Jongno late-evening dumpling hot pot and fried mandu: Jongga Mandu

Today I'm bringing you a review of Jongga Mandu (종가만두), a mandu (dumpling) hot pot spot near Jongno 3-ga Station. I ordered the clear mandu hot pot, added kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) sarie, and even got fried dumplings on top haha. Both the dumplings in the hot pot and the fried ones were delicious, so I wanted to share this with anyone who loves dumplings. It also seemed like a popular spot for families with young kids!

Inside Jongga Mandu: the room and the seating

Inside Jongga Mandu, tables line the back of the space. They're wooden tables and chairs, set up so you place a hot pot on the table and cook right there. I visited right before closing on a weekday, and there were about 3–4 tables of customers — mostly families, friends, and coworkers. The owner and staff were also really kind, which stuck with me. The food was great, but this warm feeling stayed with me too — the kind of place that puts you in a good mood!

The self-serve side dish bar at Jongga Mandu

There's a self-serve bar on one side. Danmuji (pickled radish) and kimchi are set out, and as noted, your first round of side dishes is brought to you — you just grab any extra portions here. Bowls and extra cups are also available.

What we ordered at Jongga Mandu, and what it cost

You order from a screen at the table. There's a clear broth hot pot and a spicy broth hot pot, plus a half-and-half version with both broths. Hot pots can be ordered by headcount for two or more people. We ordered the clear mandu hot pot for two. According to the menu in the photo, it's ₩13,000 per person, and we also ordered fried dumplings for ₩9,000. And because we couldn't help ourselves, we added extra kalguksu sarie on top of the noodles that already come with it. If you're planning to have mandu hot pot at this Jongno 3-ga restaurant, make sure to check out the fried dumplings too! I enjoyed both so much haha.

This is how the food was laid out~ Once the broth boils, dumplings for the hot pot come out separately, and meat, vegetables, and kalguksu noodles come as a default. Maybe because there's so much meat, mushrooms, and vegetables, the broth ends up even more delicious...

Dumplings folded by hand every morning

Napa cabbage, bok choy, and various mushrooms are piled in, along with beef rolled up neatly haha. The handmade dumplings are shaped round and pretty — apparently made by hand every single morning! Jongga Mandu says it carries on the taste of royal court dumplings once made by the owner's mother. They've apparently hand-shaped over 2 million dumplings in 7 years — hearing that number is honestly wild lol. Knowing they're hand-made fresh every morning, you can really taste all that effort — and they truly taste amazing! There were also quite a few people just there to take dumplings home.

How does the clear mandu hot pot broth taste?

Once the broth boils, you add the dumplings and simmer for another 1–2 minutes before adding the vegetables and meat. The clear broth ends up packed with meat, vegetables, and mushrooms. Looking at the photo again makes me crave that broth... What stuck with me most from this dumpling hot pot was this clear broth.

Eating the meat and vegetables together along with the broth was so good. To me, the broth tasted clean and light. Even though it's a clear broth, the flavor was really deep and delicious, and it paired so well with the dumplings. It's a clear broth, but somehow it left me feeling refreshed inside? Personally, I really loved this broth, so I'm voting for the clear hot pot! If you're looking for a dumpling hot pot restaurant near Jongak Station and you like clear broths, this one's worth checking out.

Inside a meat mandu. You can see how packed the filling is. The handmade dumplings were really delicious — the meat mandu was great, and the kimchi mandu was excellent too, making it hard to pick just one. Since the mandu in the hot pot were so good with the broth, I got curious about their other mandu menu, so we ordered the fried dumplings!

Fried dumplings for 9,000 won: too much alongside the hot pot?

Here are the golden-brown fried dumplings~ The round dumplings arrive on a plate, looking quite different from their hot-pot counterparts! The exterior is evenly golden, crispy, and genuinely delicious. You might think ordering both the hot pot and fried dumplings would feel repetitive, but I enjoyed both thoroughly. I'd highly recommend it as a side dish to go with the hot pot.

Here's a look inside the fried dumplings too lol. You can clearly see the color difference between the meat mandu and the kimchi mandu. The kimchi mandu was delicious, and the meat mandu was delicious too... in the end, I loved both haha. Whether hot pot or fried, they're both great — this is definitely a place worth coming to for handmade mandu!

Extra kalguksu noodles with Jongga Mandu's kimchi

Now we added the kalguksu noodles too. Since the hot pot broth was so tasty, eating it with noodles added in was amazing too. If you add extra kalguksu sarie, they give you a lot more, so you'll really fill up. If you're someone who loves slurping noodles, go ahead and add more — they'll top up the broth for you too haha, so give it a try lol.

And the kimchi here was really delicious! It went great with the mandu hot pot, and especially well with the kalguksu noodles. Between the clear broth, noodles, and kimchi, it was the perfect meal for us. If you're looking for a dumpling hot pot restaurant near Jongak Station, this one is definitely worth trying ~.~

The dumpling keyring at the register

While paying, I noticed a dumpling-shaped keyring. A round dumpling wearing sunglasses lol — the expression was so cute I couldn't help but pull out my camera... It was a fun little thing to spot on the way out after eating, and apparently the owner made the dumpling keyring by hand lol.

At Jongga Mandu, a dumpling hot pot favorite near Jongno 3-ga, I enjoyed everything from the clear hot pot to the fried dumplings. I loved both the kimchi mandu and the meat mandu, but the clear broth flavor is what stuck with me the most. The friendly staff made the meal even more pleasant. If you're looking for a place to eat handmade mandu near Jongno 3-ga, I'd recommend Jongga Mandu :)

The exact taste of the royal court dumplings a mother once made