Haksapyeong tofu restaurant in Sokcho: dumpling soup at Kongbatteul

Kongbatteul Sokcho Branch: a tofu restaurant in Haksapyeong, Sokcho

Kongbatteul Sokcho Branch is a tofu specialty restaurant at 134 Wonam Haksapyeong-gil, Sokcho-si, Gangwon-do. It's open from 08:00 to 16:00, and closed on Wednesdays.

If you travel around Sokcho, you'll easily find restaurants specializing in sundubu (soft tofu stew). Today I want to introduce Kongbatteul Sokcho Branch, where I got to enjoy a variety of tofu dishes at a reasonable price.

Kongbatteul is a tofu specialty chain with several branches nationwide, and the flagship store is in Heyri, Paju. This time, I visited Kongbatteul Sokcho Branch during my trip to Sokcho.

When I arrived it was already late in the lunch hour, but there were still quite a lot of customers eating. Sokcho has so many restaurants specializing in sundubu that it's hard to decide where to go — what stood out about Kongbatteul was being able to try various tofu dishes at a relatively reasonable price.

The tofu-hanjang (tofu full-course set) menu especially caught my eye. It's a set-meal style menu where a main dish comes together with various tofu dishes and side dishes.

Given how much dining out prices have gone up these days, being able to try several dishes at once felt like a fairly low-pressure way to eat, price-wise.

Free kongbiji, takeout, and a coffee discount next door

At Kongbatteul, all menu items can be packed for takeout, and they give out free kongbiji (soybean pulp). I thought it would be nice to take some home after the meal and make bijji-jjigae or bijji-jeon (soybean pulp stew or pancake).

After eating, if you show your Kongbatteul receipt at Aaron Burger right next door, you can get an Americano at a discounted price. Good to know if you're planning to hit up a café after your meal during a Sokcho trip.

Looking at the menu, along with seafood sundubu and jjamppong sundubu, there was a wide range of tofu dishes including cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew), chodubu, grilled tofu, and dubu-kimchi. In fact, seafood sundubu and jjamppong sundubu are listed as the signature dishes at Kongbatteul Sokcho Branch.

Tablet ordering and a table of tofu side dishes

Ordering at Kongbatteul Sokcho Branch is done through the tablet installed at your table. You can choose your menu and complete payment right at the table, which was quite convenient. This time I ordered tteok-mandu-guk and seafood sundubu.

The side dishes included tofu tteokgalbi and tofu tangsuyuk, along with kimchi, seaweed salad, and various other dishes, all neatly arranged. As a tofu specialty restaurant, what stood out compared to a regular restaurant was that the side dishes themselves were made with tofu.

Tteok-mandu-guk with 4 giant dumplings: how filling is it?

Kongbatteul Sokcho Branch's tteok-mandu-guk came with a total of 4 large wang-mandu (giant dumplings) — 2 kimchi dumplings and 2 meat dumplings — so hearty that even one dumpling was quite filling.

The dumplings were bigger than I expected, and eating them along with the broth left me pretty full from just one bowl. Since you often end up eating a lot of cold food like seafood or hoe (raw fish) while traveling around Sokcho, tteok-mandu-guk is a good option when you're craving a warm bowl of soup during your trip.

Seafood sundubu with shrimp and oysters: how spicy is the broth?

The seafood sundubu I also ordered at Kongbatteul Sokcho Branch had shrimp and oysters in it. The soft, silky sundubu paired with the seafood gave the broth a refreshing quality.

The broth was spicy but also had that distinct refreshing seafood flavor, which went really well with rice. You can't talk about Sokcho without mentioning sundubu — if you like your sundubu in a spicy broth rather than the usual plain white version, this is a place worth checking out when you're on the hunt for a good seafood sundubu spot in Sokcho.

Kongbatteul also has jjamppong sundubu on the menu, not just seafood sundubu. I ordered seafood sundubu this time, but if I visit again I'd like to try jjamppong sundubu too, since it's one of Sokcho's representative dishes.

Is Kongbatteul Sokcho Branch worth a visit?

Overall, what stood out about Kongbatteul Sokcho Branch was being able to try a variety of tofu-based dishes all in one place. What I liked most, especially with how much dining-out prices have risen these days, was having an option like tofu-hanjang where you can enjoy several dishes together.

This time I tried tteok-mandu-guk and seafood sundubu, and next time I plan to order jjamppong sundubu. If you want a hearty, budget-friendly meal during your Sokcho trip, try a warm bowl of sundubu at Kongbatteul Sokcho Branch.