Nowon Korean restaurant with a toddler: Hantiok hanwoo radish rice

I visited Hantiok while looking for somewhere to eat with my 29-month-old at Lotte Department Store Nowon Branch. I wanted somewhere with dishes we could share with a child while still satisfying adult tastes, and this was a place I had passed by thinking, “I should try it someday.” The food quality was much better than I expected, so I left really satisfied!

Hantiok Lotte Department Store Nowon Branch information

It is on the ninth floor of Lotte Department Store Nowon Branch. Hours are daily from 10:30 to 20:30, and parking support is available.

It is located on the ninth floor of Lotte Department Store Nowon Branch.

Hantiok is a soup and meat specialist restaurant passed down through three generations.

The menu is Korean food, including hanwoo radish rice, Andong guksu (Andong-style wheat noodles), Andong gukbap (rice soup), beef brisket gukbap, and bossam set meals.

Refreshing chogye guksu and a spacious dining room

Chogye guksu (cold chicken noodle soup) was one of the bestsellers here, and I was craving its chilled broth, so I ordered it! It is a noodle dish loaded with chicken, where the sweet-tangy broth, noodles, meat, vegetables, and broth all come together beautifully.

The restaurant was more spacious than I expected. There were high chairs, too. We came before the meal rush, so we could eat comfortably.

Bossam and hanwoo radish rice shared with my child

These were the basic side dishes: napa cabbage kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, perilla leaves, seasoned gungchae greens, lettuce wraps for the bossam, and salted shrimp. We ordered the small bossam (boiled pork wraps), hanwoo radish rice, and chogye guksu. To jump to the conclusion, I would absolutely recommend the hanwoo radish rice if you are visiting with a child, and the sweet-tangy, refreshing chogye guksu was also a lovely specialty dish. The bossam was nicely tender for a child, too.

We ordered the small bossam, and it was a good amount. Best of all, there was barely any unpleasant or distinctive pork smell, and the meat was tender, which I loved. Bossam can be hard for a child to eat when the meat is tough or dry, but this time it was tender, so my child ate it well too.

The meat itself had a nice clean flavor, and the radish kimchi served with it was really delicious. It was crisp and thoroughly seasoned, and of course it paired so well with the bossam!! Adults can eat it with the radish kimchi, while it was easy to finely cut the lightly seasoned meat for my child and serve it with rice~

The hot ugeoji doenjangguk (soybean paste soup with cabbage greens) was refreshing and clean, and perfect alongside the hanwoo radish rice.

The hanwoo radish rice I liked most

Personally, the hanwoo radish rice was my favorite part of this meal. I actually ordered it for my child at first, but it was so delicious that I ended up eating more of it myself, haha. Since it is rice with radish, you might expect it to be a little plain, but the nutty, savory flavor of the hanwoo makes the rice itself really tasty.

It was not rice flavored with punchy seasonings; instead, it had a clean yet subtly deep flavor that kept me reaching for more~ When I go to Korean restaurants with my child, I usually order a clean dish like gondre bibimbap, but personally, this hanwoo radish rice was the best!!

The radish was softly cooked, making it easy to eat with the rice, and having hanwoo in it means you can naturally make sure your child gets some meat too. Above all, it was not overly seasoned, so it was suitable to share with a child. I served small portions of rice and hanwoo to my 29-month-old, and my child ate better than expected. If you visit Hantiok with a child, this is the first dish I would recommend~

Generous and refreshing chogye guksu

The chogye guksu was much bigger than expected. One bowl was so generous that two people could share it! The noodles were a little thicker than ordinary somyeon and felt a bit like rice vermicelli. They had a nice chew and went wonderfully with the broth.

Most of all, the chilled meat broth was incredibly refreshing. It was tangy and clean, so I thought it would definitely revive your appetite on a hot summer day! It was not aggressively sour or sweet, but closer to clean, cool, and refreshing.

There was plenty of chicken too, so it did not feel like you were eating only noodles—you could have meat as well. It also had white kimchi, adding little crisp, refreshing bites throughout 😋 The generous portion made it feel like good value, and I think you would be especially satisfied if you are craving something cool on a hot day, so I recommend it 👍

If you are visiting with a child

Hantiok Lotte Department Store Nowon Branch was a very good place to eat with a child. In particular, the hanwoo radish rice and bossam combination was great because it gave us food our child could eat while the adults could also have a delicious meal! You can serve your child small portions of hanwoo radish rice and tender bossam, while adults eat the bossam with radish kimchi, so it is nice that you do not need to order separate dishes.

Since chogye guksu has chilled broth, I think it is best considered an adult dish rather than something to serve directly to a child. It is tangy, so children may not like it, haha.

Overall, each dish was better finished than I expected, and it felt like a great place for a comfortable meal with a child inside the department store. If you are planning to go with a child, I definitely recommend ordering the hanwoo radish rice. Your child will eat it well, and it tastes great to adults too—a win-win 😊 If you are looking for somewhere to eat with a 29-month-old at Lotte Department Store Nowon Branch, I recommend Hantiok!