Boiled pork with spicy kimchi at Songdo Korean restaurant with kids

Today's story is about a visit to Eonyang Dak Kalguksu in Songdo with my kid. The weather's been getting cooler lately, and sometimes you just crave something hot and hearty, you know? Since I was eating with my kid, I was looking for something not too spicy or intense, and that's how I ended up here. Spoiler: the kid ate so well and mom and dad were super satisfied too!

The broth in particular was richer than I expected — the moment I tasted it I was like, oh, this place is good haha.

The atmosphere and hours at Eonyang Dak Kalguksu in Songdo

There's a big Eonyang Dak Kalguksu sign on the exterior, so it wasn't hard to find. ⏰ Open daily 11:00–21:00, last order 20:30.

Once inside, the interior was bigger and cleaner than I expected.

There were quite a lot of tables, and along the window there was a row of seats for solo diners too. We went around 12:30 and there were quite a few customers, but since the place is spacious it didn't feel crowded at all.

Menu and prices at Eonyang Dak Kalguksu

You order from the table using a tablet. The menu was more varied than I expected —

• Dak kalguksu ₩11,000
• Dak gomtang ₩11,000
• Eonyang-style kalguksu ₩8,000
• Chewy mandu ₩6,000
• Spicy jjimdak ₩30,000
• Soy sauce jjimdak ₩29,000
• Boiled pork (suyuk) 220g ₩15,000
• Chogye guksu ₩11,000
• Chogye bibim guksu ₩11,500

Since we were eating with our kid, we ordered dak kalguksu + dak gomtang + boiled pork :)

House-aged noodles, made fresh — about 15 minutes to cook

At Eonyang Dak Kalguksu, they say they knead the kalguksu noodles themselves and age them a day ahead.

Because the noodles are aged, they don't come out the instant you order — the posted cooking time is about 15 minutes. They boil the aged noodles in batches every 15 minutes, so waiting a bit for tastier noodles is worth it, right haha. If you're visiting with kids, just keep in mind it can take a little time after ordering!

The kimchi here is seriously spicy lol

And there's one more thing I really want to talk about at Eonyang Dak Kalguksu: the kimchi!!!! Banchan is self-serve, and instead of just one kimchi, there are two — one spicy, one relatively mild!

But the spicy kimchi is REALLY spicy lol. I figured it'd just be the usual mildly spicy geotjeori you get at kalguksu places, but it was basically at the level of silbi kimchi!!! It's spicy but the kind of flavor that keeps pulling your hand back, and it went perfectly with the hot noodle soup.

If you love things fiery and spicy, definitely try the kalguksu with the spicy kimchi. From spice wimps to spice lovers, everyone can help themselves to whichever suits their taste — love that :)

Rich broth in the dak kalguksu, and rice already mixed into the dak gomtang

Finally, the dak kalguksu arrived! Even in photos you can tell the broth is really creamy and rich. The dak kalguksu is made with chicken bone broth, perilla seed powder, and half a chicken, and you can tell — the broth is far nuttier and richer than typical dak kalguksu. The chicken pieces were big too, so there was fun in picking the meat off the bone, and best of all there was none of that gamey chicken smell, so it was clean and easy to eat. The house-aged noodles were soft yet chewy, pairing well with the rich broth.

I'm more of a rice person than a noodle person, and the broth was rich but not overpowering — plus the rice comes already mixed into the soup. I'm the type who dunks rice into soup even at gukbap places, so having it pre-mixed meant the rice was moist and delicious!!!! The gomtang broth was even richer than the kalguksu broth!

Clean-tasting boiled pork, 220g, with no gamey smell

We also ordered the 220g boiled pork for ₩15,000! At first I thought dak kalguksu and dak gomtang would be enough, but in the end, ordering the boiled pork too was a great call. The meat was sliced not too thick, tender rather than dry, and best of all there was no gamey smell at all, so it was clean and easy to eat.

It's plain and mild even eaten as is, but my recommended combo is... boiled pork + spicy kimchi!! This is seriously good lol. Topping the plain pork with kimchi as spicy as silbi kimchi meant I just kept reaching for more. If kalguksu alone feels a bit lacking, I'd definitely recommend adding a boiled pork order too :)

A Songdo meal that satisfied both kid and adults

Overall, our family was really satisfied after eating here. What I liked most of all was the rich broth! The dak kalguksu broth was truly rich and nutty, and the dak gomtang with the rice already mixed in wasn't too much for my kid to handle.

My kid ate so well, practically face-first in the bowl!

On top of that, the boiled pork was clean-tasting with no gamey smell at all! My kid held it right in hand while eating haha. And I loved that both the super spicy and the mild kimchi were prepared separately so everyone could eat to their own taste. Since our kid ate so well, this is a place we'd love to visit again whenever we're craving a hot bowl of soup ♥