Noryangjin sukiyaki restaurant: Kanto-style hot pot for two at Chome

I wanted to write an honest review of Chome, a hidden Japanese restaurant in Noryangjin I visited over the weekend.

We were on a date near Noryangjin and trying to decide on dinner when the cold weather made us crave a warm soup dish. People usually think of the fish market when they hear Noryangjin, but there are actually quite a few hidden gems tucked into the back alleys. Chome kept coming up as a place with really solid sukiyaki for a reasonable price, so we went in with high expectations.

How to find Chome: a 10-minute walk from Noryangjin Station

Chome is about a 10-minute walk from Noryangjin Station. It's close enough to the station that getting there by public transit was easy.

What comes with the 25,800-won Kanto-style sukiyaki for two?

We checked out the menu board posted outside. Chome has a pretty wide selection — ramen, curry, sukiyaki, and even salmon futomaki (thick seaweed rice roll) — so there were a lot of options. Honestly, seeing other tables eating ramen or futomaki looked delicious too, but we'd already made up our minds about sukiyaki before we even walked in, so we didn't waver and ordered the 'Kanto-style sukiyaki' for two.

For reference, the sukiyaki can only be ordered starting from two servings, priced at ₩25,800. That works out to about ₩12,900 per person, which feels quite reasonable given how prices are these days. Looking at what's included, it's a solid set: a hot pot loaded with vegetables and beef, finishing noodles you cook later, and matcha ice cream for dessert.

Weekend evening wait and seating at Chome

Walking in, Chome's interior wasn't especially large. But bar seats and regular tables were arranged efficiently, so it could hold more people than you'd expect. Since we came on a weekend evening, the place was nearly full of customers. Luckily there was exactly one spot left in the back, so we didn't have to wait.

Inside Chome: an interior packed with anime figures

Rather than the cozy atmosphere typical of Japanese restaurants, the interior felt lively and energetic. What really caught our eye were all the Japanese anime figures and posters filling every corner of the place. Familiar characters from Jujutsu Kaisen, Doraemon, and Crayon Shin-chan decorated the walls, so it was fun to look around while waiting for the food. The owner clearly loves anime, and these touches gave the place its own unique character.

What's on Chome's self-serve bar

After ordering, we headed to the self-serve bar set up on one side of the restaurant. Instead of water, you could pour yourself cold green tea, and disposable aprons were available too. There were also basic side dishes like pickled radish, kimchi, and pickled mustard leaf, along with seasonings like chili powder and cheongyang chili peppers.

The sukiyaki pot: how it looks and what's in it

Soon, the sukiyaki we'd been waiting for arrived. The moment the big hot pot landed on the table, we couldn't help but be impressed by how it looked. Thinly sliced, bright red beef was piled high on top, and underneath were fresh vegetables like napa cabbage, bok choy, enoki mushrooms, and green onion, packed in so generously the pot was nearly overflowing. On top of that, tofu, glass noodles, and fish balls — essentials for any proper sukiyaki — were added in, and just looking at it felt filling.

Along with the sukiyaki, the staff gave us a guide sheet titled 'How to enjoy Chome's Kanto-style sukiyaki 100%.' We followed the steps on it one by one to cook everything properly.

Broth seasoning and beef texture: the one drawback

As for the taste, the most important thing — the broth seasoning — was well balanced, not too salty or too sweet, so it wasn't overpowering. On top of that, the savory depth from all the vegetables and beef built up the longer it simmered. It tasted best when the vegetables, beef, and fish balls had really soaked up the broth's seasoning. That said, maybe because we didn't cook it quite right, some parts of the beef were tender while others were a bit tough. Overall it was delicious, but if the beef quality had been a bit more consistently tender, it would have been perfect.

Three dips: raw egg, sesame sauce and chili sauce

A variety of sauces came with the sukiyaki. Besides the standard raw egg, sesame sauce and chili sauce were also provided, so it was fun choosing based on your mood.

Personally, I liked the classic method best — beating the yolk well and dipping the beef generously in it, which tasted rich and nutty. My wife, on the other hand, preferred dipping into the chili sauce or peanut sauce.

Finishing noodles made fresh in-house at Chome

After eating through most of the beef and vegetables, we were already pretty full, but there was no skipping the finishing noodles included in the set. The noodles are apparently made in-house at Chome, fresh, and they had a much chewier, springier texture than typical kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) noodle add-ins. Fresh noodles fully soaked in the salty sukiyaki broth were an absolute delicacy.

Matcha ice cream to end the meal

Once we finished the meal, the dessert ice cream arrived last. It was matcha flavored, topped with sweet red bean paste. Visually it looked like a mini matcha bingsu (shaved ice dessert). I liked that they gave one to each of us — the bitter matcha flavor paired beautifully with the sweet red bean. It was a clean finish that washed away the saltiness left in our mouths after the sukiyaki.

Is Chome's sukiyaki worth it? Final verdict

Overall, Chome in Noryangjin was a great value spot where you can enjoy a well-rounded sukiyaki set at a reasonable price. There was a slight drawback with the beef's texture, but that might have been because we simmered it too long during cooking, and considering the generous vegetables and beef, the handmade fresh noodles, and the clever matcha ice cream dessert, it was a pretty solid value overall. If you're near Noryangjin and craving good-value sukiyaki or a warm soup dish, I'd recommend giving Chome a try.