Gopchang-daechang hot pot for two in Lotte Dongtan: Horangigul

Where to eat gopchang hot pot in Lotte Department Store Dongtan? How is Horangigul?

Horangigul (호랑이굴) at Lotte Department Store Dongtan is a gopchang (beef small intestine) hot pot restaurant inside the department store, so you can eat right away without leaving your shopping. I was looking for a place to eat at Lotte Department Store Dongtan, got a craving for something hot and brothy, and ended up here.

It's easy to get to since it's inside the department store, and you can adjust the spice level, so it felt fine for eating with a child too. I liked that you don't have to go far from your shopping, and the place looked clean. It seemed like a decent stop for families or anyone looking for a meal spot at Lotte Department Store Dongtan.

Horangigul Lotte Department Store Dongtan menu and prices

The menu includes beef gopchang hot pot (소곱창전골, ₩17,500), gopchang-daechang hot pot (곱대창전골, ₩19,500), butadong set (pork rice bowl, ₩14,900) and mentaiko mayo gyudong set (beef rice bowl, ₩15,900). Besides the hot pot, there are all kinds of dishes kids can eat, and options for dates where each person orders their own, which I liked.

What we ordered: gopchang-daechang hot pot for two, medium spice

• Dish: Horangigul gopchang-daechang hot pot
• Price: ₩19,500 per person
• Quantity: 2 servings
• Spice level: medium

Two women, two servings of the Horangigul gopchang-daechang hot pot. You can choose the spice level, and we went with medium since it seemed the safest. It comes already boiled, so the food arrived about 10 minutes after we ordered.

You eat the tofu, fried tofu, fish balls and vegetables first, and let the meat and gopchang cook a little longer.

Horangigul gopchang hot pot at medium spice: how spicy is it?

The medium spice was exactly Shin Ramyun level. I wondered if "medium" would be too mild, but it had a definite kick while still making you keep reaching for the spoon, so it was just right for me, no strain at all.

If you don't handle spice well, even medium may feel a bit sharp, but if you're fine with Shin Ramyun, it's a comfortable level to enjoy. I think it would have been even better with an added noodle portion.

What's in the gopchang-daechang hot pot and how it tastes

Once the broth starts boiling, the staff told us to eat the tofu, fried tofu and vegetables first, and cook the gopchang and daechang (large intestine) longer. The broth is rich and spicy rather than light, the kind that goes well with rice, and the ingredients soaked up the broth, which made them even tastier.

At first the pot didn't look huge, but as we ate, the tofu, fried tofu, vegetables and gopchang-daechang were evenly packed in and it was filling. The nutty richness of the daechang especially suits the broth, so it was worth searching for a Dongtan gopchang hot pot place.

Putting some on your small plate and eating it with the sauce keeps it cleaner to eat.

Garlic stem side dish and sesame sauce

The garlic stems (마늘쫑) that came as a basic side dish were clean and tasty too. The hot pot is spicy, so picking at them now and then resets your palate!

Of the sauces served with it, the sesame dipping sauce was especially good. It's nutty and smooth, and dipping gopchang or daechang in it went really well with the spicy broth.

Finishing the hot pot with egg risotto

When we had almost finished the hot pot, it felt a shame to just stop, so we ordered the egg risotto too. They take out some of the broth and stir-fry rice in it, and it has a charm different from fried rice! We said Koreans only feel a meal is finished once they've had rice, and

the spicy broth flavor soaked into the rice, so we stayed full and happy to the very end.

Is Horangigul at Lotte Department Store Dongtan worth going back to?

Horangigul at Lotte Department Store Dongtan is a neat place to eat inside the department store, and a decent stop when you crave a spicy hot pot. At medium it's about Shin Ramyun level, so it isn't overly harsh, and adding egg risotto to the gopchang-daechang hot pot made for a really filling meal.