Jongno Korean restaurant lunch: tofu mushroom hotpot for two, Goshine

Missing the Donghae flagship's avocado buckwheat gimbap

Last year a friend recommended Goshine Donghae Makguksu (고씨네동해막국수), and I visited the Donghae flagship. The avocado buckwheat gimbap (seaweed rice roll) there blew my mind, but I kept wishing for more and Donghae is a bit far. And there's a Jongno branch?!!!! Wait for me, avocado buckwheat gimbap.

Goshine Donghae Makguksu Jongno branch: location and hours

Goshine Donghae Makguksu Jongno branch is at 1F, 3 Insadong 12-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea, a 5-minute walk from Anguk Station Exit 6. It is open daily 11:00 to 21:30, with a break from 16:00 to 17:00. It stays open during holiday periods and takes its regular day off the day after the holidays. Group reservations are possible through Naver.

It sits at the start of the alley right next to Ssamziegil in Insa-dong, directly in front of Nine Tree by Parnas Seoul Insadong, so it's not hard to find.

Weekday lunch wait and atmosphere

I arrived at 1 p.m. on a Friday and, even on a weekday, waited about 5 minutes. The restaurant was full of foreign visitors. The Jongno branch felt different from the Donghae flagship, and even the interior was full of Korean beauty. With Korean food on the menu too, no wonder it's popular with foreigners.

Ordering tofu mushroom hotpot, avocado buckwheat gimbap and sikhye: ₩48,000

The two of us ordered the tofu mushroom hotpot (₩35,000), avocado buckwheat gimbap (₩9,000) and sikhye (₩4,000), ₩48,000 in total. Each table has a tablet, so you can order and pay right at your seat.

The side dishes and mains came out quickly after we ordered. The hotpot, listed as 2–3 servings, was really huge. For women, it could cover even 3–4 people.

The side dishes were neat too. If you run short, just take what you want from the self-serve bar.

How big is the tofu mushroom hotpot?

From above you may not get a sense of the size, so I took side shots and a zoom-in.

Look at the thickness of that tofu,,, look at the mushrooms and napa cabbage piled up,,, you can't even see the bottom,,,,, this is what people mean by a generous deal,,,,

Tofu mushroom hotpot even spice-wimps can handle

The tofu in Goshine's tofu mushroom hotpot is chodang tofu (soft, made with seawater), and it's so nutty. Simmered in a spicy broth with vegetables and mushrooms, it was the best. The broth isn't very spicy, so even I, a total spice wimp, enjoyed it!

We're two veggie lovers, and hearts popped into both our eyes. Why do we love a menu where you can eat a mountain of vegetables, like shabu-shabu these days? I'm over spicy, harsh flavors now,,, eating healthy is the best,,, trends must have changed, it's not that I'm getting old. (?)

No joke, no exaggeration, isn't this way too much food, boss,,, I thought we should have brought one more friend, but in the end the two of us finished it all. (haha?)

Was the avocado buckwheat gimbap the same as the Donghae flagship?

Long time no see~~ avocado buckwheat gimbap~~ The Jongno branch's version also had avocado that was perfectly ripened and silky soft, and it pairs so well with buckwheat that it's good however you eat it. No guilt even when you eat a lot. Anyone can see this is health food. Right?

Yep,,, I kept saying it was a lot, but,,, we finished it all. Because it was delicious. What? I was taught not to leave food behind, okay?