Bibim mandu and old-style pork cutlet in Songpa: Haengbokhan Udon Gage

Open at 9pm after Lotte World closes: Haengbokhan Udon Gage near Seokchon Lake

Last weekend I took my daughter and went with the three of us to Lotte World in Jamsil.. In the morning we watched <Catch Teenieping 2: The Secret of the Whale Gem>, which my daughter had been dying to see, and for the afternoon we decided just to head straight to Lotte World-

We got in after lunch and played all the way until the closing music, so we came out absolutely starving. It was a little past 9pm by then, and most restaurants were closed or wrapping up, and a burger felt like it wouldn't cut it, so I went searching hard for good places near Lotte World, and oh my,🫢 turns out there's an udon place open 24 hours?! It was even close by, so my husband and I said 'this is it' and ran straight over.

Haengbokhan Udon Gage Seokchon Lake Branch / 1F, 90 Samhaksa-ro, Songpa-gu, Seoul / Open every day, 24 hours

The location is great too — within 300 meters of Seokchon Gobun Station Exit 2 on Line 9, so it's easy to get to~ There are plenty of restaurants around and lots to eat, but Haengbokhan Udon Gage was the only place still serving food that late~🙌🏻

What's on the Haengbokhan Udon Gage menu besides udon

Wait, it's an udon place but.. it doesn't just sell udon? Udon's classic partner pork cutlet plus jjolmyeon and mobil noodles are all there as basics, and there are rice dishes too — pork bulgogi rice bowl, squid rice bowl, whole shrimp rice bowl — along with drinking snacks like tofu kimchi, duruchigi (stir-fried pork), and seafood pancake, great for pairing with a drink. It's basically an all-purpose restaurant~!!

The restaurant is also running a Naver review event. Write a review and you get one free honey tomato, soft drink, soju, or beer — don't forget to join in!!

The 9:30pm atmosphere: is Haengbokhan Udon Gage okay with a child?

Even though we walked in around 9:30, there were still a lot of people dining inside. Some were families enjoying a weekend late-night meal together, and others were people who'd worked late and were having a late dinner.

Places open that late usually feel like a drinking spot, but this place had a bright, well-lit restaurant atmosphere, so it was totally fine to bring my kid even at that hour~ (You'd hesitate a little bringing a child somewhere that feels like a bar, right..?)

We ordered our daughter's favorite dish, old-style pork cutlet, along with gakgi udon (basic udon), and a dish that targets grown-up tastes, bibim mandu.

Old-style pork cutlet: king-size with a crisp batter

The pork cutlet came out first, and it was a huge king-sized cutlet fried crispy on the outside — you should hear how crunchy it sounds when you cut into it! Crunch, crunch, crunch-

The meat was thick and cooked well all the way through! The batter didn't peel off and was fried just perfectly, so it was a complete hit with our tastes~~ It was even better with a piece of kimchi on top!!👍🏻

Gakgi udon: chewy milmyeon noodles, not udon noodles

Next up was gakgi udon, piled with fried tofu skin, crown daisy greens, and dried seaweed flakes — oh my! It's called udon but it's actually made with chewy milmyeon (wheat noodles) instead of udon noodles. Personally, I thought it was much tastier and had a much better texture than regular udon noodles!!

Bibim mandu: packed with vegetables, made for grown-up tastes

Next, the dish us parents had been waiting for — bibim mandu (mixed dumplings)! The first thing that catches your eye as soon as it arrives is how generously loaded it is with vegetables. Lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, carrot, even bean sprouts. Those crunchy vegetables met the spicy-sweet-and-sour mixing sauce and the crispy fried mul-mandu (dumplings) for an amazing flavor👏🏻👏🏻

There are so many vegetables you won't gain weight even if you finish it all hahaha 🥬🥕🥒 We happily mixed it with our right hand, then our left hand~~ and scraped the bowl clean down to the bottom. Highly recommend it as a side dish, and especially for anyone watching what they eat!

Morning or night, whenever you're hungry, Haengbokhan Udon Gage has a menu for it — I'll be stopping by every time I go to Lotte World🤍