Pollack roe hotpot lunch in Ansan for two: Todamok

The hot summer nights are gone and a breezy autumn has begun. Midday sun still stings, but there's a coolness in the morning and evening wind that makes you crave warm soup, so I went for lunch with my husband to a Seonbu-dong favorite where cool broth and hot broth both hit the spot: dongtae jeongol (pollack hotpot).

Todamok's address is in Seonbu-dong, Ansan, but it sits right on the border with Siheung, so a lot of locals from Geomo-dong, Neunggok-dong, Janggok-dong, and Janghyeon-dong in Siheung come here too.

Todamok's menu and hours

The main menu looks like this.

• Algoni kalguksu (pollack roe noodle soup)
• Chicken kalguksu
• Bossam (boiled pork wraps)
• Steamed algoni
• Seafood pancake
• Dumplings

Todamok always looks charming with its tiled-roof hanok exterior.

• Road address: 17 Daejaengi-gil, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Lot address: Seonbu-dong 159-8, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Closed Mondays
• Tue–Sun 11:00–21:00
• Break time 15:00–16:00 (no break time Sat/Sun)
• Last order 20:30

Parking and getting there

Driving is the easiest way. Just search "17 Daejaengi-gil" or "Todamok" in your navigation. The lot in front is large, so parking is easy.

The sign that says "Don't worry, it's a good restaurant" is so cute haha. And yes — it really is. This is my second visit, and it's still the same clean dining room and garden, neat food, and plenty to look at. A great spot to bring kids for lunch.

The animal farm and garden in the yard

There's also a little animal farm. What animals could be inside... I wonder... my heart was racing a bit.

Guinea pigs and rabbits were hopping around inside. They didn't seem afraid of people at all — they scampered right up and poked their faces out, so cute.

Such a wide yard. It made me want to bring kids here to run around freely. Blue sky, white clouds, green grass... plus a wooden deck. Ugh, it's exactly the garden I've always dreamed of.

Why we picked dongtae jeongol

Time to decide on a dish!!! The day before, my husband had dongtae-tang (pollack soup) nearby with friends and said it wasn't great. So we said, let's have a really good dongtae jeongol instead.

Medium dongtae jeongol was ₩38,000. Rice is free — just take as much as you like from the self-serve bar.

Two side dishes: spicy radish salad and kimchi

A simple side-dish lineup. I actually prefer restaurants with a tasty main dish and just a few solid sides over places that pile on tons of banchan — less food waste, and no pressure to force yourself to eat it all, so I liked that it was just musaengchae (spicy radish salad) and kimchi. And that musaengchae kimchi was top-tier — thumbs up, so good. Crunchy, cool, spicy, all balanced well.

Medium pollack hotpot, roe surfacing endlessly

Finally, the main dish we'd been waiting for — the dongtae jeongol — arrived.

A red, clear broth loaded with radish, crown daisy, bean sprouts, tofu, and more.

There was so much algoni (pollack roe) in there that I kept picking at it, bite after bite, without stopping.

Ugh, the roe pops in your mouth and it's so nutty and delicious. It was the medium size but the portion was as generous as a large. My husband, who eats a lot, kept eating and eating and it never seemed to shrink — like magic haha. I dug in eagerly too.

The pollack itself was meaty and plump too, not dry at all — tender and soft, a total rice thief.

Bubbling away, boiling and boiling! Even though warm sunlight was streaming in at lunchtime, choosing the hot, steaming dongtae jeongol was such a good call. I've been so busy with work lately that I haven't had much appetite. But... the broth was so cool and spicy that I ended up mixing rice into it and had a really satisfying, hearty meal.

With so many vegetables in it, the broth was rich and refreshing. If you visit Todamok, try the dongtae jeongol — you won't regret it.

Kept eating and eating right to the end haha. I felt like I'd already picked out so much roe, but when I stirred with the ladle, more kept surfacing from the bottom, like a spring that never ran dry... My husband said this place must really mean it — they don't skimp on ingredients, which is exactly why it tastes so good.

Just looking at the photos makes me hungry all over again. I hadn't been eating properly lately, but thanks to Todamok my appetite seems to have come back. I mixed rice into the broth and finished the whole bowl.

Open kitchen, self-serve bar, and dessert

The open kitchen inspires confidence haha.

At the self-serve corner you can take as much rice and side dishes as you like.

For dessert there's milk coffee, americano, plum tea, and iced tea — that's Todamok, a Seonbu-dong lunch favorite overflowing with warmth, and a great place to treat your parents to lunch too. I'll definitely be back.