Gangnam Korean restaurant for soybean powder gamja jeongol: Haeseonok

Haeseonok Seolleung Branch, whereabouts near Seolleung Station

It had been a while since my husband and I went out for dinner together on a weekday after work. This time we went to a place called Haeseonok, near Seolleung Station! More precisely, it was near the POSCO intersection.

This area has a lot of office workers, so I figured it'd be packed at lunch, but there were quite a few people even in the evening. Still, it was much easier to get a table than lunchtime would've been.

This place mainly sells gamjatang and kkotgetang (crab stew). There were quite a few customers, so I felt a bit awkward taking photos inside and didn't, but there were a decent number of tables. And above all, the owner was so kind! There are plenty of kind owners out there, but this might be the kindest owner I've met at any restaurant in the past few years!!

Menu and prices

Orders are placed on the tablet at your table.

• Neungi Herbal Gamjatang ₩14,900
• Boneless Gamjatang ₩11,000
• Gamjatang ₩11,000
• Charcoal Spicy Bone Jjim ₩13,000
• Neungi Herbal Gamjatang Small ₩49,000 / Medium ₩59,000 / Large ₩69,000
• Gamja Jeongol Small ₩30,000 / Medium ₩40,000 / Large ₩50,000

Charcoal Spicy Bone Jjim Small ₩35,000, Medium ₩45,000, Large ₩55,000.

They also had set menus pairing gamjatang with either seafood pancake or shrimp pancake. This would be perfect for solo diners who still want a side dish to go with their meal.

Kkotgetang Small ₩59,000, Medium ₩69,000, Large ₩79,000; Kkotge Jjim (steamed crab) Small ₩59,000, Medium ₩69,000, Large ₩79,000; grilled crab half ₩60,000; grilled seafood platter ₩110,000. Since crab stew is one of their main dishes, they sell it by size, along with steamed and grilled crab.

Since it was summer, they were also selling chogye naengmyeon for ₩11,000, just so you know! We ordered a small gamja jeongol and an extra bowl of rice.

Gamja jeongol topped with soybean powder — how does it taste?

Haeseonok's gamja jeongol comes out in a yang-eun pot (thin aluminum pot) like this, and really unusually, there's soybean powder sprinkled over the bean sprouts.

Looking at it like this, you might think there isn't that much soybean powder, but once we mixed it in later, the soybean powder flavor came through really strongly. Highly recommended for anyone who loves soybean powder.

They said the potatoes and meat come out already partially cooked, so you can eat it as soon as it boils. Since it's cooked over an open flame, the broth boils pretty quickly too. The broth itself was rich, and I really liked that. The seasoning wasn't too strong, and my husband, who prefers mild flavors, said it was completely his taste.

I found it really unusual that there was no ugeoji (dried napa cabbage leaves), which most gamjatang has, and it was also surprising how well the soybean powder flavor paired with the gamjatang. I thought there were quite a lot of bean sprouts, but honestly we found it a bit lacking and would've liked even more. But more than anything, there's really a ton of meat here. The owner must have a generous hand — they really gave us a lot of meat!!

The bones were cut to a convenient size

Also, the meat was cut into just the right size to pick up easily. I tend to splatter a lot while eating, so an apron is essential for me — usually, picking meat off big gamjatang bones turns into a real mess. So I also appreciated that the bones were cut a bit smaller here.

The two of us ended up ordering two bowls of rice and scraped the pot completely clean. They thoughtfully left a little broth for us, mindful of our sodium intake haha. We had such a delicious meal of gamja jeongol at Haeseonok, this Seolleung Station spot. If you work nearby, I highly recommend it! It's a really unique gamjatang that's absolutely worth trying!!