Dongdaemun chicken hot pot alley first visit, meat pancake: Sunhuine

First visit to Dongdaemun's chicken hot pot alley: Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun

Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun (순희네빈대떡 닭한마리 동대문본점) is a restaurant in Dongdaemun's dak hanmari (whole chicken hot pot) alley where you can enjoy chicken hot pot and crispy bindaetteok (mung bean pancake) together. A steaming hot pot of chicken is exactly what you crave on a chilly day! The two of us, a couple who love dak hanmari, headed to the Dongdaemun chicken hot pot alley to get a really good one.

It was my first time in the alley, and I was so surprised by how many foreign tourists there were (mostly Japanese tourists). The place we visited serves chicken hot pot and also crispy pancakes: Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun.

Sunhuine Dongdaemun hours, parking and menu

Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun is open daily from 10:30 to 22:30. There's no parking support, so you'll need a nearby lot, which costs ₩4,500 for 30 minutes, ₩9,000 for 60 minutes and ₩18,000 for 120 minutes.

For extra add-ons to the chicken hot pot, rice cake, kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), scallions, potato and mushrooms are ₩2,000 each, and vegetable porridge is ₩3,000.

What is the dining room like at Sunhuine Dongdaemun?

The restaurant sits in the chicken hot pot alley between Jongno 5-ga Station and Dongdaemun Station. As you'd expect from a famous food alley, there were lots of foreign tourists here too.

It's open late and uses a big space across the 1st and 2nd floors, so you don't have to worry about waiting.

The Dongdaemun chicken hot pot alley has lots of famous restaurants that have been on TV, and Sunhuine is another place that's been featured on various broadcasts and media.

The space is large and the seats are nicely spaced, so we could eat comfortably. It would also be good for a group reservation.

There's a coffee machine too, so you can have a cup of coffee after your meal!

Customers' scribbles cover the walls all over the restaurant. You can tell how long this place has been loved.

The restroom is inside and it was very clean!!

What the couple ordered at Sunhuine and the prices

At Sunhuine, we ordered chicken hot pot for 2 (₩33,000), added rice cake and kalguksu noodles at ₩2,000 each, and got a meat mung bean pancake (₩12,000) alongside.

• Chicken hot pot (for 2): ₩33,000
• Extra rice cake and kalguksu noodles: ₩2,000 each
• Meat mung bean pancake: ₩12,000

The basic side dishes include shredded cabbage, shredded chives, garlic and more. A clean, simple lineup that goes well with the chicken hot pot.

How to mix the cabbage dipping sauce for chicken hot pot

Shredded cabbage is a must with chicken hot pot. Add red chili seasoning, soy sauce and minced garlic to taste to make your sauce. The sweet-and-sour sauce pairs perfectly with the mild chicken.

Refills are self-service, so we could eat comfortably without feeling awkward about it. Loved that.

It had rained and turned even chillier. On a day like this, hot broth is the best. Since we could get chicken hot pot and pancake in the same place, we ordered both without a second thought!

Was the ₩12,000 meat mung bean pancake worth it?

Sunhuine's meat mung bean pancake was nutty in flavor and great in texture too! It had finely minced meat that gave it a savory depth the more you chewed, and it wasn't as greasy as I expected, so it was easy to eat. Crispy outside, moist inside, and you keep reaching for another piece haha

Chicken hot pot for 2 with wheat rice cake add-on

And finally, today's main event: the chicken hot pot. A big whole chicken with lots of vegetables, so generous that it looks filling just by sight.

We also added the ₩2,000 rice cakes, and the portion was really generous. It felt like no matter how much we ate, it never went down haha The wheat rice cakes are chewy, so I highly recommend adding them!!

Whichever part of the chicken we ate, it was tender with no dryness, and the meat was soft and easy to eat. Above all, the amount was truly generous, more than enough for two haha

Wrapping the tender chicken in sweet-and-sour shredded cabbage is a truly perfect combo. Mild chicken plus crunchy cabbage means you never get tired of it.

The fluffy potatoes are a bonus too.

Finishing the chicken hot pot with kalguksu noodles

Kalguksu is of course the way to finish a chicken hot pot! With the chicken and vegetables simmered through, the broth was far deeper than at the start. The rich broth is tasty even on its own, and adding chewy kalguksu noodles makes it truly the best... A satisfying meal right to the end haha

Is Sunhuine worth a return visit in Dongdaemun's chicken hot pot alley?

We came for chicken hot pot and ended up thoroughly enjoying pancake and kalguksu too at Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun. At first I only had the chicken hot pot in mind, but the pancake we ordered with it was better than expected, which made it even more satisfying. We left full, just the two of us, and I'd like to stop by again next time I'm in Dongdaemun. If you're looking for a hearty Korean meal near Dongdaemun Market, I'd recommend this restaurant!