Nowon pork bone stew restaurant, small size plus fried rice: Somunnan

I was looking for a filling meal in Sanggye-dong and ended up visiting Somunnan Gamjatang Sanggye Branch 2. There's actually a Branch 1 nearby too, but Branch 2 was closer to where I was..!

That day I ordered the small gamjatang (pork bone stew) and finished it off with fried rice, and overall the portion was satisfying and it made for a pretty solid meal. The location is also decent if you're looking for gamjatang around Sanggye Station, so it's worth checking out if you're searching for gamjatang restaurants near Sanggye Station.

Inside Somunnan Gamjatang Sanggye Branch and its summer specials

Somunnan Gamjatang Sanggye Branch has an exterior that stands out even from a distance, and the interior was pretty clean too. Besides gamjatang, they were also selling summer specials like samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), cold buckwheat noodles, and perilla oil buckwheat noodles.

The place is set up so anyone can spot it from far away, and it's kept nice and clean. Since it was summer, alongside gamjatang they also had summer specials like samgyetang, cold buckwheat noodles, and perilla oil buckwheat noodles. The interior is clean and comfortable enough to enjoy a relaxed meal.

The menu board looks like above — starting with gamjatang, they also have ppyeojjim (steamed pork bones), haejangguk (hangover soup), and sundaeguk (blood sausage soup), so it's plenty good for a solo visit too.

How many people does the small gamjatang feed?

The small gamjatang at Somunnan Gamjatang Sanggye Branch was enough for two, and even fine for three. It came out closer to the medium or large size at other restaurants.

After ordering the small gamjatang, it arrived right away —

Gamjatang really is all about... the fun of simmering it bubbling away right there on the table. You wait until the broth has boiled up enough from the start before digging in, and~~~ the amount is truly massive. We ordered the small but it felt closer to other restaurants' medium or large — plenty for two, even three people.

Once the gamjatang starts bubbling away~~~ now it's time to drop in the sujebi (hand-torn dough) pieces one by one~

What the gamjatang broth tastes like

The broth at Somunnan Gamjatang Sanggye Branch is on the spicy and savory side. The more it simmered, the deeper the flavor got as the meat stock and vegetables melded together.

Getting ready to dig into the well-cooked gamjatang, the broth was spicy and savory the way gamjatang should be~~ it looked great with rice too, and as the meat's stock and vegetables blended together, the flavor seemed to deepen the longer it simmered. Slightly spicy but the kind of taste that keeps pulling your chopsticks back in, if that makes sense?

There was a good amount of meat and the broth was tasty enough to keep eating, but honestly, if it hadn't been daytime, this was the kind of flavor that calls for a shot of soju. Genuinely so good I kept going back for more...! Even writing this now, I'm still craving it.

Finishing with fried rice in the leftover broth

After eating through most of the gamjatang, the meal at Somunnan Gamjatang Sanggye Branch wraps up with fried rice cooked in the leftover broth. Since the broth itself is packed with flavor, that gamjatang umami naturally carries over into the fried rice.

Once you've eaten your fill, it's time to order the crown jewel of gamjatang — the so-called dessert for Koreans.

That's right — fried rice...! Eating gamjatang without finishing with fried rice always feels like something's missing, so after having enough meat and broth, frying up rice in the leftover broth really felt like the true ending of the meal.

Because the gamjatang broth itself is already so flavorful, that distinctive umami naturally carries into the fried rice too. At first I thought the small gamjatang alone would be enough, but once I actually had the fried rice too, I felt like I'd properly had a full meal.

Is Somunnan Gamjatang worth a trip to Sanggye Station?

If two people visit, order gamjatang, and finish with fried rice, it seems like a combo that works well whether it's a meal or a drinking session. There are plenty of places to eat in Sanggye-dong, but when you want something really filling, this kind of hearty broth dish is what comes to mind.

Gamjatang in particular lets you cover meat, potatoes, broth, and fried rice all in one sitting, so it's good as a standalone meal and also good for a group drinking session. So if you're looking for a good gamjatang restaurant in Nowon, Somunnan Gamjatang Sanggye Branch is worth a visit.

If you're near Sanggye Station looking for somewhere to eat with family or friends, or if you're craving a spicy, hot broth loaded with meat, this is a pretty solid choice. If you're searching for gamjatang restaurants near Sanggye Station, gamjatang spots in Nowon, or places to eat in Sanggye-dong, I'd recommend having a hearty meal here with the gamjatang and fried rice combo...!