Gomtang and yukhoe with a baby in Gasan, Seoul: 1pm rush at Yukhwang

Clean and hearty, made with fresh hanwoo Yukhwang

Hi, this is Kong! I had some errands to run in Gasan Digital Complex and stumbled on a real gem that had just opened. Let me introduce Yukhwang.

Yukhoe (raw beef) and gomtang (beef bone soup) are dishes Koreans really love, right? But these days so many places feel like they're using frozen meat or packaged soup base... Yukhwang, though, uses fresh ingredients from the yukhoe to the gomtang, and nothing is overly seasoned, so it felt clean the whole way through. If you're looking for a lunch spot in Gasan Digital Complex, this one's worth a visit.

Where Yukhwang is, and what 1pm looks like inside

Yukhwang is on the 1st floor of the Halla One&One Tower commercial building, about 400m from Exit 8 of Gasan Digital Complex Station. It's centered on hanwoo yukhoe bibimbap and gomtang, with yukhoe mulhoe, suyuk jeongol, and gopchang jeongol also on the menu. Since it had only recently opened, I figured it'd be relatively quiet, so I went around 1pm to dodge the lunch crowd — but the place was almost completely full, which surprised me.

It's a new place, but already had that word-of-mouth vibe where people in the know were coming in — I got a little excited just walking through the door, haha.

Yukhwang uses 1++ hanwoo. A lot of places these days rely on strong seasoning or heavy umami, but here they focus on bringing out the natural flavor of the ingredients through good hanwoo and broth simmered for a long time. Maybe that's why the gomtang, even with its clear broth, wasn't light at all — it had a quietly deep richness, and the meat was tender with real nutty flavor.

At lunch, it seemed like a great spot for nearby office workers to fill up on gomtang or yukhoe bibimbap, and in the evening it looked just as good for a relaxed drink alongside yukhoe, mungtigi, or jeongol (hot pot).

What we ordered at Yukhwang: gomtang for two and yukhoe

We ordered gomtang for two (₩13,000 per person) and yukhoe (₩27,000).

I originally wanted mungtigi, but it turns out mungtigi is only available Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after 4pm. Since we came for lunch this time, and mungtigi felt like something you should eat in the evening with a drink anyway, I let go of that disappointment and ordered yukhoe instead.

Yukhwang's yukhoe: fresh enough to cling to a tilted plate

The moment the yukhoe arrived, I completely forgot about mungtigi — it looked that good. The color of the meat was fresh, the texture firm with no mushiness, and it was so springy that it stayed stuck to the plate even when tilted. In the mouth it was chewy and fresh with no mushy or tough bits — honestly the best yukhoe I've had in a while!

It was also great wrapped in gim (seaweed sheet) with the radish, garlic scapes, and pickled radish that came with it. The seasoning wasn't too strong, so I could really taste the hanwoo itself.

Clear gomtang and hand-shaved radish

The gomtang isn't the milky, heavy style — the broth is clear and clean. It looks like a beef and radish soup, but tastes deeper and richer than a typical one. It's not pushed forward with salt or seasoning but built on the natural flavor drawn from the beef and radish, so my stomach felt light afterward too. And rice comes already added to the soup!

One thing that quietly impressed me was the radish in the gomtang. Instead of being cut into cubes, it was sliced at an angle — what's often called 'bisyeo sseolgi' (angled slicing) in Korean. Cut this way, the radish soaked up the broth well, so every spoonful had a soft, refreshing taste.

My mom slices radish the same way when she makes beef radish soup at home, and somehow that small detail gave off the feeling of a genuine, home-cooked-style restaurant. The seokbakji (radish kimchi) served with the gomtang is apparently made fresh every day too. The dressed lettuce and salted seafood side dishes were solid as well.

Next time I want to try the yukhoe bibimbap for sure. So many places these days just pile frozen yukhoe with cabbage and baby greens and drown it in gochujang sauce, which is always a letdown — but after seeing how good the yukhoe was here, I'm genuinely looking forward to their bibimbap.

Yukhwang's dining room and what to know with a baby

Inside, Yukhwang is decorated in deep wood and oak tones, giving off a clean, upscale feel overall. It had the calm atmosphere of a place specializing in hanwoo, without being too heavy or stuffy.

It seems like a great spot for a hearty meal at lunch, and just as good in the evening for yukhoe or suyuk jeongol with a drink. Given how full it was even at 1pm, past the lunch rush, it seems to be quickly becoming a known lunch spot among office workers in Gasan Digital Complex.

There didn't seem to be a baby chair available, and the space between tables wasn't especially generous for placing one either. But since we usually hold our baby while eating anyway, it wasn't a problem for us. More than anything, the owner was kind to our baby, which made me happy.

Is Yukhwang worth a Gasan lunch?

I ended up at Yukhwang by chance while running errands in Gasan Digital Complex, and I was genuinely won over by how fresh and clean the food was. It's an easy, unfussy meal — I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a warm, hearty lunch like gomtang, and just as much to anyone who loves fresh yukhoe or yukhoe bibimbap.

Next time I want to try the yukhoe bibimbap, and if I make it back in the evening, I'm definitely ordering the mungtigi I missed out on this time, haha. If you're looking for a lunch spot in Gasan Digital Complex where you can really taste fresh hanwoo, stop by Yukhwang.