Korean BBQ in Sindang-dong, Seoul: hanwoo gopchang at Uon Sogopchang

Why I picked Uon Sogopchang in Sindang-dong

Uon Sogopchang (우온소곱창) is the hanwoo beef intestine place I chose when I made dinner plans with a friend. We'd said "let's eat something light, whatever", but a day or two before, I suddenly craved something greasy, lol. Maybe it's all the stress, haha. Or maybe I'm just rationalizing.. anyway!! There were tons of gopchang (grilled intestine) places around, and we went to the popular Sindang-dong favorite, Uon Sogopchang!!

Is Uon Sogopchang crowded at dinner time?

Seats fill up fast at dinnertime. I went a bit early, so it was almost empty, but right around dinner it really filled up, haha. Glad I came early!! The staff were all friendly and guided us well, which I liked.

Menu and sides at Uon Sogopchang

The menu is simple, so no agonizing, haha. Since it was our first visit, instead of one makchang (beef large intestine) and one daechang (fatty large intestine), we went straight for the mixed platter for 2!! We'd decide on sides as we ate. Gopchang places usually don't sell ramen, but here they sell Shin Ramyun, Jjapaguri and Buldak noodles, so the trendy buldak daechang combo is totally doable.

If you join the various review events, you can get things like cheonggukjang, hangover soup or ramen, haha. Seriously great service for a Sindang-dong favorite!

What are the side dishes and raw beef like?

The number and quality of side dishes are great, so it feels like a restaurant serving a full spread. Wow, the quality.. they keep putting more down, so is this a rice restaurant or a gopchang place!!! I really loved having so many sides.

Eating only meat is fine, but it's greasy, so peppers and pickles go really well with it, right!! They were pleasantly spicy and salty without overpowering the meat, a nice balance!!

The yukhoe (seasoned raw beef) has a strong garlic flavor and is so good!! It comes as standard, and the portion is surprisingly big, haha. Maybe I'm just not picky, but it was good even eaten with the gop (the creamy fat inside the intestine), lol. I forgot the name of the thing next to it, but it wasn't fishy at all and was crunchy and tasty. A Sindang hanwoo intestine place worth becoming a regular at!!

How many dipping sauces does Uon Sogopchang have?

There are 4 dipping sauces and powders, plus separate sesame oil dip and soy sauce. From the left: wasabi, a sweet-spicy sauce, makjang (seasoned soybean paste), and a slightly salty cheese-flavored powder!! I love having this many sides and things to dip, lol. The second one goes great with daechang, and the powder tastes like Puringkle (a cheese-seasoned fried chicken flavor), salty but a perfect balance when you dip. All 4 were good, nothing to skip!!

On the left is the basic oil dip, on the right a soy sauce with chili peppers!! I liked the plain one best, but the makjang is addictive and my hand kept going back to it, lol. This place is the best, seriously.

Free hangover soup too

The hangover soup (haejangguk) is free too! The flavor is rich, and if you ask them to reheat it midway, they take it and warm it up, so a bowl goes down easily as a soju snack.

How does Uon Sogopchang grill the mixed platter?

The mixed platter comes pre-grilled, and a staff member cuts it and finishes grilling at the table. The look is great, right? Potatoes.. green onions.. garlic and so on. And the legit part: the grill has no holes for the fat to drain -> so they really grill everything in the fat!!

Since it's already pre-grilled, you can eat the gop-filled pieces right away. Then the staff come and cut the heart and daechang and grill them golden.

How are the intestines and beef heart?

The small intestine was packed with gop, crispy outside and moist inside. First bite with the oil dip~~~ it's full of gop, so it gets nuttier the more you chew. Maybe because it's grilled so thoroughly, the outside is crackly but the inside is moist, absolutely insane.

My best way is with these peppers!! A magic that never gets old, haha. I usually like daechang more, but here all 3 were really good!

Next up, the heart, which you should eat quickly~~ Piled with plenty of wasabi, it just feels like eating beef, haha. A hearty protein boost.

Like I said before, eating it with yukhoe and wasabi is tangy and delicious!! Super duper nutty, nuttier the more you chew!! Because it's pre-grilled, it cooks well.. and ended up grilled very, very well-done, just how I like it. I recommend it as a Sindang-dong favorite~!!

Chives, kimchi and potatoes grilled in intestine fat

They grill chives, kimchi, garlic, potatoes and mushrooms in the fat from the intestines. Look at this!! Generous chives and kimchi, so no fat goes to waste!! This place really knows what it's doing, lol.

The garlic and kimchi are almost deep-fried, crispy with a nutty flavor I loved. I could totally mix rice with it, lol. I almost ordered a bowl of rice but held back. Let's at least cut the carbs..!!

The potatoes and mushrooms were also insanely good, especially the potatoes, crispy outside and fluffy inside, so so delicious, haha.

Which sauces go with makchang and daechang?

The makchang went best with the sweet makjang, and the daechang with the spicy-sweet red sauce. Dipping makchang in makjang.. what's the word for protein.. it's filling, nutty like the gopchang, but sweet! sweet! and nutty 💚 Maybe because the makjang is sweet, they match so well. Lots of makchang is tough, but this one is a joy to chew?? Every chew is tasty, so it'll be the Sindang-dong place I think of right away for hanwoo intestines.

It goes well with perilla leaves, wasabi and peppers! If you don't like sauces, eat it with these spicy things~

Daechang goes with the red sauce! It's a spicy-sweet flavor!!! There was a reason they recommended it, haha. They grilled it crispy, and since there's constant fire under the grill, it stayed warm, and, exaggerating a bit, it wasn't greasy at all so I enjoyed it so much. My friend said it's the best they've had so far!

Finishing with Coke Zero and reheated soup

Hehe, finally we ordered one Coke Zero and shared it. It was so refreshing to finish!!!

They reheated this soup midway, and at Uon Sogopchang you can just ask casually~~