Dongtan Korean restaurant with a brass bowl set meal: Baekok Dongtan

With the weather turning chilly lately, I kept craving a warm, tidy bowl of gomtang (Korean bone broth soup). So this past weekend I visited Baekok, the famous lunch hotspot at Lotte Department Store Dongtan! 😍

What Baekok Dongtan looks like on basement 1F of Lotte Department Store Dongtan

Located in the food court on basement 1F of Lotte Department Store Dongtan, Baekok serves tidy Korean food in a clean atmosphere — a perfect spot for a date or a meal with parents.

They even have a cute kids' gomtang for children, and there's a Naver review event where you can get cabbage dumplings for free! Here's my honest review after falling for the clear, hearty gomtang flavor — let's get started! 🥣

Ordering pork gomtang and cabbage dumplings at Baekok Dongtan

Clear pork gomtang is the main menu item, so we ordered pork gomtang (₩12,000) and cabbage dumplings (₩10,000)!

Once we sat down and finished ordering, the side dishes arrived neatly arranged in clean, elegant brass tableware. ✨ The tidy brass table setting made us feel well taken care of even before we started eating.

The side dishes included crunchy, sweet-and-spicy diced radish kimchi, crisp gungchae (a pickled stem vegetable) pickles, and a special seasoning sauce on top! 😋 The crunchy diced radish kimchi and gungchae pickles paired especially well with the clear, grease-free gomtang broth, adding savory depth and perking up our appetite throughout the meal. 🥢

What comes on the brass bowl set meal

Seeing the pork gomtang (₩12,000) and cabbage dumplings (₩10,000) neatly laid out on the table was a real feast for the eyes! 🥹 The clear-broth pork gomtang generously filled in the brass bowl next to the round, pretty cabbage dumplings made for a combination that brought an instant smile. Living up to its reputation as the lunch hotspot at Lotte Department Store Dongtan, the plating was so sleek and clean I couldn't help but take photos! 📸

How Baekok Dongtan's pork gomtang tastes

First, I examined Baekok's signature pork gomtang in detail! 🥣

Thin, tender slices of boiled pork were generously piled on top of the clear, transparent broth, topped with a sprinkle of scallions and black pepper.

As soon as the dish arrived, a subtle, savory meat aroma spread through the air — it passed the test before I even took a bite! 😋 The deep, clear pork gomtang broth had absolutely no greasiness, offering a light yet deeply savory flavor that explains why it's considered one of the top Korean food recommendations in Dongtan. 🥩

The meat was so thin and tender it melted softly in my mouth. Piling a generous amount of meat onto a spoonful of rice and taking a big bite let the light yet deep savory flavor of the gomtang spread all through my mouth! 😭 Not overpowering but deeply flavorful, I kept exclaiming in delight all the way to the last spoonful and finished it clean. ❣️

Cabbage dumplings wrapped in cabbage leaves

Along with the gomtang, the must-order side dish appeared — cabbage dumplings (4 pieces)! 🥟 Instead of regular dumpling wrappers, these are a unique dumpling wrapped and rolled with well-boiled yellow cabbage leaves. Their round, compact shape is so cute it's a treat for both the eyes and the mouth! 😍

Picking up a large cabbage dumpling with chopsticks, I could feel its satisfying weight! 🥢 The crunchy yet fully cooked, sweet cabbage leaf was packed full of meat and vegetable filling, and the more I chewed, the more the juices burst out with amazing flavor.

Since the wrapper is made of cabbage instead of dough, it wasn't heavy at all — the crisp-outside, tender-inside cabbage dumpling wrapped my mouth in a subtle sweetness and nutty flavor! 🥹

Dipping it lightly in the special soy sauce that came with it added a spicy kick, instantly making it my favorite dumpling ever. 😋

Mint gargle service after the meal

After finishing the meal, I was moved once again by the thoughtful service items placed on the side of the tray! 🩵 Sanitary wet wipes and individually packaged two-stick mint gargle rinses were prepared for each person. Thanks to the gargle service, which showed real attention to detail, I could freshen up and leave the restaurant in a great mood.

From the taste of the food to the hygiene and detailed service, it was clear they thought carefully about the customer's experience! 👍

From the deep, clear pork gomtang served in tidy brass bowls to the sweet, moist cabbage dumplings, everything about Baekok Dongtan was perfect! 🤍 If you're looking for light, clean Korean food or planning a foolproof outing to Lotte Department Store Dongtan, I definitely recommend a visit! 🏃🏻‍♀️💨 I'll definitely be back the next time I'm craving warm broth.