Paju Simhaksan mandu restaurant, spicy hot pot for two: Bubyeokjeong

Bubyeokjeong Pyeongyang Mandu: Location and Parking

Bubyeokjeong Pyeongyang Mandu (부벽정평양만두), a North Korean-style mandu hot pot restaurant in Paju, sits near the Paju Lotte Outlet and Paju Book City. There are lots of big cafés with great desserts and sightseeing spots nearby, so it's a good stop to combine with a drive!

There's a large parking lot in front of the restaurant. You register your car when you dine here, so driving there was really convenient.

Weekday Lunch Wait and Atmosphere

You order through a kiosk at each table. The restaurant opens at 11, and even on a weekday a line had formed by around 11:30, so it's clearly a popular spot. Even at weekday lunch, the big hall and its many seats were packed with customers, a real Paju Simhaksan favorite. True to a place known for mild North Korean-style dumplings, there were lots of families who'd brought their elders. They also have baby chairs, which makes it a good Paju spot for a family meal!

A booklet explaining the best way to enjoy Bubyeokjeong!

Bubyeokjeong Menu Overview

Led by the signature hot pot, there are also meal options like mandu soup and jjabagi (a spicy braised stew), and for summer they've added pyeongyang naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles). Besides the hot pot and earthenware-pot dishes that elders enjoy, there's a kids' mandu soup too, so this Paju North Korean-style mandu hot pot restaurant seems great for a family meal.

We ordered the North Korean-style mandu hot pot for two in the spicy version, plus the beef shank suyuk (boiled sliced beef). You can choose a mild or spicy broth for the hot pot. Spicy broth is set out at the self bar, so you can change the flavor yourself.

Half Plate of Beef Shank Suyuk

Half plate of beef shank suyuk

We ordered a half plate of beef shank suyuk as a side. Eating the moist, tender beef shank with fragrant chives makes it feel healthier! Maybe because it's hanwoo (Korean beef) shank, the meaty flavor was rich, and the meat was soft and clean-tasting. Delicious.

Adding fragrant chives to the tender, mild suyuk

A generous, neatly arranged table, as you'd expect from a Paju North Korean-style mandu hot pot restaurant! It looks tidy and clean, so it would be a good place to bring elders.

What's in the Mandu Hot Pot for Two

The mandu hot pot also comes with beef shank suyuk as standard. It's a generous mix of suyuk, bok choy, assorted mushrooms, napa cabbage and bean sprouts. Thickly sliced beef shank, mushrooms, bean sprouts and bok choy give the broth a cool, deep flavor. With so many vegetables, the hot pot is healthy and mild, so everyone from kids to elders can enjoy it without any fuss. It's a great North Korean-style mandu hot pot place for a Paju family meal.

Simmer the Mandu for Just 2–3 Minutes

The hot pot comes with steamed mandu and kalguksu (knife-cut noodles). At Bubyeokjeong, the hot pot includes 4 dumplings per person, and you can order extra, which makes it even more generous. Since the dumplings come already steamed, you only simmer them briefly in the broth until they're warm through. 2–3 minutes is enough, and adding them one at a time as you eat keeps them from bursting.

Side Dishes and Kimchi

Neat side dishes that showed the skill of a Korean-food master. This kimchi in particular went really well with the mild North Korean-style hot pot, the Pyeongyang dumplings and the kalguksu noodles.

Add the vegetables to the cool, mild broth, simmer briefly until the dumplings are warm, then scoop them out with your favorite vegetables. The mild but well-stuffed North Korean-style hot pot has a flavor that wins over adults and kids alike. Even after eating a lot, it doesn't sit heavy, so it's good for a family meal with elders.

Self Corner and Dessert Corner

The self corner has side dishes and various utensils, and there's a microwave, so it seems handy for warming baby food too.

After the meal, we enjoyed misutgaru (roasted grain drink) and traditional snacks from the dessert corner.

Nutty misutgaru and sweet, crunchy nostalgic snacks made the meal even more fun and filling. A Paju restaurant that's great to bring your parents to: Bubyeokjeong Pyeongyang Mandu!