Rice-in-broth gomtang and kimchi dumplings in Dongtan: Baekok Dongtan

Where is Baekok Dongtan, and what should you know first?

Address: 160 Dongtanyeok-ro, Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, B1 Lotte Department Store

Dish ordered: Pork gomtang set Composition: Pork gomtang + 2 cabbage dumplings Food style: Korean food with clean broth

Baekok is located on the basement 1st floor of Lotte Department Store Dongtan. It's a great spot to eat while shopping at the mall, and also a good option to consider when you're figuring out lunch around Dongtan Station. Especially on a day like today when you crave a warm soup dish, nothing beats gomtang (Korean bone/meat broth soup)!

Here's the menu! Besides pork gomtang, you can also order yeol-gomtang, yak-gomtang, bulkkorangji, and cabbage dumplings separately haha

What comes in the pork gomtang set at Baekok Dongtan

What I ordered today was the pork gomtang set! As you can see in the photo, the gomtang comes generously filled in a big bowl. And true to being a set menu, it comes with 2 cabbage dumplings too.

Personally, when I eat gukbap (rice-in-soup) or gomtang, it's a bit disappointing if there's too little meat, but Baekok's pork gomtang had a pretty generous amount of meat, which I liked. Most of all, the broth was really clean, so I could eat it without feeling weighed down. If you prefer a mild style that lets the ingredients' natural flavor shine rather than a strongly seasoned broth, this might be worth checking out.

Pork gomtang with a generous amount of meat

The first thing that caught my eye was, of course, the meat! How much meat is in your gomtang matters, right? Baekok's pork gomtang had plenty of meat, so with every spoonful I could enjoy meat and rice together.

And what I personally liked was that the rice doesn't come separately — it's already mixed into the broth! Because the rice and broth were combined from the start, it really felt like eating a proper bowl of warm gukbap. The broth naturally soaked into the rice grains, making it good to eat together with the meat. Especially when you want a quick, filling lunch, this style of gomtang is really welcome.

How the broth tastes: clean, mild and never heavy

What impressed me most about this pork gomtang was the broth flavor. Overall, it was very clean and mild! Some people might first think of strong seasoning or greasy flavors when they think of soup dishes. But Baekok's pork gomtang, to me, felt more like a bowl you could eat cleanly rather than something heavy or overwhelming.

Eating meat and rice together, the broth never felt heavy, which I liked. Above all, with this kind of gomtang, the first spoonful is delicious, but the charm is that you naturally keep going until the very last spoonful of broth. I also enjoyed a filling meal with warm broth and rice together. If you usually like clean-broth Korean food, I think you'll be satisfied.

The 2 cabbage dumplings are really kimchi dumplings

And there's another menu item you can't leave out from the pork gomtang set! The 2 cabbage dumplings. 🥟 At first, hearing 'cabbage dumplings,' I thought they'd be mild dumplings filled with cabbage, but the dumplings I actually ate turned out to be kimchi dumplings!

Eating the dumplings, packed full of filling, together with the gomtang was a pretty good combination. If the gomtang is clean and mild overall, the kimchi dumplings added a different kind of flavor. Taking a bite of kimchi dumpling while eating the mild gomtang changed the mood of the flavors, making it fun to eat back and forth. And since 2 dumplings come with the set, it was nice to be able to enjoy a more varied meal than just gomtang alone.

Personally, the combination of gomtang and kimchi dumplings was quite satisfying. 👍

Deciding where to eat lunch in Dongtan?

When you're trying to eat lunch in Dongtan, there really are so many options, right? But sometimes, rather than something strongly seasoned, there are days you just want a hearty bowl of rice with warm broth. That's when a Korean dish like gomtang comes to mind.

Baekok's pork gomtang set was:

• Generous with meat
• Easy to eat since the rice comes already mixed into the broth
• Clean and mild in broth flavor
• A chance to enjoy 2 kimchi dumplings alongside it

Since it's located on the basement 1st floor of Lotte Department Store Dongtan, I think it's a good reference point for those looking for a place to eat while visiting the mall. If you want to take it to go, they pack it up neatly like this haha

If you want a filling meal, or if you're craving clean-broth Korean food, this could be a good place to visit.

If you're looking for a lunch spot in Dongtan, or craving a warm soup dish, consider Baekok's pork gomtang set. I had a hearty meal with meat-packed gomtang and kimchi dumplings on the side, and left well fed!