Dongtan gomtang restaurant at 11am, quiet bar seats for two: Baekok

Where is Baekok Dongtan? B1 of Lotte Department Store Dongtan

A while back my brother and I went to Lotte Department Store Dongtan for an early lunch. We ended up at Baekok Dongtan, located on the basement floor. Since it's inside the department store, it's a really convenient spot if you're looking for lunch near Dongtan Station.

We got there around 11am, basically an opening run, so the whole basement food court was still quiet haha. Usually if you go to B1 of Lotte Department Store around lunchtime it's packed, but going at this hour meant we could eat at a relaxed pace.

What we ordered that day was Baekok's pork gomtang (pork bone soup)! We each got one bowl.

We sat cozily side by side at the bar table haha. There was something atmospheric about eating hot gomtang while sitting like that. Since we visited around 11am, the place was quiet and we could order right away without waiting.

Pork gomtang at Baekok Dongtan: steeped rice and side dishes

I think we waited about 10 minutes after ordering..? The pork gomtang came out faster than I expected.

The side dishes that go well with the gomtang were also nice and clean.

Baekok's pork gomtang isn't served with rice on the side — instead the rice is toryeom-style, steeped and rolled into the broth. On top there was a generous pile of meat, and the scallion garnish was seriously not held back haha.

Clear broth first, pepper on the meat second

The broth isn't the milky, rich style — it's a clear-broth pork gomtang. I tried a spoonful plain first, without adding anything, and personally I'd recommend tasting the base broth before dumping in pepper right away.

Then once you add the pepper, the flavor changes completely..!

My brother said the tastiest way here is to sprinkle pepper directly onto the meat. So I followed his lead and tried it too — the soft pork with the sharp, slightly spicy kick of pepper really worked well together haha.

Mixing pepper straight into the broth is tasty too, but I found putting pepper directly on the meat, like my brother did, even better.

Eating the plain broth once, then eating it again with pepper added.. one bowl, but two different experiences haha.

Is the portion generous? Cabbage dumplings next time

The portion at Baekok Dongtan's pork gomtang was bigger than I expected. The rice already comes steeped in broth, and there's a generous amount of pork piled on top, so finishing one bowl made for a plenty filling lunch.

It's not just a few slices of meat on top — there's enough to eat alongside your rice the whole meal, so I felt the value for money was decent too. Honestly, I wanted to try the cabbage dumplings that day too. I thought gomtang plus dumplings would be perfect.. but once we actually started eating the pork gomtang, one bowl alone was so filling that we ended up not ordering the dumplings ㅠㅠ Next time I revisit Baekok Dongtan, I'll definitely try the cabbage dumplings too.

Final thoughts on Baekok Dongtan

Baekok Dongtan, found while looking for lunch at Lotte Department Store Dongtan. The broth was clear, yet you could still taste the depth of the beef-bone stock, and above all, the generous meat and rice made one bowl truly filling. I recommend trying the broth plain at first, then adding pepper partway through! Especially the combination of pepper sprinkled directly on the meat — that was the tastiest for me haha. Visiting around 11am meant the food court was quiet and we could eat at ease, and on a day when you want something hot and filling for lunch in Dongtan, gomtang seemed like a solid choice. Next time, I've got to try the cabbage dumplings too..

Baekok Dongtan in one line

• Baekok Dongtan on B1 of Lotte Department Store Dongtan
• Ordered pork gomtang for two
• Rice comes steeped in broth, plenty of meat and scallions
• Recommend plain broth first, then pepper on the meat
• Portion was generous, plenty filling for lunch
• Want to try the cabbage dumplings on the next visit!