Yeoksam gomtang restaurant: basic vs minari bowl, Geumnyeong

I was looking for lunch around Sinnonhyeon and ended up at Geumnyeong Gomtang Yeoksam Branch. On those days when the weather is oddly chilly, or you ate a bit too much the night before, you don't really want spicy food — you want warm broth. That day too, I was craving Korean food where you mix rice into the broth and top it with kimchi, so I settled on gomtang (beef bone soup).

I ordered the basic gomtang for ₩13,000 and the minari gomtang for ₩14,000. Even though they're both gomtang, the basic version and the minari version felt quite different to eat, so it worked out well for the two of us to order one each. True to the name Geumnyeong Gomtang, the meal really does center on the meat and the broth, so there was no need to complicate things with a bunch of extra orders — just a clean, easy meal in and out.

Why I walked into Geumnyeong Gomtang Yeoksam Branch near Sinnonhyeon

When you eat around Sinnonhyeon a lot, lunch menus start to feel oddly repetitive. After cycling through stews, meat dishes, and noodles, I wanted a warm bowl of Korean food that day, so I headed to a gomtang restaurant. It's also a familiar enough dish that you can order it with anyone without worrying about picky preferences.

I liked that Geumnyeong Gomtang Yeoksam Branch tells you exactly what you're there to eat, right from the name. Instead of standing in front of the menu board debating for ages, the only real decision was basic gomtang or the minari version. It's the kind of place that comes to mind on a day when you want a proper bowl of rice and soup for lunch near Sinnonhyeon.

Ordering one basic gomtang and one minari gomtang

We ordered one basic gomtang for ₩13,000 and one minari gomtang for ₩14,000. The price gap is only ₩1,000, so if you like minari (water dropwort), you can go straight for the minari gomtang; if it's your first time, starting with the basic one is fine too. Since there were two of us ordering one of each, we got to compare the two side by side.

The table was pretty simple. The gomtang comes in a brass bowl with kimchi on the side, no unnecessary extras. Gomtang isn't really a dish that needs a bunch of side dishes to taste good — broth, meat, rice, and kimchi are enough. Honestly, I find this kind of meal easier for lunch anyway.

The basic gomtang at Geumnyeong: beef and scallion first

The basic gomtang came with plenty of scallion and a big chunk of meat right in the middle. It wasn't just shredded meat — there were pieces large enough to pick up with chopsticks and eat in a bite, which went well with rice. I ate a bit of the meat first, then moved on to eating the rice and broth together.

Gomtang can start to feel a bit monotonous if you're just drinking broth the whole time, but having meat come up now and then made it feel like a real meal. The scallion was mixed in nicely with the broth too, so a little came along with almost every spoonful. Topping it with kimchi made for a familiar combination I kept going back to.

Minari gomtang: water dropwort in almost every spoonful

The minari gomtang lived up to its name, with a generous amount of minari (water dropwort) in it. It wasn't just a small garnish on top — minari came up with the broth almost every time I dipped my spoon in, which made the difference from the basic gomtang really obvious. The meat in the middle was shredded, which made it easy to scoop up together with the minari.

I already like minari, so between the two, I reached for this one more often. Compared to the basic gomtang with just broth and meat, I liked how the minari added a crunch that switched things up with each bite. There's something nice about getting minari and meat together in one spoonful, so if you've already had the basic gomtang plenty of times, ordering the minari version straight away sounds like a good idea too.

An easy Korean lunch to remember near Sinnonhyeon and Yeoksam

Eating lunch around Sinnonhyeon, there are days when you want something filling but want to avoid anything too greasy or too spicy. The gomtang I had at Geumnyeong Gomtang Yeoksam Branch was exactly the kind of broth-based Korean dish that comes to mind on a day like that. With rice, broth, and meat all in one bowl, the meal felt complete without needing to add anything else.

What I especially liked about gomtang is how easy it is to set your own pace. Start with the meat, mix in a bit of rice, add kimchi here and there, and the bowl empties out pretty quickly. It suits a situation where you just want a proper meal rather than lingering over lunch like a typical office worker break.

Which bowl I'd order next time at Geumnyeong Gomtang

Having tried both, I think I'll order the minari gomtang (₩14,000) again next time. The basic gomtang had that familiar taste centered on meat and scallion, which I liked, but the minari gomtang, with minari coming up in nearly every spoonful, suited my taste a bit better. If you're not really into minari, there's no need to overthink it — just go with the basic gomtang.

Sometimes when you're looking for a Korean restaurant near Sinnonhyeon, you don't want a big spread of dishes — you just want a warm bowl of soup with rice. Geumnyeong Gomtang Yeoksam Branch is the kind of place that comes to mind on those days. I'll probably order the minari gomtang again next time and have a clean, satisfying meal with kimchi on the side.