Gopchang restaurant in Geomdan, Incheon where staff grill: Hwang Gop

Hi, I'm a food influencer! Today I'm introducing a restaurant to know in Geomdan New Town, Incheon.

Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch

Where is Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch, and is there a wait?

Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch is a gopchang restaurant within a 10-minute walk of Ara Station. I heard it was a place people line up for, and sure enough, it was packed.

Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch sits among lots of apartment complexes and isn't a huge space, but it's popular enough that people wait for a table.

Inside Hwang Gop: the room and the full menu

The interior of Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch was clean and well designed, with the kitchen clearly visible, showing they cared about hygiene. Since it's a gopchang place, they keep food smells from clinging to your things by minimizing storage — you can tuck your bag under your seat.

I liked that they placed food photos around the restaurant so you could see the menu at a glance. Mixed grill, gopchang grill, daechang grill, daechang hot pot, small gopchang hot pot, yukhoe — just looking at the menu made me hungry.

Inside Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch there's a self-bar, so it was convenient to help yourself to more of whatever you were running low on without feeling awkward.

The menu included mixed grill, gopchang grill, daechang grill, daechang hot pot, small gopchang hot pot, and yukhoe, and I ordered the mixed grill.

How to get the most out of a Hwang Gop meal

• Start with the fresh yukhoe and cool muksabal that come as standard sides!
• Staff grill the meat for you to perfection
• Use the self-bar for extra side dishes
• Don't skip the fried rice
• Please cooperate when staff adjust the flame

Yukhoe comes free as a side dish

The complimentary side dishes at Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch include yukhoe, muksabal, pickled onions, scallion salad, and wild garlic leaves, all of which paired nicely with the rich, fatty gopchang. Yukhoe as a free side dish?! I ate it while waiting for the food to arrive, and it made me even more excited for the gopchang. Since the yukhoe was so fresh, I figured the gopchang would be fresh too.

Hwang Gop mixed platter for two, 42,000 won

The Hwang Gop mixed platter (2 servings) at 42,000 won came with gopchang, makchang, daechang, beef heart, and pork belly-brisket all at once. If you want to try a bit of everything, this mixed platter is the way to go.

The gopchang was truly tender and packed full of gop (fat) inside — I could see why this place has a waiting line. The staff grilled it perfectly for us, so we didn't have to lift a finger.

The daechang was truly plump, big, and soft — if you love daechang, you have to try this.

I love makchang, and Hwang Gop's makchang had a great chewy texture — while eating it, I thought I was glad I'd ordered the mixed grill so I could try everything.

Lastly, the pork belly-brisket was tender and melt-in-your-mouth — it made total sense why it's included in the mixed platter, the flavors were so harmonious.

Jangteo whelk bibim noodles, 7,000 won

The jangteo whelk bibim noodles are 7,000 won. Whelk bibim noodles?! I was so curious. I'd been craving golbaeng-i somyeon (whelk noodles) lately, so I was thrilled to find it right here.

The sauce really makes or breaks bibim noodles, and Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch's sauce was just right — not too sour, not too spicy. The vegetables, seaweed flakes, and kimchi blended nicely, and with the whelk mixed in it was similar to golbaeng-i somyeon, but at a more reasonable price, which made me like it even more. It also cuts through the richness of the gopchang, so I'd recommend having them together.

Hwang Gop hours and address

Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch is open Mon–Thu 15:00–24:00 and Fri–Sat 15:00–01:00, at 420 Ieum 1-ro, Sangga-dong 1F No.9, Geomdan-gu, Incheon, South Korea.