Mapo Korean restaurant for an after-work sibling dinner: Anok

A Hongdae Korean restaurant I visited with my sibling after work

After work, my younger sibling, who goes to university in Hongdae, and I decided to team up for a hearty dinner 😉 We heard a new place nearby was serving Korean food in such a neat, thoughtful way, so off we went without hesitation! Following an alley off the busy main street, we arrived at a restaurant that felt calm and warm despite the hectic streets outside. Hongdae really is always such a hot spot—so, so crowded ㅠㅠ

What is the interior like?

Isn't the interior neat and clean too? And, true to a newly opened popular spot, it was sooo clean that I could relax.. I am secretly rather sensitive about cleanliness.

Reservations and group visits

There is table seating and no separate reservation system, while group tables can accommodate from 2 to 12 people! For private hire, contact the restaurant and they will check the schedule before letting you know, so keep that in mind.

Three dishes ordered by tablet

You can order easily from the tablet at your table. Our main picks were Anok's signature clear gomtang (beef soup), Pyongyang naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles), and braised pork tails 🥣

Clear gomtang with no greasiness

First of all, the look gets a pass..! Unlike a rich, milky, heavy beef-bone broth, this one had been skimmed of fat, and that clear broth was so impressive haha. One sip in, and its clean flavor and gentle savoriness spread through my mouth 🥹

The rice also arrived already in the broth, so every grain had absorbed that deep stock and went down much more softly. The sliced boiled beef on top was not tough either; it was tender along the grain, leaving my stomach feeling so-o-o comfortable the whole time. It was absolutely good with kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and kimchi too 👍🏻

Mild Pyongyang naengmyeon buckwheat noodles

We wanted something cool alongside the warm soup and rice, so we chose Pyongyang naengmyeon 🍜 Just as you would expect, it was not heavily seasoned and had that appealing mildness 😉 The characteristic texture of the buckwheat noodles—springy, yet pleasantly breaking with a little snap—was perfectly there too!

A highly finished bowl that fans of the mild, understated flavor of Pyongyang naengmyeon would really enjoy ✨

Spicy-savory braised pork tails

Thinking the soup, rice, and noodles alone might leave us a little short, we also ordered this place's unusual specialty: braised pork tails! 🍖 It is not a cut you come across often, so we ordered it half out of curiosity and half out of anticipation—and it caught our eyes from the very first look..!

The combination of the pork tail's distinctly chewy, collagen-rich texture and tender meat was great 👍🏻 The sauce was not overly sweet, either; its savory spicy-salty style made it just right with the mild naengmyeon, hehe.

Just so you know, it has a generous amount of fat, so I think it would make a perfect drinking snack too! From the clean, neatly prepared clear gomtang to mild Pyongyang naengmyeon and the special braised pork tails, this was a meal that filled up our after-work evening nicely~ If you are looking for lovingly prepared Korean food near Hongdae Entrance, I think Anok (안옥) would be a wonderful choice 💯