Sundae-guk and seolleongtang lunch combo near Hwajeong Station

When the weather turns even a little chilly, or when your stomach feels empty, the first thing that comes to mind is always a bowl of gukbap (soup with rice).

A while back, while looking for a good gukbap place near Hwajeong Station, I visited [Pyeongando Restaurant Hwajeong Branch].

"The most perfect earthenware bowl to soothe a Korean soul — that is gukbap."

As that saying goes, here's my vivid record of a visit that left me hearty and warm inside.

Open 24 hours, every day — location and parking across from Deokyang District Office

This place is open 24 hours, every single day of the year, no less.

It's perfect if you're craving late-night food around Hwajeong-dong, and a lifesaver for anyone looking for a hangover-cure restaurant to soothe a burning stomach after drinking the night before. (So many 24-hour restaurants closed after COVID... ㅠㅠ)

The location is also spot-on 👍 — right across from the Deokyang District Office, super easy to find. There's free parking in the building, but the district office's large lot offers 1 hour free too, which is even more convenient! (EVs can't park there ㅠㅠ, so if you drive an EV, go straight to the district office lot instead.)

The lunchtime scene inside

Since I visited during lunch hour, it was quite busy. Lucky there were about two seats free.

There were solo diners enjoying a relaxed meal, as well as groups who'd pushed tables together to eat with friends. Come to think of it, the space is quite generous.

The self-serve sundae isn't glass-noodle sundae — it's chewy chapssal sundae

The most charming twist here was the self-serve bar. If you time your visit to the designated hours (11:30–14:00 / 17:30–20:00), you can help yourself to unlimited sundae straight from the warm steamer.

Did you think free sundae would mean the dry glass-noodle kind? No, no, no! It was chapssal sundae (glutinous rice blood sausage) 🫶🏼. The skin had a satisfying chew and the filling was moist and savory — a great appetizer before the soup arrived. (The set already comes with sundae, so I just had two as a preview~)

Plus crunchy kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and spicy-sweet geotjeori (fresh cabbage kimchi) on the side~

What we ordered: the sundae-guk set and the seolleongtang set

We ordered the restaurant's signature sundae-guk set and seolleongtang set. Along with the earthenware soup, each set comes with a hearty side plate of pyeonyuk and traditional sundae. As each dish landed on the table, my mouth kept watering more at the sheer abundance.

The pyeonyuk and traditional sundae plate

Here's the pyeonyuk and traditional sundae that come alongside the set. The thinly sliced pyeonyuk had a firm, springy texture that got better with every chew, and tasted clean and savory without any greasiness.

The traditional sundae, packed generously with filling, tastes clean the moment you bite in. Add a dab of salty saeujeot (salted shrimp) on top and the flavor explodes in your mouth. (Which sundae do you prefer? I'm team traditional sundae 💕)

Sundae-guk

Over the milky broth bubbling away in the black earthenware bowl, I sprinkled on fragrant chives and nutty perilla seed powder to taste. (I go heavy — total chives-and-perilla lover 💕)

I took a big first spoonful of the broth, and you can really taste the deep richness of bones simmered for a long time. (You can tell just from the photo how thick it is, right?)

When I mixed in plenty of white rice and scooped up a big spoonful, the amount of filling in it was incredible. (I love it so much — as a filling person, I'm grateful 🙏)

Tender head meat with no gamey taste and savory offal give a hearty chew alongside the rice grains. Top it with a piece of geotjeori kimchi and take a big bite, and an involuntary "aahh" escapes. Can I officially call this a new Hwajeong-dong favorite?!

Seolleongtang earthenware bowl

Seolleongtang is the right choice for anyone who prefers a clean, mild broth. The milk-white soup, well simmered, comes loaded with soft wheat noodles and plenty of lean meat. It's tidy and mild with no greasiness, so the gentle warmth is its charm rather than bold flavor.

A spoonful of well-mixed seolleongtang topped with crunchy geotjeori kimchi is a combination no Korean could resist.

The kimchi's seasoning blending with the mild seolleongtang broth had me scraping the bowl clean to the very last spoonful. (If you're Korean, you know that flavor / if you don't, you're missing out 🙏)

So stuffed I could burst!!

(My stomach's about to explode.)

In short

Here's what I experienced at Pyeongando Restaurant Hwajeong Branch~

• From a clean environment to hearty, genuine flavors and an insanely good-value self-serve bar (unlimited sundae refills, a truly generous perk)
• A deep, clean broth with no gamey taste
• A restaurant you can drop into any time, 24 hours a day, every day of the year

If you're looking for a gukbap place near Hwajeong Station to fill you up, or a hangover-cure restaurant to shake off lingering fatigue, I'd recommend giving this a try!

• Location: Across from Deokyang District Office (near Hwajeong Station)
• Hours: 24 hours, every day
• Recommended: Sundae-guk set (strongly recommend timing your visit for the self-serve sundae refill hours!)