Hwaseong Korean restaurant with barley rice and fresh kimchi: Yubok

On a rainy day, I headed to Yubok Haemul Kalguksu because I was craving a hot yet refreshing bowl of broth. It is packed with seafood, with pufferfish broth that feels like the ultimate in clean, refreshing soup!

Yubok Haemul Kalguksu Dongtan Direct Branch: location and parking

Hours are 11:00–21:00, and it is regularly closed every Tuesday. It is located at Dongtan Central Park in Dongtan 1.

Yubok Haemul Kalguksu is located at Dongtan Central Park. A few cars can park in front of the restaurant; otherwise, you will need to park on a side street or in the public parking lot!

I visited at weekday lunchtime. I arrived early and got in right away, but many guests arriving afterward had to wait. That is how well known it is as a great kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) spot in Dongtan!

They offer one complimentary canned drink if you validate parking from the Central Park Public Parking Lot, so if you are driving, keep that in mind and take a photo of your parking ticket beforehand!

If all seats are taken, write your name on the waiting list and wait. Since it was lunchtime, lots of people seemed to slurp down their meals and leave quickly, so even with a wait, it did not seem like it would take very long.

There are tables for larger groups as well as two-person tables, so you can simply sit where you are shown according to your party size. The tables are spacious and well spaced, making the restaurant pleasant to use!

There is a self-serve side-dish corner where you can pick up any extras you need: fresh kimchi (geotjeori), shredded radish, sauces, and more. The fresh kimchi was so good and paired so well with the kalguksu that I refilled it several times.

Each table has a tablet for easy ordering, along with an hourglass to help time the kalguksu and an assortment of sauces.

How to eat the kalguksu and stir-fried webfoot octopus

• Turn the hourglass once and wait, then lower the heat before eating the kalguksu. For 3–4 people, cook it for one minute longer.
• Do not stir too much; lightly skim off the foam for a cleaner broth.
• Mix the kalguksu noodles with the stir-fried webfoot octopus.
• It is tasty with added cheese or pork belly, plus flying fish roe and perilla leaves.

Yubok Haemul Kalguksu uses house-made broth and freshly made noodles, so it could not help but taste even better! The semi-open kitchen looked clean and hygienic too, so I could enjoy my meal with peace of mind~~!

From starter barley rice to seafood kalguksu

Before the meal, they serve barley rice with a little sesame oil and vinegar-gochujang sauce. They told me it is delicious with the shredded radish side dish mixed in. Mixing up the rice while waiting for the kalguksu is a great way to settle a hungry stomach before the meal.

Look at all the generous seafood ingredients in the kalguksu! It is loaded with gomandungi fish, fresh Manila clams, oysters, zucchini, and enoki mushrooms, which make it even more refreshing!

With broth made from pufferfish and plenty of refreshing seafood ingredients, how could it not be delicious~~~?! Perhaps because it was pufferfish broth, it was especially nutty and full of umami! I immediately understood why Yubok Haemul Kalguksu is such a popular kalguksu spot in Dongtan.

The kalguksu bubbled away deliciously. The instructions say to cook it for the time of one turn of the hourglass, but we liked it just right after cooking it a little longer!

The noodles themselves were chewy, bouncy, and nutty, and I thought they went so well with the pufferfish broth. The broth soaked right into the nicely springy noodles, giving them a deep umami flavor!

Yubok Haemul Kalguksu had outstanding clean umami. The already-refreshing pufferfish broth was joined by all kinds of seafood, creating such a lovely refreshing, gently sweet umami! This was the kind of broth that made me keep spooning it up until the very end!!!!

Taking a big bite with fresh kimchi added the crisp, refreshing freshness of the kimchi, and it was a perfect match. I am curious about the secret to this fresh kimchi~~

Fire-kissed stir-fried webfoot octopus and flying fish roe wraps

The stir-fried webfoot octopus we ordered alongside had a smoky wok-char flavor and great spicy umami. It was spicy and savory without being overly sweet, a flavor that people of all ages would probably enjoy.

The webfoot octopus was plump, with the seasoning thoroughly absorbed into it, making it the kind of flavor that calls for rice. It was nicely seasoned with just the right amount of heat, and the rice cakes dotted throughout were a special treat, haha.

We ordered perilla leaves, mayonnaise, and flying fish roe, then made perilla-leaf wraps with mayo and roe. The popping roe and rich mayonnaise went so well together that I kept reaching for more. I ordered an extra bowl of rice and mixed it in too, which was filling and so delicious in its own way! For an even tastier version, add a little sesame oil from the self-serve bar before mixing it—just so you know~!

A refreshing broth from an unbeatable combination of pufferfish broth and seafood! I fell for this broth, so I think I will come back from time to time, haha.