Beef hot pot from mild to spicy for date night in Pyeongtaek: Songdam

My husband and I were trying to decide what to eat on a weekend evening when we found Songdam Kalguksu, a place where you can enjoy beef like shabu-shabu and finish with kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) too. He loves shabu-shabu, so while I was hunting for a good kalguksu spot in Anjung, Pyeongtaek, this seemed like a perfect match.

Location, hours, and parking at Songdam Kalguksu

• Address: 129 Gangbyeon-ro, Anjung-eup, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do
• Hours: Tue–Sun 09:00–21:00, last order 20:10
• Closed: Mondays
• Parking: Free dedicated lot on-site

An easy first impression, starting with parking

The restaurant had a large private parking lot with generous space between spots, so parking was easy. At the entrance stood a big waterwheel, and the reddish wooden exterior gave the whole place a cozy, mountain-lodge feel.

We went inside, sat wherever we liked, and looked over how to order. Since you build your own bowl by adding ingredients you want, there was fun in putting the combination together from the start. It seemed like a good option for family dinners in Anjung, Pyeongtaek too, since parking wasn't much of a worry.

Beef hot pot, built the way you like it

The basic beef hot pot kalguksu came with beef, broth, and noodles, plus free barley rice and sulppang. Vegetables, mushrooms, dumplings, and extra beef were all ordered separately according to taste.

We ordered two servings plus one vegetables, one mushrooms, kimchi dumplings, and a plate of beef. We hadn't realized how much that would be — both the vegetable and mushroom plates arrived piled high. That's when we realized we'd ordered way too much, haha.

Starting with barley rice

Before the hot pot started boiling, we mixed the barley rice with yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi), napa cabbage kimchi, and gochujang (chili paste) and ate it first. The pop of the barley grains combined with the crunch of the yeolmu kimchi, while the savoriness of the napa kimchi and the spice of the gochujang woke up our appetites nicely.

Mild and clean with wild mushroom broth

Once the broth started boiling, we added about half the vegetables and mushrooms and a generous plate of beef. According to the restaurant's own description, the broth is a house-made stock using sanghwang mushroom (Phellinus linteus). The first taste wasn't sharp at all — it was mild, with a subtle savoriness lingering afterward.

As the beef, vegetables, and mushrooms cooked, a nutty, naturally sweet flavor built up and the broth grew even deeper.

The beef, soaked in broth, was juicy, and dipping it lightly in the shabu sauce added a salty note that paired well. The enoki mushrooms were crunchy, the oyster mushrooms soaked up the broth and stayed moist, and the white jelly mushrooms were chewy and springy — the different textures were fun on their own. If you're after shabu-shabu in Anjung, starting mild like this seems like a great idea.

Kimchi dumplings served on the side

We didn't add the kimchi dumplings to the hot pot — we ate them on the side. Inside the thin dumpling wrapper, the kimchi filling had a spicy, salty savoriness that was a nice palate refresher between bites of the mild shabu-shabu.

Turning spicy with dadaegi

Once we'd had our fill of shabu-shabu, we added more broth and asked for dadaegi (chili paste mix). The clear, mild broth turned into a spicy orange stock, and the whole pot became a completely different dish. Since the earlier beef and vegetables had already infused the broth with plenty of savoriness, the added spice wasn't overwhelming — it blended naturally with the hearty flavor.

Finishing with chive kalguksu

Once the spicy broth came back to a boil, we added the chive-topped kalguksu noodles along with the leftover vegetables, mushrooms, and beef.

The chewy noodles soaked up the now-richer broth, taking on a savory, spicy flavor of their own, and eating them together with the beef and mushrooms gave a heartiness that felt totally different from the shabu-shabu course.

If you're looking for hot pot kalguksu in Anjung, I'd recommend this flow — starting with mild shabu-shabu and finishing with spicy noodles.

Dessert: mild sulppang

At the end, we had the free sulppang (fermented rice cake). The pale yellow cake was fluffy and soft, not too sweet, so it never felt heavy. The nuttiness of the beans scattered throughout made it a great dessert after the spicy noodles.

Songdam Kalguksu in one line

Working through barley rice, shabu-shabu, spicy chive kalguksu, and sulppang in order left us really full — full enough that a walk afterward sounded like a great idea, haha. If you're searching for a good kalguksu place in Anjung, Pyeongtaek, and want both shabu-shabu and chewy noodles in one meal, this is a place you'll find yourself thinking about again. If you like both, like I do, stop by Songdam Kalguksu!