Gimpo sundae-guk restaurant with a greenhouse waiting area: Paldam

Hi, this is Yamberry!🍓 A self-proclaimed gukbap addict who takes sundae-guk and gukbap pretty seriously.

I had a reason to visit Gimpo, so I looked around and found a really famous sundae-guk place?! My biggest criterion for picking a sundae gukbap restaurant!! If it uses glutinous sundae, it's not the real deal!! (Just my personal standard.) I really go around searching everywhere, and anything outside that standard I don't consider a real find — but recently I'd gotten hooked on a blood sundae place and figured I wouldn't find anything better than that anytime soon.

Then I found out Chef Lee Won-il appeared on a YouTube video about a sundae-guk place in Gimpo + the owner makes handmade sundae every single day?! I got that feeling that I was about to find a whole new favorite spot!! Here's my review of Paldam Sundae, the place I ended up falling for!

Paldam Sundae Gimpo Main Branch: hours, parking and address

Paldam Sundae Gimpo Main Branch is at 5 Ungok-ro, Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, 1st floor, and is only open 10:00–15:00 daily. Since it's open mornings only due to the handmade sundae, park in the dedicated Paldam Sundae lot right beside the restaurant.

How the CatchTable remote queue works at Paldam Sundae on a Saturday morning

One great thing about Paldam Sundae is you can join the wait through CatchTable! Both remote queueing and in-store registration are possible, but on weekends the wait gets long, so I recommend the remote queue!

I'd been checking from the day before, and it looked like Saturdays had barely any wait until right before lunch, so I kept checking from the moment we left home but got a little too relaxed about it…!

Suddenly?!! The number of people waiting shot up!! We scrambled to join the queue! Since we only checked after we'd already left, and it was around 10am, everyone seemed to be playing the same waiting game..!!

Luckily, since we'd already joined the queue, by the time we parked and arrived the timing worked out almost perfectly!

For the remote queue, go into Paldam Sundae on CatchTable and tap 'join waitlist' after 9:30am!! Or you can visit the store and register on the pad inside!

Where to park at Paldam Sundae

There's a parking space beside the restaurant, fitting up to 3 cars in one row! Since there was no spot open, we looked around and ended up parking a block ahead where there's an uphill road just past the restaurant!

The greenhouse waiting area at Paldam Sundae

Right in front of the restaurant there's a tent-style waiting area! There was a fan running inside and chairs set up, so you could wait without getting too hot!! Coffee and plum tea were set out in the hallway by the restroom, and they said they'd give you iced water too if you asked!!

Outside Paldam Sundae

For this Chuseok, they were closed Wednesday through Friday but back to normal hours from the weekend! Seems like a great spot for families to gather and eat on a weekend.

Paldam Sundae's operating hours are short! Since the owner makes the sundae by hand every day, they said they simply can't make enough to stay open past 3pm!!

Inside Paldam Sundae

Just as the long wait suggested, the inside was absolutely bustling!

I knew it had been on YouTube and various broadcasts, and maybe because of that, autographs covered the walls and counter!

Paldam Sundae menu and what we ordered

⭐️Recommended menu⭐️ 211 spicy sundae-guk, suyuk, omakase set

• 211 Chef's spicy sundae-guk: ₩22,000
• Suyuk (sous vide head meat): ₩15,000
• Coca-Cola: ₩2,000

Side dishes and table setting

They gave us kkakdugi (diced radish kimchi), napa cabbage kimchi, and vinegared gochujang with perilla powder, plus soy sauce!

The unlimited organ meat self-bar

I'd been really looking forward to this organ meat self-bar — these days even when you buy sundae they barely give you any organ meat! And in an era like that, unlimited organ meat refills?!!

The organ meat was clearly well managed — no smell at all, and it was warm and fresh!!

If we hadn't ordered the suyuk, I probably would've gone back for several plates of this!! No smell at all and so tender!!

Suyuk (sous vide head meat), 15,000 won

You could feel it the instant you picked up a single piece of meat!! Maybe because it's sous vide, it was tender just from picking it up.

Underneath the meat there were bean sprouts and broth!

You're supposed to boil it up and eat it — it was already tender, but after boiling it turned to a whole other level, practically melting! Turns out why:

Paldam Sundae's head meat uses only domestic top-grade breeding sows, which I think is why it's so soft!!

Topped with salted shrimp, it just kept disappearing endlessly..!! (I almost forgot the suyuk wasn't supposed to be the main star..)

211 Chef's spicy sundae-guk, 22,000 won

My partner can't handle spicy food, so we debated whether to both order this, but I heard it has Chef Lee Won-il's touch, and there was no way I could skip trying it!

The bowl was packed full of native-style sundae!! Inside: 6 pieces of native sundae / glass noodles / head meat, with absolutely no gamey smell!

Mixing in the rice at the end made it even more delicious..🤤

The broth was clearer than at most other places, and since I like a heavier gukbap, I added a generous amount of perilla powder and slurped it all down in no time!! There's so much in the bowl that for two people I'd recommend just one 211 Chef's spicy sundae-guk plus one suyuk!

The omakase set and the review event

I didn't try it this time, but adding ₩5,000 to the sundae-guk gets you the omakase set. Personally I'd recommend the suyuk instead, but this is apparently famous for letting you sample various handmade sundae! (Since it's handmade every time, the taste seems to change a bit each visit.)

If you take part in the Naver review event, they give you a scratch-off lottery ticket!!

I took it home dreaming of becoming a millionaire, but I failed..!

Still, it was such a genuinely delicious place and I had a really happy meal. Whenever I visit Gimpo, I'll definitely, definitely come back again!! The suyuk really melts in your mouth, so you have to try it!!