Ara-dong clam restaurant with a 14,000-won soup and bossam set

Here's the story of Taegine Jogae Jeongol, a restaurant in Geomdan New Town, and its bossam set in Ara-dong.

Where Taegine Jogae Jeongol Geomdan Ara Branch is, its hours and parking

Taegine Jogae Jeongol Geomdan Ara Branch is located at 1F, 24 Ieum 5-ro, Geomdan-gu, Incheon (1040-1 Wondang-dong, Geomdan-gu, Incheon). Hours are Mon–Fri 11:00–22:00 (break 15:00–16:00) and Sat–Sun 11:00–22:00 (no break), with free parking available.

I visited Taegine Jogae Jeongol, a great-value restaurant in Geomdan New Town.

Parking at Taegine Jogae Jeongol in Ara-dong was conveniently free in the building's basement lot. If you mention it on your way out, they'll register your parking.

The hall had a casual, bright vibe. It's quite spacious too, with group tables, so it's a great place for family gatherings or work dinners in Ara-dong.

Taegine clam hot pot prices and the full menu

Here's the price and menu info for Taegine, a well-known clam hot pot restaurant in Ara-dong.

• Clam hot pot for 2: ₩52,000
• Clam hot pot for 3: ₩70,000
• Clam hot pot for 4: ₩88,000
• Special clam hot pot: ₩106,000

Taegine, a restaurant in Geomdan New Town specializing in clam hot pot, offers a range of options starting with the signature clam hot pot for two at ₩52,000, up to the special version — a hot pot for four with a choice of octopus, abalone, tiger shrimp, or beef added as a topping.

The 14,000-won tang-bossam set, orderable for one person

You might wonder if solo diners can order at all — but there's this tang-bossam set, which includes hot pot-style dishes like seafood stew and clam hot pot that can be ordered in single portions, which I loved. Taegine's tang-bossam set is also great for two people wanting a simple lunch, or when everyone wants something different — clam soup, spicy seafood stew, pollack stew, take your pick. It's affordable too, at ₩14,000 per person, so I ordered two portions of the tang-bossam set.

There's also a grilled garlic shrimp event going on, so it might be worth joining in.

What comes with the tang-bossam set: clam soup choice and included kalguksu noodles

The tang-bossam set lets you choose a soup to go with the bossam, and I chose clam soup from among spicy seafood stew, clam soup, and pollack stew.

It felt like a scaled-down version of Taegine's clam hot pot, but with kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) noodles included too, so it was a really great-value combo.

Barley rice and ice cream at Taegine's self-bar

The self-bar also had barley rice, great as an appetizer, and ice cream for dessert, which made the meal feel even more generous.

This is roughly the amount of bossam you get for two people in the set — just the right amount to enjoy as a side dish at lunch.

How the clam soup and bossam tasted

The broth, fully steeped with a variety of clams like scallops and hard clams, was really refreshing and delicious. Taegine's clams were as fresh as they look in the photos, and everything, right down to the small clams, had been well de-sanded, so it was really tasty to eat.

The bossam was soft and never dry, with no gamey smell, so it was delicious too. It was great on its own with the pollack roe sauce, and just as good wrapped up with the dried radish strips.

Finishing with kalguksu noodles in the clam soup broth

Since the kalguksu noodles were included by default, there was no need to order rice or extra noodles separately. Noodles boiled in that refreshing clam soup broth couldn't possibly be anything but delicious. It was nice to be able to enjoy tasty seafood kalguksu right in the neighborhood without having to travel all the way to Yeongjongdo or Ganghwado.

That wraps up my review of Taegine Jogae Jeongol, a great-value seafood spot near Ara Station.