Hagik-dong bulgogi restaurant with a gat pickle burger: Dongchuwon

Incheon bulgogi hot pot spot 🥩 Dongchuwon Bulgogi (동추원불고기) 🥩

OPEN daily 11:30–21:30 (last order 20:30) / closed on the holiday and the day after. Parking available — Seonjeong parking lot across from the restaurant, free for 1.5 hours of cooking and 30 minutes of eating.

Where is Dongchuwon Bulgogi, and what is it like inside?

Dongchuwon Bulgogi is in Hagik-dong, Michuhol-gu, Incheon, near Sinjang Market! Today I dragged my tired body here after going to get my boyfriend's tuxedo fitted — figured I'd get some bulgogi hot pot to recharge before the wedding, haha 😋

I went the week before a holiday, and apparently they're only closed on the holiday itself and the day after, haha (they've got both Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon certifications too!)

From the entrance it already felt upscale! So I thought this would be a great spot to bring my parents.

The inside is really spacious, with wide tables set up for family groups, haha. There were guests seated further inside so I couldn't get a photo, but they do have private rooms! It looked perfect for gatherings (and sure enough, there were a lot of family groups and get-togethers when we visited).

Menu: cooked dishes at Dongchuwon Bulgogi

Here's the menu! The mains are Korean beef bulgogi, old-style bulgogi, and Korean beef restorative hot pot ✨ Both the Korean beef bulgogi and old-style bulgogi have set options too.

Menu: rice and noodle meals

There's a good variety of meal dishes too!

You order through the kiosk! You can add extra bulgogi individually.

The set can be ordered for 2 or more people ✔️ Bulgogi 300g + dessert naengmyeon + dessert omija tea. Note that ordering the set gets you a discounted price on the grilled squid and Korean beef minari yukhoe!

Definitely want to try the Korean beef restorative hot pot next time!

If you're bringing kids to a family gathering, they've got a kids' meal ready too, haha.

You can also add extra side dishes or noodle sari, so pick whatever you like ❤️

Oh, and it wasn't plain water but heotgae water, which made me so happy I kept drinking it. Places that give you barley tea or heotgae water are rare..💗

What we ordered, and the side dishes that come with it

Ordered ✔️ Korean beef bulgogi hot pot for two + 2 bowls of rice

When you order the bulgogi, a full spread of basic side dishes shows up, and they're all delicious..🤎

The vegetables that come as default! White tremella mushroom, king oyster mushroom, sweet pumpkin, bok choy, enoki mushroom, and even wide glass noodles — all packed in together!

The gat (mustard leaf) pickles were good enough to make me want to come back just for these! True to the name, it's really got that gat kick.. so tasty. Even better eaten with the bulgogi.

Unusually, they gave us a set of morning bread rolls, which turned out to be so we could make our own bulgogi burgers! (I'll share the hack later.)

And there was even salad! The yuzu flavor was refreshingly tangy, so great as an appetizer, haha.

There's a self-bar too, so if the basic side dishes run low, go use the self-bar! (Garlic, chili peppers, and ssamjang all ready to go!)

How do you eat the Korean beef bulgogi hot pot for two?

Dongchuwon Bulgogi's Korean beef bulgogi for two comes piled up like a mountain with scallions! There were instructions on how to eat it right next to the pot, but definitely try my combo too..😋❤️

First, pile the mountain of bulgogi on top! (Don't pile this much at once, do it a little at a time lol) Grill a moderate amount, then eat it shabu-style.

There's broth poured on one side of the pan for shabu-style eating — we grilled the meat on the pan side and cooked the vegetables in the broth side, haha.

This is how the meat grills up while the vegetables bubble away nicely, haha. Once the meat is grilled just enough, dip it into the broth shabu-style — it comes out way more tender!

The best trick: a morning bread bulgogi burger with gat pickles

Using the morning bread rolls that came as default to make a bulgogi burger! They give you sauce and cheese on the side too, haha. Spread plenty of sauce on the bread first.

Then pile on the cooked bulgogi and lots of cheese, and — my key point — definitely add the gat pickles!! The morning bread has a rich buttery smell that goes so well with the bulgogi, it was so so so so.. so so good..💛💛💛

And the bulgogi cooked nicely with the vegetables —

— eaten with the default pickled onions is also amazing..✨

We were eating so happily that we immediately piled on a second round of bulgogi (the portion is really huge.. we were seriously stuffed just the two of us).

I love cooked vegetables, so the white tremella mushroom + scallion + bulgogi combo was so good too! The mushroom's texture made it even better, haha.

After eating for a while, we added the glass noodles a bit later!

And the thing that pairs best with bulgogi — plain rice! Rice + bulgogi + gat pickles, highly recommend this combo too ✨ The flavors you already know are the best, right?

We had leftover cheese from making the burgers, so for the last round of bulgogi we piled all the remaining cheese on top and made cheese bulgogi!

Cheese bulgogi is truly the perfect flavor, so if you have any leftovers, definitely put cheese on top💛

Dessert course and Dongchuwon Bulgogi meal kits

And on the way out, there was even ice cream for dessert! Such a proper recharge-and-delicious dinner💛

On our way out I noticed they also sell suyuk seoji tang (boiled beef and beef tendon soup) and bulgogi meal kits! Would make a great holiday gift if you buy a few packs, haha.