Gimpo Korean restaurant with rye kalguksu: Homilwon

Rye fresh-noodle shabu-kalguksu in Gimpo

On a day when we wanted a warm broth and a generous spread of this and that, we visited Homilwon Shabu Kalguksu Gimpo Main Branch.

This restaurant lets you enjoy shabu-shabu first in broth made with sanghwang mushrooms, then move on to kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) made with fresh noodles. What especially caught my eye was that the fresh noodles are made with rye rather than regular wheat flour.

Sometimes kalguksu can leave you feeling heavy, but perhaps because these were rye noodles, my stomach felt quite comfortable even after eating.

What comes with the Hangsang Gadeuk Special for two?

The menu we chose that day was the Hangsang Gadeuk Special for two, ₩39,800. Just as its name suggests, the table was truly filled to the brim.

It was not just shabu-shabu: a platter of webfoot octopus and a platter of boiled pork arrived together, and the table was packed as soon as the food came out. I wondered whether this would be okay for two, but once we started eating, the variety meant we did not get tired of it and could happily alternate among the dishes.

Everything was plated beautifully too, so it was nice for taking photos. I thought it would suit a meal with parents or a date when you want to properly enjoy something delicious.

Webfoot octopus and boiled pork all at once

What I liked most about the Hangsang Gadeuk Special was being able to taste boiled pork and webfoot octopus alongside the shabu-shabu.

The boiled pork comes piled onto a full platter, and the webfoot octopus is prepared on its own platter too. It was fun to be able to eat boiled pork and webfoot octopus together like this at a shabu-shabu specialist.

Rather than eating just one dish continuously, we sampled the meat and webfoot octopus first, then cooked shabu-shabu here and there, so it felt as if the menu changed throughout the meal. Above all, the food looked quite good, so I thought it would be a nice place to bring guests.

Sanghwang mushroom broth and rye fresh-noodle kalguksu

The star shabu-shabu features broth made with sanghwang mushrooms.

As you add the ingredients to the broth one by one and cook them, the flavors of the vegetables and meat naturally build up, making the soup deeper and deeper.

When shabu-shabu broth is too intense, you can get tired of it quickly, but this one went well with the ingredients.

After eating a fair amount of shabu-shabu, you add the fresh rye noodles to finish with kalguksu. As the noodles soak up the broth, they offer a different flavor from the shabu-shabu we had earlier, and we could enjoy a warm meal right to the end.

Perhaps because they are made with rye, the noodles did not feel burdensome afterward. Personally, I thought this kalguksu might be the dish that best represents Homilwon's name.

Unlimited beef, mushroom, and radish rice

That was not all. The self-service bar has beef, mushroom, and radish rice, and it comes with unlimited refills.

You can serve yourself a little rice before the shabu-shabu or have it alongside the kalguksu. Perhaps because it contains radish, the rice itself was light and clean-tasting, while the beef and mushrooms made it subtly delicious.

The main dishes alone were filling enough, but being able to eat as much rice as we wanted made the overall set feel especially substantial. Still, since we had ordered the Hangsang Gadeuk Special, we only ate a little rice so we would not get too full. Boiled pork, webfoot octopus, shabu-shabu, and kalguksu were still waiting for us.

Finishing with misutgaru

After the meal, we found that misutgaru (roasted grain powder drink) was also available for dessert. We were very full after the shabu-shabu, kalguksu, boiled pork, webfoot octopus, and radish rice, but finishing with the nutty misutgaru made the meal feel neatly complete.

It was a small thing, but I liked that we could take care of dessert right in the restaurant without having to find a separate café.

A satisfying meal for both food and atmosphere

The atmosphere was nice as well as the food. The restaurant was kept clean overall, and the space between tables did not feel cramped, so we could eat comfortably.

The staff were kind too, so we could enjoy our meal without feeling any pressure.

Above all, the clear advantage of the Hangsang Gadeuk Special was that it lets you enjoy several dishes together.

If you are looking for good kalguksu in Gimpo, the combination of rye fresh-noodle kalguksu and sanghwang mushroom broth is worth noting. And among Gimpo shabu-shabu restaurants, if you want a set that includes boiled pork and webfoot octopus too, the Hangsang Gadeuk Special seems like a great fit.

The two of us ate so many different things, yet the menu was varied enough to keep the meal fun to the very end. If I visit again, I think I would order the Hangsang Gadeuk Special we had this time rather than deliberate over another menu.