honey kkwabaerou we ordered alongside went with the claypot rice better than expected, so I felt like I had an even more filling meal at a Sanbon favorite. Next time I want a hearty dinner after work, I'm going again 🤍🤎