Family lunch after Bucheon Eco Park with kids' menu: Hanchon

After a long walk and play session with my kid at Bucheon Natural Ecological Park, lunchtime rolled around and I started getting hungry. I looked for somewhere nearby that would work for all ages, and that's how I found Hanchon Seolleongtang Bucheon Kkachiul Station Branch.

Seolleongtang (ox bone soup) is a safe pick that's easy to eat with kids, so I chose it for our family meal. After actually visiting, from the parking to the atmosphere to the food, everything made for a comfortable meal, so I wanted to recommend it.

Why it's a great spot near Bucheon Natural Ecological Park

Hanchon Seolleongtang Kkachiul Station Branch is a great place to eat after enjoying a walk or outing at Bucheon Natural Ecological Park. If you, like us, spend time at the ecological park and then look for somewhere for lunch, this fits nicely into the course.

Zero parking stress

What I especially liked was the parking! There's a large parking area in front of the restaurant, so I had zero parking stress. Eating out with a kid can be exhausting from the start if parking is a hassle, but here it was easy, and I loved that.

Also, maybe because it's a standalone building, the restaurant felt very spacious and clean. It looked good for family visits and large enough for groups too. Baby chairs are, of course, available.

The menu and the three dishes we ordered

Once seated, you order via table order (a tablet at the table). We picked three menu items.

• Seolleongtang x1
• Spicy Eolkeun-Seolleongtang x1
• Children's Seolleongtang x1

Since I was visiting with a kid, I really appreciate places that have a children's menu.

Clean, mild basic seolleongtang

First we tried the basic seolleongtang. Hanchon's seolleongtang was close to the classic, clean, tasty version we all picture. There was no gamy smell in the broth, and it was clean and mild — easy to eat without any worry.

By default, the rice comes already mixed into the broth, but this time I wanted to eat the rice and broth separately, so I ordered the rice-separate version.

There was a generous amount of thin noodles (somyeon) and quite a lot of meat too. Seolleongtang broth alone can feel a bit plain, but eating it with the noodles and meat made for a pretty filling bowl.

Rice mixed into the broth was actually tastier

But the children's seolleongtang came with the rice already mixed into the broth. Watching my kid eat, I took a spoonful myself, and having the rice mixed in actually made the broth taste better. The rice grains had soaked up enough of the broth that it felt much smoother and richer than just drinking the broth alone.

So next time, I think I'll order the basic seolleongtang with the rice mixed in too.

It probably depends on personal taste, but I personally preferred the rice mixed in. There was a note about this on the table, which I only noticed after ordering.

The children's seolleongtang portion is pretty generous too

The children's seolleongtang we ordered for my kid had a better-than-expected portion size. I thought the kids' version would be quite small, but it was more generous than expected, with plenty of meat too. When eating seolleongtang with a kid, it's disappointing if there isn't much meat, so I was glad there was plenty.

Most importantly, I liked that it wasn't spicy or strongly seasoned, making it easy to eat with a kid. If you're visiting Bucheon Natural Ecological Park with a child and wondering what to have for lunch, this kind of menu would be really convenient.

The spicy eolkeun-seolleongtang was spicier than expected!

Out of curiosity, I also ordered the spicy eolkeun-seolleongtang. From the name, I expected it to be just mildly spicy, but it turned out properly spicy. It's clearly a different dish from the regular seolleongtang, so I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a spicy broth.

I especially liked that it had quite a lot of vegetables like green onion. Eating it, it felt more like yukgaejang (spicy beef and vegetable soup) than seolleongtang at times.

The glass noodles scattered throughout were also a nice touch. Eating the glass noodles along with the spicy broth worked really well, and I kept fishing them out. If you prefer a spicy, punchy broth over the usual clear, mild seolleongtang, the eolkeun-seolleongtang is worth trying.

All the rice you want at the self-serve bar!

Hanchon Seolleongtang Kkachiul Station Branch also has a self-serve bar where you can get unlimited rice. Sometimes you want to add more rice to your broth while eating seolleongtang, and it's great to be able to just grab more from the self-serve bar if you run out. Not having to worry about running short is a big plus. Big eaters would really love this.

A great place to eat near Kkachiul Station after a Bucheon Natural Ecological Park outing

Overall, everything we tried was mild and not overly seasoned, making it a good seolleongtang restaurant for a family meal out. Especially with a kid, it's often hard to decide what to order, but here you can choose according to taste, from the basic seolleongtang to the children's seolleongtang to the spicy eolkeun-seolleongtang.

I ordered the rice-separate version this time, but after trying the children's seolleongtang, the rice-mixed-in version felt tastier, so next time I plan to order mine with the rice mixed in too.

A tip about Bucheon Love Gift Certificates

Here's a bonus tip!! Apparently you can get Bucheon Love Gift Certificates here. If you buy a ticket for Bucheon Luminare Dohwamong at the Bucheon ecological park, Bucheon residents get ₩6,000 back and visitors from other areas get ₩3,000 back as Bucheon Love Gift Certificates. You can use that to come here and buy seolleongtang — such a steal! 🤩🤩

Luminare looked really cool and I'd already been meaning to go, so now I'll definitely go, get the gift certificate, and use it to come eat seolleongtang here.

If you're looking for a good restaurant near Kkachiul Station or Bucheon Natural Ecological Park, I recommend Hanchon Seolleongtang Kkachiul Station Branch as a place to visit with kids. Walking and playing at Bucheon Natural Ecological Park, then coming back for a warm bowl of seolleongtang, makes for a perfect little outing.

One more little tip: there's an arcade game machine at the entrance, and a spot next to the parking lot where you can watch rabbits.