Ansan Korean restaurant, autumn handmade tofu hotpot set: Yeongwolae

Where is Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch, and where do you park?

Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch (영월애곤드레 안산점) is on the 2nd floor of Gojan Praum City near Ansan City Hall. If you park in the building's underground garage, you get 2 hours free. It is open daily from 10:40 to 20:50.

The above-ground lot where you can see the Yeongwolae Gondre sign is a paid public lot run by the Ansan city corporation, so parking there isn't covered! It costs ₩600 per 30 minutes, and apparently it's free all day on Sundays and public holidays.

Waiting and reservations at Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan

You can join the waitlist at the Tabling machine inside the restaurant, and you can also reserve through Naver. That's why there are so many reservation guests, too.

If you're from Ansan you probably know this: it's near City Hall and there are lots of offices around, so almost every restaurant in the Gojan Praum City building is a hit... And Yeongwolae Gondre is always packed.

There's a waiting area, so waiting is comfortable.

Atmosphere: is it good for family meals and gatherings?

The inside of Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan is spacious and the tables are nicely spaced, so it's easy to chat without it being noisy. It's clean and pleasant, and the mood works for a date, a gathering, or a meal with anyone.

There's plenty of seating and separate rooms too, so it seems fine for family dinners and group gatherings. Korean restaurants are often where people bring their parents, and I liked the calm atmosphere and the friendly staff.

Baby chairs are available too.

Yeongwolae Gondre menu

Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan serves set meals (한상차림 정식) that pair gondre rice with a variety of side dishes. There are the Korean-restaurant staples like the Yeongwol spicy pork set, grilled mackerel set and country-style strong doenjang (soybean paste stew) set, plus signature items like the Namdo seasoned cockle set, Jeju soy-marinated crab set and brass-bowl fresh bulgogi set.

Ordering the autumn soft tofu hotpot set and the spicy pork set

• Yeongwol spicy pork set (₩18,000) x 2
• Soft tofu hotpot set made with Korean beans (₩20,000) x 2

I ordered the autumn seasonal soft tofu hotpot set and the signature Yeongwol spicy pork set.

What side dishes come with the gondre rice set?

The Yeongwolae set arrives as a neat, generous spread of gondre rice, lots of side dishes and a main dish. I normally don't eat much rice, but at Yeongwolae I keep tasting a bit of each side dish with my rice and finish the whole bowl in no time! It's the place I think of when I want a proper, filling meal 🤍

Side dishes like these are surprisingly hard to make at home.. The green namul (seasoned greens) is fragrant and mild, so I kept reaching for it, and the mushroom and bangpung (coastal hog fennel) salad has a tangy kick that's perfect for waking up your appetite before the meal. The basic cabbage kimchi was clean and moderately spicy. The lotus root with sesame sauce was nutty and a little sweet, a real highlight! The doraji (bellflower root) in sweet-spicy seasoning and the seaweed with chojang (vinegared chili sauce) were neatly served too.

Seaweed soup comes with it as well, so there's soup included by default, which makes the set well rounded.

How does the soft tofu hotpot taste?

The soft tofu hotpot comes in a wide pot piled with thickly sliced handmade tofu, a variety of mushrooms like enoki and oyster mushrooms, and vegetables like zucchini. The seaweed soup was clean and tasty too, but I ordered the tofu hotpot separately as my main.

Once it bubbles up, you just dig in. I went in the evening, and with the weather getting chilly I was craving something hot and brothy, so it was perfect!

The tofu is clearly softer and milder than regular tofu, and the spicy, deep broth was even better than I expected.

What about the Yeongwol spicy pork?

Need I even say anything about the Yeongwol spicy pork? Sweet-spicy seasoning plus a flame-grilled smoky flavor that anyone would love.

Self-serve corner, dessert, delivery and side dishes to buy

Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan has a self-serve corner where you can get extra helpings of some side dishes, wrap vegetables and even rice.

There's sikhye (sweet rice drink) and plum tea, so you can finish with dessert~

Delivery is available too, and quite a lot of delivery orders come in.

You can buy the side dishes too!

They sell snacks as well~~ If you're looking for a clean, filling Korean restaurant in Ansan, I recommend Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch! 🤍🤍