Songpa izakaya with gopchang hot pot and cheese risotto: Horanggul

Today, I’m introducing a place where I finally went out for a proper drink in Jamsil’s Bangi food alley after a long time, haha. It’s Horanggul Bangi Branch (호랑이굴 방이점), right in the Bangi-dong food alley! I found it while searching for a good gopchang jeongol (beef intestine hot pot) place~

Horanggul Bangi Branch location and hours

• Location: 1F, 16 Ogeum-ro 15-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea (서울 송파구 오금로15길 16 1층)
• Hours: Daily 11:30–24:00
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• Last order: 23:00

An izakaya atmosphere in Bangi-dong’s food alley

Since it’s in the Bangi-dong food alley, it wasn’t hard to find! Even from the outside, it had the feel of an izakaya in Japan, haha. True to its name, Horanggul, or “Tiger Cave,” the sign and overall look were distinctive, so it really caught my eye as I walked past. There’s also a menu board out front, which is nice for checking the menu before going in, haha. They also had different lunch-menu discounts depending on the day~

Wood-toned interior and sofa seating

Once you go inside, the atmosphere you felt outside carries right on through! The wood-toned interior with Japanese-style touches really made it feel like I’d come to an izakaya, haha. Each table had a burner ready, and there were more seats inside than I expected. It would be good for two people, but there were also tables for larger groups, so it looked like a decent spot for a Bangi-dong company dinner or get-together. Above all, it felt cozy rather than like an overly noisy drinking place, so it would be nice for drinks on a date too! The comfortable sofa seats were such a plus, haha.

The menu was posted on the wall too, so it was easy to see at a glance, and you can conveniently order through the QR code at each table~! It was nice being able to order directly from our seats without calling a staff member, haha. Each table also had detailed instructions for enjoying motsunabe (Japanese offal hot pot)! Even first-time visitors can simply cook and eat it following the instructions, so it’s easy to enjoy :)

Medium-spicy gopchang hot pot with extra gopchang

Our first order was Horanggul gopchang hot pot, medium spicy, for two, plus soju~ It was ₩33,800! We also added meat through a review event~ We ordered steamed rice too, which you can’t leave out with a hot pot, and the fried rice here was seriously insane... We first ordered two bowls of rice, then quickly canceled them, ate half the hot pot, and ordered fried rice instead—and honestly... that was such a good call.. hahahahaha

Ahh, it first comes out with the lid on like this!!! Once it bubbles away and you lift the lid.... isn’t that visual insane?ㅠㅠ It was packed with tofu, meat, gopchang, and vegetables~~~!!! We love gopchang, so we added two servings of it through the review event, and personally, I recommend adding it if you like gopchang!! As it starts boiling, the flavors from the gopchang and meat properly infuse the broth, and even the smell just screams soju, hahaha ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

My favorite thing about Horanggul’s gopchang hot pot was definitely the gopchang. When I took a bite, it was really full of gop, the rich fatty filling, insideㅠㅠ It was packed with it, so every chew gave this wonderful nutty flavor. There was barely any off smell, and it was so good with the spicy broth. And the broth wasn’t just spicy—it had that rich flavor from the gopchang mixed in, making me keep reaching for more!! We ordered medium spicy, and it was perfect as drinking food.

One sip of broth → one bite of gopchang → one shot of soju... Before we knew it, we’d finished three bottles of soju, hahaha.

I could see why gopchang hot pot is their signature menu. Personally, it was one of the dishes I was most satisfied with that day, haha.

This yuzu sauce was so interesting! I wondered what it would taste like because it was yuzu sauce, but it went amazingly well dipped with the gopchang~~~

Cheese risotto from the leftover hot-pot broth

You can’t stop here. If you go to Horanggul, the cheese risotto............. you really have to get it.... hahahaha. After eating almost all the gopchang hot pot, we ordered fried rice with the leftover broth, and the visuals alone were no jokeㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ It couldn’t possibly taste bad.

A staff member came over and whipped it up right in front of us. Look at all those mushrooms~~~~~~~~~ The hot-pot broth had already soaked up tons of flavor from the gopchang and meat, right? So there was no way fried rice cooked in it could be anything but delicious,,, Plus, there was cheese on top in the middle, and when you eat the slightly melted cheese with the fried rice, the nutty richness really comes through. We were already full from the gopchang hot pot, but we just kept eating the fried rice, hahaha. Personally, I strongly recommend the fried rice just as much as the gopchang hot pot!! I think I’d be really disappointed if I had the hot pot without getting fried rice afterward.

Takoyaki as the final drinking snack

As we kept eating the gopchang hot pot, the soju kept going down, so this was the takoyaki we ordered because we wanted one last thing, hahahahahaha. Maybe because it’s an izakaya, but the takoyaki was seriously delicious too~~!! It came topped with lots of katsuobushi (bonito flakes), so it looked great the moment it arrived. It was different from the hot pot and fried rice, making it good as a final drinking snack, haha. In the end, we thoroughly enjoyed everything from the gopchang hot pot to the fried rice and takoyaki, plus three bottles of soju ><

Why I want to return for the gopchang hot pot

Personally, after this visit, Horanggul Bangi Branch became a place I want to return to for its gopchang hot pot! In particular, among all the gopchang I’ve eaten, this had the fullest, richest filling inside!!! It’s truly the kind of flavor that makes drinks disappear,,,,,, We ended up having three bottles of soju too, after all.... haha. And the final risotto was absolutely perfect. I really want to recommend this izakaya to anyone looking for a great place for drinks in Jamsil’s Bangi food alley, haha.