Spicy shabu kalguksu at Guksuhwa, a Namdong noodle restaurant

I was looking for a good restaurant near Namdong-gu Office to take my parents to, and ended up at Guksuhwa's Namdong flagship. It has a huge dedicated parking lot and spans two floors, and it's known for spicy shabu kalguksu made with a homemade beef bone broth. Plus, I heard it's run by a chef with 40 years in the restaurant business, so I was curious about the taste.

I ordered the spicy shabu kalguksu, and the spread that came out was so generous — hearty and affordable, and everyone loved it, so let me share!

Where is Guksuhwa Namdong flagship, and what are its hours?

Guksuhwa was a comfortable place near Namdong-gu Office to bring my parents for a relaxed meal.

• Location: 565 Soraero, Namdong-gu, Guksuhwa Namdong flagship
• Hours: 11:00–21:30, break time 15:00–16:30
• Group dining: groups of 40 to 90 people can be accommodated
• Nearby: about 5 minutes by car to Namdong Gymnasium, near Incheon Grand Park

I was picturing a typical shabu-shabu place, but I was surprised at how much bigger it was than expected as soon as I arrived.

There's nothing worse than finding a great restaurant and then circling the block a few times looking for parking, so parking is always one of the first things I check when taking my parents out. Guksuhwa has a wide dedicated parking area in front of and beside the building, so it was easy to visit by car.

From the entrance, the place already felt clean and fresh.

Full at 2pm on a weekend: do you need a reservation at Guksuhwa?

Once inside, the interior was just as spacious as the exterior suggested. We visited around 2pm on a weekend, and I was a bit surprised — 'this many people at this hour?'

Both the first and second floors were packed, and there were even people waiting. Luckily, we'd booked through Naver Reservation, so we were seated right away. Most of the other guests seemed to be families with parents and kids, and since there are government offices nearby, the place fills up even on weekdays — apparently, once people visit once, they almost always book ahead after that. I noticed reserved tables all around us.

Since they can host groups from 40 up to about 90 people, it would also be a great spot in Namdong for staff dinners or family gatherings with a lot of people.

There were three of us — my dad, my child, and me — so we were seated at a 4-person window table, and the greenery outside the windows made it really pretty. The restroom was on the first floor, and it looked freshly built and spotless.

Baby chairs were placed here and there on both floors, so parents dining with young kids can eat comfortably.

How ordering works at Guksuhwa, and what the three of us picked

Ordering is done through the kiosk at the table! Aprons were also placed at several spots along the way to the tables.

"I'll protect my restaurant's customers" — apron

• Spicy shabu kalguksu
• Cold buckwheat noodle + meat dumpling set
• Assorted dumplings (small)

When our order was being set down, I thought, 'wow, did the three of us order too much?' — the spread was that generous.

The spicy shabu kalguksu wasn't just shabu — it came with dumplings, noodles, and porridge as a full course. Since my child insists on having some kind of noodle dish, we also added the cold buckwheat noodles with meat dumplings, and since we're a family of dumpling lovers, we added the assorted dumplings (small) too.

Maybe because they have a separate fresh vegetable storage room, but the vegetables weren't watery at all, and the meat had a great color too.

How does the spicy shabu kalguksu in beef bone broth taste?

Once the food arrived, I tried the broth first. Guksuhwa uses a broth made by simmering beef bones themselves. I expected something thick and heavy since it's a bone broth, but the spicy shabu kalguksu I had surprisingly tasted deep yet refreshingly clean first.

A tip for enjoying this broth: gather the vegetables and meat together in one spot, wrap them in a rice paper sheet, and dip in sauce. No mess on your hands — I made good use of the spring roll rice paper they provided.

The assorted dumplings came with galbi (rib) dumplings, meat dumplings, and kimchi dumplings. I really liked the kimchi dumpling — I think its clear wrapper was potato starch — it was chewy and spicy, right up my alley.

The vegetable salad that came with the dumplings was so good I wanted more, and it turns out you can order salad as an add-on through the kiosk. The self-serve bar also had kimchi, broth, and sauces ready, so it was easy to help yourself to more.

From kalguksu noodles to the porridge finish

Once we'd eaten our fill, they added the kalguksu noodles. They went into the broth that had been further enriched with the vegetables and meat — do I even need to describe the taste? I topped it with a piece of kimchi and it disappeared in no time.

After the kalguksu, there's only one thing left. We also made the finishing porridge in the shabu pot — stirred into the reduced broth, shabu porridge has a different charm from fried rice porridge. I definitely felt like I was about to burst, yet somehow kept eating anyway — why is that?

Omija tea after the meal and the review event

[Naver video receipt review event]

Leaving a Naver video receipt review gets you a Richmond ice cream for dessert, so there was no reason not to do it — except I told myself I'd do it on the way out and then completely forgot...

Still, near the end of the meal, they brought out omija tea (five-flavor berry tea) in a clear glass as dessert, so I gave it a try.

My child took a sip and suddenly said, "Mom, this tastes like a Chupa Chups lollipop!" and loved it. The owner must have overheard, because they brought my child another glass of omija tea.

I think my kid will remember this place not as 'let's go to Guksuhwa' but as 'let's go to the place that gave us the Chupa Chups-flavored drink.'

The broth suited my taste so much that I considered buying some of the gukbap (rice and soup) or galbitang (rib soup) sold by the counter for under ₩10,000, but since we weren't heading straight home, I couldn't. Such a shame — I definitely would have bought some in winter. Next visit, I'll have to stock up and bring some home.

My dad and I brewed another cup of coffee each and sat out on the outdoor terrace to wrap things up. If you're looking for a Namdong-gu Office area restaurant for a family meal with parents or a group gathering, Guksuhwa is worth a visit. It's also fairly close to Incheon Grand Park, so once the weather cools down a bit, I think I'll come back here for a meal after a day out at the park with my kid and parents :)