Clear vs spicy abalone pufferfish soup in Cheongdam: Bogi-o Boguk

My partner and I came out to Cheongdam on the weekend for some errands and stopped by for pufferfish soup to nourish our bodies. We were both so satisfied that I'm writing this review right away ❤️

Where is Bogi-o Boguk? 2nd floor on Dosan-daero by Cheongdam Station

Bogi-o Boguk is on the 2nd floor of Deokyoung Building, 540 Dosan-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Since it's on the second floor, you just head straight up.

Even at an odd hour on the weekend, there were quite a few people. I bet it's packed with office workers from nearby on weekdays haha

Do you all eat pufferfish soup?! Have you tried it? I fell in love with it back in Busan and eat it now and then, but today I suddenly had a craving after a while.

How much does a bowl cost?

Bogi-o Boguk's prices are pretty high, as fitting for nourishing food haha. It's not something you eat often, more of a hearty tonic meal, so it makes sense to pay a bit more. But the weekday lunch price is really reasonable, don't you think!!

My partner's office is nearby lol. I told him to bring his coworkers sometime and he seemed to like the idea.

The water cup looks just like a makgeolli (rice wine) cup, isn't that cute haha. They specifically told us to only pour water in it lol, made me wonder if some people actually drink alcohol out of it.

There's a set of sauce bottles on one side of the table. Vinegar, soy sauce, chojang (vinegared chili paste), pick whatever suits your taste! I mixed wasabi with soy sauce, and it was so good, it went really well with the clean, light flavor of the pufferfish ❤️

Side dishes: stir-fried anchovies, fish cake, perilla leaves, radish kimchi

After ordering, the side dishes were set down first while we waited. Stir-fried anchovies, stir-fried fish cake, pickled perilla leaves, and radish kimchi! Honestly the kimchi was way tastier than I expected lol, sweet and spicy radish that paired really well with the pufferfish soup.

I personally love this kind of home-cooked-style banchan (side dish), and it didn't taste like something mass-produced, which I appreciated even more. The stir-fried anchovies were so good I refilled them haha.

Clear pufferfish soup, full of minari, enoki and bean sprouts

What I ordered was Bogi-o Boguk's clear pufferfish soup. There's also a spicy version, but lately I really can't handle spicy food lol, and since it was our first meal of the day I went with the clear version too — such a satisfying choice!!

The bubbling visual was really nice,,, ❤️ Plus, since it comes in an individual earthenware pot per person, the broth stayed warm until the very end, which I loved haha. It had minari (water celery), enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, and radish in it, and the clean, clear broth was outstanding.

How spicy is the special pufferfish soup with abalone?

My partner tried the special pufferfish soup with abalone in the spicy version haha. They call it 'spicy' but it's really more like a mildly spicy stew, totally manageable!! Think of it like a codfish stew or spicy fish stew level. Still, I liked the clear one better lol.

A table full of food for a proper weekend date and body-nourishing meal. I'd woken up early that morning to run errands and was a bit tired by then. Eating hot pufferfish soup with rice made me so happy T_T

With both abalone and pufferfish in the pot, isn't this basically the ultimate nourishing meal? ^_^ lol. My partner was trying pufferfish soup for the first time...!!! And he said it was delicious and ate it all up.

Pufferfish soup vs cod soup: what's the difference?

Actually, pufferfish soup is similar to codfish stew, but in my opinion the broth is cleaner and deeper, which I prefer. Also the chewy skin and firm texture of the pufferfish meat suits my taste really well, which is why I eat it now and then.

So full of ingredients too,,, I really love the vegetables in soups like this lol. Especially the minari and bean sprouts, all that crunchy texture that keeps the broth refreshing made it taste incredible T_T ❤️

He seemed a bit unfamiliar with it at first but dove right in lol. He mixed rice into the soup and scraped the bowl clean, which made me proud. The spicy and clear versions have completely different charms, so I highly recommend ordering both and sharing with your companion!!

We both finished every last bite lol. The seasons are changing again and it's about to get cold, so how about a bowl of hot pufferfish soup to nourish yourself >_<

Parking: valet only

Just a heads-up, if you bring a car to Bogi-o Boguk you'll need to use the valet! The whole neighborhood is like that~~ I actually find bringing a car more inconvenient lol. If you're in the area, definitely give it a try!