Hanwoo fine dining in Hwaseong: weekday lunch at Ubeullang Dongtan

Hanwoo dining at Ellisville near Dongtan Station

It is on the first floor of Ellisville near Dongtan Station. After parking in the building, it is close to Gate 1. You can use the building parking lot, which was convenient and easy to park in, so that was nice.

There was a reservation for a large group that day, so I could not take photos of the dining room. But the moment I walked in, it felt upscale, as you would expect from a great dining spot. With its modern, tidy interior and calm overall atmosphere, it was a place that suited a special-occasion meal perfectly.

Starting the weekday lunch tasting course

The three of us booked ahead and visited together, and we chose the weekday lunch tasting course at ₩119,000 per person! Since it is not a cheap course, I took my time trying it to see what the quality would be like.

They explained it to us first and then took it away again, haha. And then the course began.

Cassava-chip bites and flatfish carpaccio

A little bite 😁 The first dish was a cassava chip topped with cheese, caviar, and basil. The name makes it sound terribly complicated, but just think of it as a crisp chip snack with cheese, caviar, and basil on top, haha.

Today’s raw seafood 🐙 The flatfish carpaccio was thinly sliced flatfish with mango sauce. Raw fish with mango sauce? Huh? That was my first thought, but it was pleasantly tangy and delicious when I tried it 👍

Hanwoo carpaccio and a warm soup dish

Nakyeopsal carpaccio ✍️ Next came thinly sliced Hanwoo tenderloin carpaccio! The tenderloin was sliced very thin and served with tomato sauce and scallion oil. The tomatoes’ acidity kept it from feeling rich, so it went down lightly. It made me think, oh, you can eat Hanwoo sliced this thin too 😜

Today’s Hanwoo soup dish ✍️ This was made with a beef-bone broth base, cheek meat, matsutake mushrooms, and nutrient chives. At a Hanwoo omakase, it was the dish that made me think, oh? There is soup too? The beef-bone broth had a deep flavor, while the cheek meat was pleasantly chewy. Personally, I liked having a warm dish like this in the middle of the meal.

A hand-held truffle katsu sando and two Hanwoo cuts

Hanwoo tenderloin truffle katsu sando ❣️ This dish had a crisp-seared tenderloin exterior topped with truffle slices. The staff member explaining it said, “You can pick it up and eat it with your hands,” haha. In an atmosphere where it felt like I should be using a fork, suddenly eating with my hands felt awkward, so it made me laugh. The fresh, tender tenderloin and truffle aroma worked beautifully together, and it was even tastier than I expected with the basil foam essence served alongside!

Today’s two cuts of 1++ Hanwoo 👀 The main course, today’s two Hanwoo cuts, was tenderloin and upjinsal beef belly served with shiitake mushrooms and garlic, plus garlic purée and truffle. I am firmly on team well-done, so I asked them to cook mine a little more! You can adjust the doneness, so ask for it however you like. The tenderloin was, as expected, wonderfully tender and clean-tasting, while the upjinsal was nuttier with a richer beef aroma. The cuts tasted distinct and were both delicious. A few drops of truffle oil added such a lovely aroma too!

A filling finish with a sotbap set meal

Hanwoo gomtang and a sotbap set meal 🫶 The final meal was shiitake sotbap (rice cooked in an individual pot) and Hanwoo doenjang-jjigae (soybean-paste stew)! I was oddly happy to see dishes like these come out, haha. I am the kind of Korean-food person who needs rice and stew at the end to really feel satisfied, no matter how elegant the course has been 🤷♀️ The shiitake aroma gently infused the sotbap, and the Hanwoo soybean-paste stew cut through the richness for a filling finish.

Seasonal dessert 💕 We finished neatly with orange jelly and raspberries. After a whole meat course, that refreshing dessert felt like it cleared the palate completely. A sweet dessert really is the best ending!

Petit fours 🫰 Every item felt thoughtfully prepared overall, making it a great place to eat slowly while chatting.

At first, even the menu descriptions felt a little difficult, but once I tried each dish, it was fun to realize, ah, so these ingredients are combined this way. My friend is expecting her second baby, so it felt even nicer to share all kinds of stories over delicious food and come away feeling properly nourished at Ubeullang Dongtan ❣️ It is a good place to visit when you want to enjoy Hanwoo differently from the grilled Hanwoo you usually eat, or for a special day. That wraps up this first-timer’s honest Hanwoo omakase review 😁