Gangseo Seoul bar for boneless dakdoritang and 3,000-won soju: Gungmin

Balsan Station bar dinner review: boneless dakdoritang at Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch

I met up with a friend after a while for dinner and a drink, so we went to Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch haha. We were deciding what to eat and I was craving something spicy that day, so we went with the boneless dakdoritang.

Where is Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch, and is there parking?

Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch is at 330 Gangseo-ro, 1F Units 5-6, Dong-A Building, Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Walk out of Balsan Station Exit 6 and go straight for about 350m — it's on the 1st floor of Dong-A Building on the left side of the main road. It's across from the Balsan 119 Safety Center, so it's easy to find :)

• Parking: If you drive, there's a lot if you go in past Ogong Gimbap. If the lot is full, double-park and leave your phone number.
• Hours: Mon-Sun 11:00-23:00 (closes at 22:00 on the last Monday of each month)

You can spot Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch right on the main road, about a 7-minute walk from Balsan Station.

There was a full menu board standee out front, so you could see the whole menu just walking by haha. Right at the entrance it said in big letters, "How about a plate of nakgopsae?" and seeing that just made me feel like tonight had to be a spicy dinner night lol.

Lunch specials and what's on the menu

They also had some lighter options for lunch. Lunch special nakusae rice bowl for 9,000 won, beef intestine gukbap (soup with rice) for 12,000 won, perilla seed kalguksu (noodle soup) for 11,000 won. The prices were reasonable, so it seemed like a good spot for office workers nearby to grab lunch.

The menu was pretty varied too — from spicy, savory beef intestine hot pot to hanwoo (Korean beef) large intestine nakgopsae, aged kimchi octopus-intestine stew, spicy chicken feet soup, all the way to real fire-grilled chicken feet!

They also had a separate section of dry snacks for a light bite after work, so it seemed like a great spot not just for a meal but for drinks too. Looking at the whole menu, everything was bold and delicious-looking lol — it felt like a lineup of dopamine-hitting dishes that would really melt away stress.

Inside the restaurant and ordering by table kiosk

Walking into Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch, the whole place was clean and well put together, and the atmosphere was better than I expected. It felt like a comfortable place to eat and drink with friends. The staff were friendly too, and ordering was easy through the tablet kiosk at the table, so we could take our time picking without feeling rushed.

We ordered the boneless dakdoritang for 2-3 people plus a bottle of soju lol.

And looking at the wall, it said Ojo Gaeng from Street Woman Fighter 3 had visited too haha. I genuinely enjoyed watching Street Woman Fighter, so that was cool lol.

Side dishes: seaweed soup and water kimchi included

After ordering, it wasn't long before the side dishes started coming out one by one.

We got seaweed soup, radish wraps, kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), mayonnaise, perilla leaves, and water kimchi. There was a decent variety of side dishes, which paired nicely with the dakdoritang. Especially when eating something spicy, it's great to have seaweed soup or water kimchi to cut through the heat in between bites lol.

What's in the boneless dakdoritang, and how does it taste?

And finally, the boneless dakdoritang arrived! It looked hearty just from the pot alone — they said it's made with 100% domestic boneless chicken thigh meat plus beef brisket.

Inside the boneless dakdoritang were boneless chicken, perilla leaves, potato, beef brisket, glass noodles, and rice cake. You just simmer it and eat, and they explained to keep loosening up the glass noodles as it cooks so they don't stick to the pot.

So we let it bubble away properly and dug in with my friends right away lol.

I tried the chicken first, and being boneless made it so easy to eat. With regular dakdoritang, picking meat off the bone is kind of a hassle, but this one you just pick up with chopsticks, which made it much easier to eat while drinking too. And since it's chicken thigh meat, the flesh was tender and moist. The sauce was well soaked into the chicken too, so it would probably taste great with rice as well.

Personally, I also loved the rice cake haha. Whenever there's rice cake in dakdoritang, I end up reaching for it first — the sauce soaked in nicely and it was chewy and delicious.

We also tried the beef brisket along the way, and it was thin and tender, really tasty. Having beef brisket in addition to just chicken made the dish more fun to eat.

And the glass noodles!! I'm a fan of glass noodles whenever I eat dakdoritang or braised dishes lol, and the sauce soaked right into them, so I kept reaching for more.

How spicy is the dakdoritang?

At first I thought, "huh, not as spicy as I expected?" but the more we ate, the spicier it got lol. There wasn't a spice level option, but personally I'd say it was fairly spicy — kind of like a buldak (fire chicken) level of heat lol. Since we like spicy food, though, we ended up enjoying it even more.

Soju at 3,000 won: dinner and drinks near Balsan Station

And what do you need when it's spicy? Soju, of course lol. At 3,000 won, it was such a good deal considering current prices. With the spicy dakdoritang, the soju really went down smoothly haha.

Being boneless made it easy to eat, and with chicken, rice cake, potato, glass noodles, and beef brisket all packed in, it was great for sharing with friends. I think it'd work well for a work dinner near Balsan Station or Magok too, and if you're looking for spicy food with soju in the evening, I'd recommend it as a Balsan Station bar dinner spot.

The place was clean, the staff were friendly, and even the restroom was tidy, so it was a comfortable meal overall. A great spot to eat good food and have a drink with two friends! Had a delicious time again that day :)