Dongtan pub for spice-shy diners: sindoritang with udon at Sin Gagye

What kind of Dongtan pub is Sin Gagye Maekju Namgwangjang?

Sin Gagye Maekju Namgwangjang (신가게맥주 남광장점) is a pub on Dongtan Namgwangjang, spacious and comfortable inside, with a big screen and room for group gatherings. My husband and I wanted to get dinner done and have a cold beer too, so we dropped by. I'd recommend it as a Dongtan pub that's easy to visit with no pressure.

Location, hours and parking

• Address: 9 Dongtanjungsimsanggga 1-gil, Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi (units 103 and 104)
• Hours: daily 17:00 to 03:00 the next day (last order 02:00)
• Parking: available (building basement, free for 2 hours)

What are the interior and seating like?

The inside was bigger than I expected, and one wall is floor-to-ceiling glass, so it's bright and looks even more spacious. The terrace seating connects to it, which gives a nice half-indoor, half-outdoor feel.

The seats are tables for 4 to 6, so you can push them together for a group. The wood-toned interior is cozy and lovely.

A baseball game happened to be on the big screen. Watching it together while eating would be heavenly!

When we visited, they were running a receipt review event that gets you butter garlic fries, so I'd definitely recommend joining 👍

What's on the menu, and what are the signature dishes?

The menu runs from dried snacks to stews, pizza, fried food and desserts, so you can finish round one and round two all in one place. The three signature dishes are premium dried pollock (meongtae), minari and sea snail salad, and sindoritang (spicy chicken stew). I'd recommend trying at least one of them.

You can order right at your seat!!

Can people who can't handle spice eat the sindoritang?

What we ordered that day was sindoritang. It's one of the signature dishes and you can feel the owner's pride in it, so we gave it a try.

We had to eat a proper meal anyway, so we ordered a bowl of rice too, haha.

The free side snacks are cold hotcheon-su (hovenia tea) and sugar-coated hardtack crackers. They were so good that I almost kept eating them and couldn't finish my meal.. my husband stopped me and I barely managed to quit, haha.

The sindoritang has finally arrived!! It was a huge hit when the owner ran a fried chicken shop before opening Sin Gagye Maekju, and they say it was a dish they wanted to add whenever they created a new brand. It's loaded with great-textured mushrooms too.

They say it uses domestic chilled size-9 chicken with a seasoning paste (daedagi) sauce they developed themselves *.* The spice level can't be adjusted, and as a couple who can't handle spice I was worried, but it was less spicy than Shin Ramyun, with just a pleasantly sharp kick at the end, and so delicious.

Simmering it down a little more

Looking at this sindoritang, I suddenly crave somaek (soju mixed with beer) ..^^

We boiled it hard for about 5 more minutes. The sweet and spicy aroma hit at the same time, and I wanted a glass of somaek with a bite of sindoritang so badly I nearly got dizzy..

How were the rice and udon add-ons?

The sindoritang works well as a meal with rice or udon noodles added. I love leg meat, so I went for the drumstick first (my husband is also a leg-meat person, so sadly we competed,,), and the chicken was tender, so soft and delicious. There's also flying fish roe rice and you can add fried rice, but that day I wanted plain white rice, so I ordered a bowl of rice.

Partway through it felt like a shame to stop, so on my husband's recommendation we added udon noodles, and chicken stew plus udon is a total winner 👍 We could even go for round two like this.

Who is Sin Gagye Maekju Namgwangjang good for?

Sin Gagye Maekju Namgwangjang suits a quick beer, a meal with a drink, or a cold drink on a summer day. Eating happily, I got curious about the other dishes, and since dried pollock is among the signature dishes, next time I'll come for a drink with that 👍 With a trendy menu, a pleasant interior and friendly staff, the atmosphere is relaxed and not stuffy, so I recommend it as a gathering spot in Dongtan for a casual beer, a meal with a drink, or a cool drink on a hot summer day.