Namdong Korean restaurant spicy tripe hot pot course: Gukdam

Lately, whenever evening rolls around, I keep craving a hot, spicy soup dish. So this time, I went to Gukdam Sundaeguk Main Branch, where you can have both sundae-guk (Korean sausage soup) and gopchang jeongol (spicy beef offal hot pot). There are quite a few soup-and-rice places in Ganseok-dong, but Gukdam Sundaeguk Main Branch serves not only sundae-guk but also Hanwoo beef tripe hot pot, so it looked like a nice spot for dinner and a drink, too. After trying it, what I especially liked was the course of hot pot, extra udon noodles, and then fried rice at the end, haha.

Gukdam Sundaeguk Main Branch location and hours

Gukdam Sundaeguk Main Branch Address: 1F, 8 Namdong-daero 897beon-gil, Namdong-gu, Incheon Hours: 10:00–22:00 I recommend checking the hours once more before visiting.

A two-person meal chosen on the ordering tablet

At the restaurant, you order using the tablet at your table. It was convenient because we could take our time looking through the menu and prices without having to call a staff member over.

• Hanwoo beef tripe hot pot: ₩15,000 per person
• Sundae-guk: ₩10,000
• Extra udon noodles: ₩2,000
• DIY fried rice: ₩3,000
• Zero Coke: ₩2,000
• Coke: ₩2,000
• Total: ₩34,000

We did not just have the tripe hot pot—we properly ate everything from sundae-guk to the noodles and fried rice—and ₩34,000 for two felt like a fair price. In particular, if you are looking for tripe hot pot in Ganseok-dong and want sundae-guk as well, it seems easy to put together a good combination here.

The basic side dishes included kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), seasoned chives, and peppers. Such a perfect spread to snack on between bites of sundae-guk and tripe hot pot!

You can also bring over any extra side dishes you need from the self-service bar!

Milky sundae-guk served in an earthenware bowl

I started with the sundae-guk, which arrived piping hot in an earthenware bowl. It had plenty of scallions on top, and the broth was the pale, milky kind.

It also looked like a good place to come just for one bowl of sundae-guk and rice, so it is worth noting for anyone looking for gukbap (rice soup) in Ganseok-dong.

The sundae was tasty and the meat was tender, so it was absolutely made for polishing off rice.

Hanwoo beef tripe hot pot simmered spicy

And of course, the star of the day was the Hanwoo beef tripe hot pot! From the moment it arrived, it was generously piled with tripe in the center, along with lots of vegetables such as perilla leaves and napa cabbage. You simmer it right at the table, and once it started bubbling away, even the aroma was seriously good, haha.

The broth is red and spicy. As the rich flavor from the tripe blended into the broth, it became deeper and tasted even better after simmering than it did at first. It was not one of those hot pots where you struggle to find a piece or two of tripe—there was a decent amount in every spoonful. It went nicely with the fragrant perilla leaves, too. Personally, I thought it would be a great dish with a drink at dinner.

But it would be a shame to stop here, right?

Finish with extra udon noodles and DIY fried rice

After we had eaten down the hot-pot broth a bit, we added udon sari (extra udon noodles). The udon noodles soaked in the hot-pot broth were tastier than I expected. The broth was already deeply flavored, so the seasoning clung perfectly to the noodles. If you love noodles like I do, I recommend adding the udon, haha. If you want a really filling meal, adding udon to the hot pot gives you quite a generous portion.

Last up: DIY fried rice!

You add rice, seaweed flakes, and more to the remaining broth and ingredients, then stir-fry it yourself. It is funny how, even after saying you are full from the hot pot, fried rice somehow still goes down... I let it get just a little crisp on the bottom, and it was nutty and spicy—such a good finish. Personally, I recommend the order: tripe hot pot → udon noodles → fried rice. Gukdam Sundaeguk Main Branch was so satisfying because we could enjoy everything from sundae-guk to Hanwoo beef tripe hot pot in one go.

If you are visiting alone, sundae-guk is a great choice; if there are two or more of you, the tripe hot pot with noodles and fried rice looks like the way to go. Especially if you enjoy a spicy broth, this Ganseok-dong tripe hot pot is worth trying. Gukdam Sundaeguk Main Branch was also a nice option for anyone who wants to order a bit of everything and have a hearty dinner like we did :)