Bongcheon lunch special: baby octopus hot plate at Sangdo Neulbori

Sangdo Neulbori near Bongcheon Station is seriously generous with portions. Both the duck-and-baby-octopus hot-plate stir-fry and the cockle bibimbap were clean and delicious, nothing to complain about. We ate as two and left completely satisfied.

What we ordered for lunch at Sangdo Neulbori: the okkumi hot-plate set and cockle bibimbap

We ordered two things. The okkumi hot-plate set, ₩14,000 per person, ₩28,000 for two (duck meat + baby octopus). The baby octopus was firm and plump, the pieces genuinely huge and chubby — and it actually tasted good. The duck meat came in big, generous chunks too.

Cockle bibimbap (rice bowl with seasoned cockles), ₩11,000. The cockles themselves were big and the seasoning was so good I kept going back for spoonful after spoonful. Zero regrets.

Where is Sangdo Neulbori Bongcheon Station Branch, and what are the hours?

This baby octopus spot near Bongcheon Station is right in front of Bongcheon Doosan 1-danji Apartments, by Exit 5. Open from 11:30am to 9:30pm.

This place is also famous as a kodari (dried pollock) spot near Bongcheon Station. It's a real neighborhood favorite — all the local elders from Bongcheon-dong come here. We showed up right at the 11:30am opening, and by noon it was already packed. Since the baby octopus is so good, of course we ordered a dish with octopus in it, plus rice.

Why the Sangdo Neulbori lunch special is so popular

This lunch special at Sangdo Neulbori is apparently very well known. Between the braised kodari and the okkumi hot-plate set, both are so good you can't help but order them. Seriously, if you come here, come for lunch and try the set menu — you will not regret it.

This place also holds the title of best kodari spot near Bongcheon Station. Once the tables filled up, I noticed most of the locals around us were ordering the braised kodari... Apparently it's incredible, so next time I'm definitely getting that.

Inside the restaurant: every table full within 30 minutes

The place filled up completely in just 30 minutes... and the dining room is huge. But turnover is fast and everyone eats cleanly, finishing every bite. We did too.

You can take as many self-serve fried rice vegetables as you like. Just please only take what you'll actually eat — don't be greedy and leave leftovers!!!!!!!!!!! And after eating, you absolutely must have the scorched rice water from the rice cooker over there. When you eat at a Korean rice restaurant, finishing with scorched rice water is the unwritten rule. Skip it and you're basically a traitor to your country.

Side dishes and the pollock seaweed soup

First up, the duck-and-baby-octopus stir-fry, okkumi, arrives.

The side dishes are exactly the kind that suit the meal — bean sprouts, seasoned seaweed, water kimchi, all perfectly matched.

And then out comes a truly milky, nutty pollock seaweed soup made with dried pollock.

This wasn't some MSG-dumped shortcut soup — it was properly simmered to a milky, delicious finish. Savory and rich, the seaweed flavor coming through fully. Such a great spread, genuinely made me happy.

The okkumi (squid and baby octopus stir-fry) from Sangdo Neulbori, with mushrooms, duck meat, rice cake, and baby octopus.

I can't believe there was a rice restaurant this good near Bongcheon Station... Seaweed soup, steamed egg, a whole spread laid out generously. You even get scorched rice water — this is proper Korean home-style dining.

I'm telling you, eat it, eat it, I already told you. Don't make me repeat myself — finish with the scorched rice water, no excuses.

What the 11,000 won cockle bibimbap looks like

This is the ₩11,000 cockle bibimbap. The rice comes separately.

The seasoned cockles come piled generously like this. Even if you just mix it all together and eat blind, every single spoonful is packed with cockles.

The okkumi set for two at 28,000 won: how big is the baby octopus?

The lunch menu okkumi set for two (₩28,000) at Sangdo Neulbori Bongcheon Station Branch.

This isn't the shriveled-up baby octopus you get in bad Chinese-style jjamppong — this is genuinely plump, fully packed, delicious baby octopus.

Honestly, if you didn't tell me, I might mistake it for octopus rather than baby octopus — the meat is that firm.

The cockle bibimbap from Sangdo Neulbori's lunch menu, which I already raved about for its firm cockle meat and delicious seasoning.

So many cockles, extremely satisfying. No grit at all, just nutty, sweet and a little spicy.

The duck meat portion was so generous I genuinely wondered if ₩14,000 was really the right price.

What I loved even more was how clean and non-greasy it tasted despite being so flavorful. Light but hearty, the kind of food you can keep eating and feel good about. Not exaggerating — if you live nearby, you have to go: Sangdo Neulbori, the baby octopus and kodari spot near Bongcheon Station <<<<<<<<

Steamed egg and scorched rice water to finish

The basic side dish steamed egg wasn't salty at all, really nice. I love this Korean-restaurant style of steamed egg. I really dislike when places pointlessly sprinkle sesame seeds all over steamed egg and ruin the flavor of the egg itself. This place doesn't do that.

And finally, the scorched rice water I told you to absolutely have. Warm and nutty, it settled my stomach perfectly and everything I'd eaten went down easy ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Before we knew it, the place was full again.......... aside from a few tables that finished quickly and left, this was near the end of the lunch rush too...

Is the Sangdo Neulbori lunch special worth it?

Sangdo Neulbori Bongcheon Station Branch, the delicious Korean rice restaurant known for baby octopus and kodari. Want to eat a healthy meal? But also want it delicious? And want to be full? Then this is the place!! I'm not lying, this is genuinely it.