Hangover-cure pufferfish soup with parents in Cheongdam: Bogi-o Boguk

Today I'm introducing a pufferfish spot in Cheongdam that I've visited many, many times with my parents. It's Bogi-o Boguk (복이오복국).

There are plenty of places our family tries once and thinks "that was nice," but Bogi-o Boguk is somewhere we end up going back to pretty often ❣️ Especially on days when I want something gentle on the stomach, or the day after drinking — pufferfish soup just comes to mind, haha. This time too, I went with my parents.

Bogi-o Boguk

Where is Bogi-o Boguk, and what are the hours and parking?

Bogi-o Boguk is on the 2nd floor of the Cheongdam Deokyoung Building, 540 Dosan-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. It's open from 11:00 to 22:00.

Parking is available, and valet costs ₩5,000.

Why clear jiri-tang is the pufferfish soup to order

What we ordered at Bogi-o Boguk this time was the pufferfish jiri-tang (clear pufferfish soup). You can choose between clear broth and spicy broth for the soup, and personally, I prefer eating pufferfish in clear broth.

The spicy version is probably good too, but to really taste the clean flavor of the pufferfish itself, the clear broth just seems to suit it better — so all three of us went with clear this time.

It comes out bubbling in an earthenware pot, so I took a spoonful of broth first — not spicy or sharp at all, just clean and refreshing!

And there was more pufferfish meat than I expected, which was great. If a pufferfish soup ends up being mostly just broth, it can feel a little lacking, but here you keep pulling out pieces of pufferfish meat, and it ends up feeling quite substantial.

The pufferfish meat has a clean but springy texture that goes really well with the broth. Personally, this combo of hot, clear broth with pufferfish meat was my favorite part.

Pufferfish soup after a night of drinking

There was a reason the pufferfish soup felt extra welcome that day — I'd been drinking the night before, haha, so I needed a hangover fix. I barely even thought about what to order and just went straight for pufferfish soup. Sure enough, the hot broth really did make my stomach feel better right away.

After a night of drinking, sometimes a clean broth like this actually hits better than a super spicy hangover soup, and that day was exactly like that. The banchan (side dishes) were also really clean and simple — and even better with the diced radish kimchi.

A spoonful of broth, a piece of pufferfish, then more broth — before I knew it I'd eaten quite a lot, haha. I really understood why people eat pufferfish soup as a hangover cure so often.

Mom didn't drink, and still finished the whole broth

The funniest part of the day was my mom. I was eating to cure my hangover from drinking the night before, but she hadn't touched a drop of alcohol. And yet after eating the pufferfish soup, she said—

This makes my stomach feel so comfortable~

—haha, and ended up finishing almost the entire bowl of broth.

My mom does like broth normally, but she really cleaned her bowl this time, and my dad and I both laughed about it, haha. When eating with parents, dishes like this — instead of anything too heavy or spicy — really do feel like the more comfortable choice!!

Pufferfish sashimi next time, better with a group

We only had the soup this time, but Bogi-o Boguk also serves pufferfish sashimi. I sometimes crave that distinct texture of the thinly sliced sashimi, but this time we kept it simple and finished with just the soup.

If you're visiting with a group, it might be nice to order something like the pufferfish sashimi alongside the soup. But for a meal with parents like ours, the menu isn't intimidating at all, and one bowl of hot broth is enough to settle your stomach — which is probably why we naturally keep coming back.

When you're craving pufferfish soup in Cheongdam

Thinking about it, our family has really come to Bogi-o Boguk many times. It's less of a special-occasion place and more the spot that comes to mind when we're deciding "what should we eat today?" and want something clean. And especially if I drank the night before, this is probably exactly what I'll be craving, haha.

Personally, I recommend the clear jiri-tang! It has minari (water celery) and bean sprouts in it too, haha. There's a good amount of pufferfish meat, and the broth isn't harsh at all, so it's easy to finish to the last spoonful. Most of all, seeing my mom say the broth felt "comfortable on the stomach" and finish it completely made me think this is a solid place to bring your parents.

If you're in Cheongdam and craving pufferfish dishes or pufferfish soup, and want a hot, clean meal like the one my family had, it's worth stopping by.

It didn't apply to me, but apparently staff from nearby companies like Hyundai Department Store and Hanssem can also get a discount!