Songdo 1-gongu chicken gomtang lunch for three: Eonyang Dak Kalguksu

Today I had lunch with my mother-in-law and husband near my in-laws' place?! Both my mother-in-law and husband have pretty discerning palates, so when we eat together we tend to think a little harder about where to go. It's gotten chillier lately and my husband recently caught a cold, so I went looking for somewhere we could have a hearty, hot bowl of soup — and ended up at Eonyang Dak Kalguksu Incheon Songdo Branch.

Where Eonyang Dak Kalguksu Incheon Songdo Branch is, and its hours

Eonyang Dak Kalguksu Incheon Songdo Branch is on Haedoji-ro in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, in Songdo 1-gongu. It's open daily from 11:00 to 21:00, with last order at 20:30, and free parking is available in the building's parking lot.

On the way to the restaurant I noticed a few standing signboards. I guess they're placed here and there in case people have trouble finding the place. I took a quick look at one before going in and thought about what to order, haha.

Just from the exterior, you can tell it's a Korean restaurant, haha!

If you check the restaurant's own photos, you'll see that when the lights come on in the evening, the place actually has quite a bit of atmosphere, haha.

Inside the restaurant: solo seats and a charger at the entrance

The dining room at Eonyang Dak Kalguksu Incheon Songdo Branch is spacious and spotlessly clean.

At the entrance there are a bunch of phone chargers set up, and right next to them — you can't really see it in the photo — there's seating for solo diners too! Maybe that's why I saw quite a few people eating alone.

Self-serve bar: spicy kimchi or milder kimchi

On both sides of the dining room there's a self-serve bar with kimchi, pickled radish, and utensils.

Down below there's pickled radish and kimchi — and it turns out there were two kinds of kimchi, spicy and mild?! Curious which was better, I tried both, haha. The spicy one was a bit much for a spice wimp like me, while the mild one I could eat without any heat. Still, I kept reaching for the spicy kimchi more, haha — all three of us ended up eating more of the spicy one.

On the shelf above there were scissors, tongs, and a ladle, along with baby utensils and perilla powder.

And next to the self-serve bar there was a sign saying they make fresh geotjeori (quick kimchi) every day with domestic napa cabbage...! With all the talk about cabbage lately I'd been a little uneasy, so it was reassuring to know I could enjoy the kimchi without worry 🥹 You can't have dak gomtang or dak kalguksu without kimchi, right?!

There are also high chairs available. These too are set up on both sides — with so much seating, I guess they've placed several high chairs around as well.

Dak kalguksu vs dak gomtang: how do the two broths differ?

You order through the kiosk at each table, and we ordered three things — dak kalguksu, dak gomtang, and boiled pork — because of course we wanted to try a bit of everything, haha.

The dak gomtang and dak kalguksu came out first. Looking at them, the only difference seems to be rice versus noodles, but once you actually taste them, they're a bit different.

The chicken on top of both was really tender. The dak kalguksu broth was thicker, probably because of the noodles, and my husband said he preferred the kalguksu broth. Both of us aren't big fans of kalguksu noodles themselves, so I think that's really just a comment on the broth, haha.

The dak gomtang broth, on the other hand, was clearer, and I actually preferred that one, haha. I left a bit of the kalguksu noodles, but I cleaned out the dak gomtang bowl completely. If I come back, I'll get the dak gomtang!

The boiled pork we paid extra for — no garlic or chili was a letdown

This one was on us! This boiled pork wasn't part of the sponsored menu — we paid for it ourselves as an extra. It looks a bit cold and dry in the photo... haha, but it was actually really warm and on the tender side. One small letdown was that there was no garlic or chili to eat alongside the pork, which you'd normally want with meat like this. Still, having meat on the table made the meal feel that much more filling and satisfying.

On the way out there were candies to freshen your mouth. I never really eat candy normally, but somehow I always end up grabbing one when I see it at a restaurant, haha.

Parking at Eonyang Dak Kalguksu: 1 hour 30 minutes free

Eonyang Dak Kalguksu Incheon Songdo Branch registered our parking for 1.5 hours free, but in case anyone's curious, I've also attached the Songdo The First City parking fee chart, haha.

Is Eonyang Dak Kalguksu Incheon Songdo Branch worth a lunch visit?

Overall, I liked that the menu at Eonyang Dak Kalguksu Incheon Songdo Branch was clear and simple, which made it easy to choose. The broth in particular was excellent — deep and clean-tasting, with the nutty richness of perilla powder on top.

• If you like noodles, go for the dak kalguksu
• If you like rice, go for the dak gomtang
• If you want an extra serving of meat, add the boiled pork

That's roughly how I'd recommend ordering, but my personal pick is still the dak gomtang! That's mostly because I'm not a big kalguksu person — if you do like kalguksu, the dak kalguksu here is worth trying too. If you're in Songdo 1-gongu looking for a hot soup dish or a hearty Korean lunch or dinner, keep this place in mind, haha!