Dongtan gomtang restaurant with toddler tableware: Baekok Dongtan

Baekok, a Dongtan favorite, is where we ate a hearty meal with the kids on the basement floor of Lotte Department Store Dongtan. We were at the department store trying to figure out lunch when we came across Baekok!

Since it's gomtang (bone broth soup), I figured it'd be fine to eat with the kids, so this time we tried the pork gomtang at Baekok.

Where is Baekok Dongtan, and what is the seating like?

Baekok is on the basement floor of Lotte Department Store Dongtan branch. It works like a food court where you sit wherever you like, so there's no pressure to find your assigned table, and the vibe felt easygoing even for solo diners.

There were also bar-table seats on one side, which looked good for eating alone. And there was a baby chair ready for when you visit with a child.

We visited with our kids, and they brought out children's tableware separately too, so we could eat comfortably.

Ordering two pork gomtang sets and one kids' gomtang at Baekok Dongtan

We ordered two pork gomtang sets and a kids' gomtang. The set menu comes with 2 cabbage dumplings and a soft drink.

Baekok's basic pork gomtang is apparently made using domestic pork shoulder and bone broth, simmered to be light and clean. Tasting it, the broth wasn't sharp or strong-flavored — it was mild and pretty clean overall.

If you like pyeongyang naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles), you'd probably like this kind of mild flavor.

Above all, there was quite a lot of meat, so even just one bowl was satisfying.

The kids ate way better than I expected too. Rather than the usual rich, strong taste of gomtang, the clean and mild broth made it easy to share with the kids.

Why the cabbage dumplings pair so well with pork gomtang

We also tried the cabbage dumplings that come with the set. Instead of a regular flour dumpling wrapper, cabbage leaves wrap the filling, and inside it tasted like spicy kimchi dumpling filling.

The cabbage's mild, subtle sweetness paired with the spicy dumpling filling made for a better combination than I expected. They're fine on their own, but eating them alongside the mild pork gomtang gave a nice change of flavor between bites.

Side dishes at Baekok Dongtan: gungchae pickles and kkakdugi

The basic side dishes were gungchae (aster stem) pickle and kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi). It's not a side dish combo you typically see at a gomtang restaurant, so it felt a bit unique. And since the gomtang itself is so mild, pairing it with the salty gungchae pickle and kkakdugi really woke up my appetite.

Personally, I feel like this combination suits a mild gomtang like this better than more intense side dishes.

What else is on the Baekok Dongtan menu?

Besides the basic pork gomtang, Baekok also has a spicy yeolgomtang and an yakgomtang (medicinal gomtang). The yakgomtang apparently adds ingredients like neungi mushroom and milk vetch root for a deeper, richer umami flavor.

Beyond the pork gomtang, there are also side dishes you can pair with it, like cabbage dumplings, cold jegyuk (boiled pork slices), and bulkkorangji, a spicy stir-fried pork tail dish.

Since we were with the kids, we went with the safest option, the plain pork gomtang, this time — but I'd like to try the other menu items next time.

Is Baekok Dongtan a good gomtang restaurant to visit with kids?

What was best about this visit was how easy it was to eat with the kids. There's a separate kids' gomtang menu, they prepare children's tableware, and there's a baby chair, so it was comfortable dining with the kids. Because it's food-court style, it's also easy to move around after eating, and it was a good option for a solid meal in between shopping at the department store.

A promo video of Go Kyung-pyo eating Baekok's food was playing on the store screen, and the kids stopped to watch it for a bit.

Personally, this flavor seemed like it would suit people who prefer a clean, mild broth over a rich, strong-flavored gomtang. If you're looking for a place to eat with kids in Dongtan, Baekok is worth a visit — the kids' gomtang menu makes it an easy pick.

Baekok Dongtan: address and opening hours

• Location: Basement floor 1, Lotte Department Store Dongtan branch
• Hours: Mon–Fri 10:30–20:00 / Sat–Sun 10:30–20:30