Gyeongju Bomun rib hot pot, first table at 11 a.m. opening: Hyoeunok

What are the hours and parking at Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch?

Hyoeunok Gyeongju Branch is open daily from 11:00 to 21:00, with a break from 15:00 to 17:00 and last order at 20:00. For parking, use the private lot next to the restaurant. If it's full, there's a free public lot across from the main entrance.

How many Bone-verest does Hyoeunok sell a day?

Hyoeunok is near Bomun Resort in Gyeongju, and the Bone-verest, piled up like a mountain, seems to be the popular dish. But they only sell 30 Bone-verest a day!

Is there a seat if you go at opening time?

The inside of Hyoeunok is clean, and there's group seating too. We went right at opening, so we were the first customers. As time passed, the seats filled up one by one.

Receipt review event: a Cheomseongdae Tteokgalbi

Hyoeunok also runs a receipt review event. If you write a review, they give you a Cheomseongdae Tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patty). Give it a try!

Hyoeunok menu and prices

• Gyeongju Minari Beef Rib Hot Pot 5-Item Set ₩65,900
• Giryeok Ppangppang Whole Ox Stew (stamina soup) ₩25,000
• Bone-Packed Rib Soup ₩18,000
• Hyoeunok Premium Hanwoo Gomtang (beef bone soup) ₩15,000
• Sides: National Treasure No. 31 Cheomseongdae Tteokgalbi ₩8,000, Juicy Hanwoo Tteokgalbi ₩12,900, Full-Stuffed Galbi Mandu (dumplings) ₩7,000
• Snowflake Beef Belly and Intestine Hot Pot: medium (2 people) ₩44,000, large (3–4 people) ₩74,000
• Special menu: Minari Hanwoo Soy Sauce Yukhoe Bibimbap ₩13,000, Minari Hanwoo Yukhoe Mulhoe (cold raw beef soup) ₩14,000, Gyeongju Minari Hanwoo Yukhoe Makguksu (buckwheat noodles) ₩14,000, Hanwoo Soboro Bibimbap ₩9,900

We ordered the Bone-verest Original 5-Item Set.

The best order for eating the rib hot pot

There's also a guide on one side of Hyoeunok to eating the rib hot pot well, so have a look. They say the perfect order is beef shabu, then kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), then gondre porridge.

Side dishes and the self-serve corner

The basic side dishes at Hyoeunok are kimchi and kkakdugi (radish kimchi). They were well fermented and tangy, and really good.

If you run short on side dishes, just take as much as you'll eat. There's broth too. There was also salted squid (ojingeo jeotgal) that wasn't among the regular sides, and it was delicious!

Bone-verest at medium spice: how did it taste?

After a short wait, our Bone-verest came out! The look of it is amazing, right? The quality is no joke. Big beef ribs were stacked neatly like a mountain. The portion was generous too. The staff told us to boil it once before eating.

The meat really comes off the bone easily. It's tender yet chewy. Rich and clean-tasting, so good! The broth is deep, cool and refreshing with a slight kick, a bit spicy. You can choose the spice level for Bone-verest: mild, medium or spicy. We chose medium.

The portions are generous, so it's a really good Korean restaurant to bring the whole family!

How do you eat the beef shabu in the 5-item set?

The Bone-verest 5-Item Set comes with beef. You put it into the hot pot to eat.

If the broth runs low, you can add more. We put all the beef into the boiling broth. The meat is thin, so it cooks quickly.

Lean beef with vegetables, lightly dipped in soy sauce, was so good. Fragrant minari (water dropwort), crunchy napa cabbage and bean sprouts came together in a hot pot full of flavor. The broth is really clean too.

The beef just keeps going down! Kids would love this! The meat isn't tough either, which made it even better.

Scoop out some broth before adding the kalguksu noodles

After eating a fair amount of beef, we added the kalguksu noodles! If you love the broth, scoop some onto a plate beforehand. The clean broth changes in flavor once the noodles go in.

The noodles are chewy, and eaten with sour aged kimchi, the combo is the best.

Finishing with gondre porridge

The Bone-verest finishes with gondre porridge! We left some broth and added gondre rice (thistle rice)!

It was nicely salty, seasoned just right! After the gondre porridge too, I felt like I'd burst. If you're traveling in Gyeongju and want a hearty meal near Bomun Resort, give Hyoeunok a visit. It seems good for kids to eat too. And with the weather getting chilly, a warm hot pot melts you right down.