Bijeon-dong Korean restaurant in Pyeongtaek: abalone nurungji-tang

These days, as mornings and evenings turn a little chilly, I start craving something hot haha. This time I went to Hwanggeum Seafood Nurungji-tang in Pyeongtaek, where they serve a properly simmered seafood nurungji-tang (scorched-rice soup).

You can probably tell just from the photo, but the visual of it bubbling away in the stone pot was pretty intense from the start lol.

Where is Hwanggeum Seafood Nurungji-tang, and is there parking?

Hwanggeum Seafood Nurungji-tang is located at 160 Bijeon 4-ro, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do. It's a convenient spot if you're coming from Bijeon-dong, Dongsak-dong, or the Sosabeol area, and there's a spacious parking area right in front of the restaurant haha.

When you're driving to a meal, parking is always the first thing on your mind, so this part was definitely convenient. Once you walk in, there's a separate waitlist registration kiosk right at the entrance.

During busy hours, you can register your phone number and wait without having to stand around in front of the restaurant lol. Even while we were there, customers kept coming in one after another.

Inside the restaurant: clean dining room and tablet ordering

The interior of Hwanggeum Seafood Nurungji-tang is bright overall and felt quite clean. The tables weren't cramped, and the window seats had a nice open view outside, which made for a pleasant dining atmosphere haha.

Each table has a tablet for ordering, so we could take our time looking at the menu and order without calling a staff member over. This kind of system is definitely convenient these days lol.

Menu and prices at Hwanggeum Seafood Nurungji-tang

The menu is broadly divided into 300°C Seafood Nurungji-tang, Wild Ginseng Cultured Root Nurungji-tang, and Abalone King Nurungji-tang. We ordered the Abalone King Nurungji-tang for 26,000 won per person and the Jirisan Black Pork Sticky-Rice Tangsuyuk for 24,000 won.

The basic seafood nurungji-tang is 18,000 won, and the wild ginseng cultured root nurungji-tang is 22,000 won, so you can pick based on your preference haha.

Abalone King Nurungji-tang, 26,000 won per person

After a short wait, the nurungji-tang arrived still in its stone pot, boiling away furiously lol. The staff member poured the seafood broth over the nurungji, and the sizzling steam and sound at that moment were seriously appetite-stirring.

I think this is exactly the fun part of seafood nurungji-tang haha.

True to its name, the Abalone King Nurungji-tang had a big chunk of abalone sitting right on top, along with shrimp, squid, and plenty of other seafood and vegetables. The broth was thick with a deep umami flavor drawn out from the seafood. I also liked how the crispy nurungji gradually turned soft and chewy as it absorbed the broth lol.

Having a whole abalone in there definitely made it look more luxurious than the basic seafood nurungji-tang. Picking through the seafood piece by piece, then scooping up nurungji that had fully soaked up the broth, gave that warm-inside feeling haha. The portion was more generous than I expected too, so it was quite a filling meal.

Jirisan Black Pork Sticky-Rice Tangsuyuk, 24,000 won

The Jirisan Black Pork Sticky-Rice Tangsuyuk we ordered alongside paired really well with the nurungji-tang. The bite-sized fried meat combined with the distinctive chewiness of sticky rice made it feel a bit different from regular tangsuyuk haha.

It was crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and the meat itself was on the tender side, so I kept picking off pieces one after another lol. Eating the nurungji-tang alone can end up feeling uniformly soft, but adding in the tangsuyuk in between really brought the texture back to life.

If you're visiting with someone else, ordering one nurungji-tang plus the sticky-rice tangsuyuk to share also seems like a good combination.

Is Hwanggeum Seafood Nurungji-tang worth a visit in Pyeongtaek?

The basic side dishes were served neatly too, which was good for refreshing the palate in between bites haha. Between the hot nurungji, the seafood, and the chewy sticky-rice tangsuyuk, it ended up being a much more filling meal than I expected.

If you're in Pyeongtaek looking for something hot that's a bit different from your usual gukbap or jjigae, this is worth a visit. If you especially like seafood, the Abalone King Nurungji-tang is worth ordering at least once — it looks great and is fun to eat lol. Next time I'll have to try the basic 300°C seafood nurungji-tang or the wild ginseng cultured root nurungji-tang haha.