Gwangju beef hot pot with ramyeon noodles added: Dugeori Usintang

This is one of my most-recommended restaurants, and I got a good chance to come stuff my face here again haha! When I say I've come here 10+ times to eat even though I live in Cheomdan, all the way over in Nam-gu, that should tell you it's the real deal....!!

People of all ages love it, but my parents especially love it. Eating here feels like getting a full-on health boost. Also a great spot for a drink alongside your meal!

Dugeori Usintang Gwangju Imam Branch

Dugeori Usintang Gwangju Imam Branch: hours and parking

Dugeori Usintang Gwangju Imam Branch is open daily from 10:30 to 22:00, with last order at 21:00. For parking, use the lot behind the restaurant — it's Dugeori Usintang's own dedicated lot.

• ⏰ Daily 10:30 ~ 22:00 (last order 21:00)
• 🚘 Lot behind the restaurant. Dugeori Usintang's own dedicated parking

There are about 4 spots right behind the restaurant, but the dedicated lot itself is very large, so you don't need to worry about parking at all!

The restroom is shared with the building. The restroom key is kept at the restaurant counter.

What the restaurant feels like and the best time to go

The inside of Dugeori Usintang Imam Branch has plenty of tables and the space itself is kept super clean and pleasant. There are seats further inside that work for groups too.

It gets really busy on weekday lunchtimes, so plan your timing if you're coming then. I visited on a Sunday during an awkward late-lunch hour, and everyone eating was having a drink alongside their meal,,,! Spicy usinjeongol with a drink,,, I couldn't pass that up!!!!!ㅜ

What is usintang, and which dish should you order?

Dugeori Usintang has its main branch in Jeonju and is apparently already a famous restaurant. This was my first time coming across the word "usintang" — it uses the characters for cow (牛) and spicy (辛), meaning exactly what it sounds like: deep beef flavor with a spicy broth!

Usinjjim, Teukjeongol, and Usinjeongol can only be ordered for 2 or more people, so if you're eating solo, go for usintang or galbitang! I always blindly order usinjeongol whenever I come here, so this time too I ordered usinjeongol for 2 (+ added ramyeon noodles). Hehe.

Every menu item comes with chapsotbap (glutinous pot rice). The pot rice takes over 10 minutes.

Aprons washed daily and barley tea brewed in house

Dugeori Usintang Imam Branch even has aprons ready for you. What impressed me about the owners' sense here — to cut down on disposables, they wash and reuse the same aprons every day. It might feel a little odd using something others have used, but it's single-use-clean too! Every time I come, I feel how genuinely kind the owners are and how much care goes into the food and the restaurant!

The table setting-!

The water here is even good. They brew their own barley tea, and it's genuinely great barley tea,,,, every time I come here I finish a whole pitcher of it by myself hahahahaha

The four side dishes and the self-serve bar

There's no filler here — just 4 solid side dishes. White kimchi, seasoned squid, kkakdugi (radish kimchi), and pickled perilla leaves. Not many places have side dishes I finish completely, but these are fresh-tasting, not mushy, still crisp, with a homemade feel that I really love ㅠㅠㅠ

If you run out of side dishes, use the self-serve bar! Wet wipes are also kept there.

How to eat usinjeongol for two, step by step

Usinjeongol arrives as a pot with beef short rib bones and vegetables in it. Once it starts bubbling, the owner comes over to mix in the seasoning paste and vegetables!

There's already meat included as a base, but shabu-shabu-style meat comes out as an extra! So much meat, love it. Once it starts boiling, they add all the shabu-shabu meat in at once!

They keep simmering it until the shabu meat is cooked through, adjusting the heat down low and letting it reduce gently.

While the shabu meat is cooking, the chapsotbap pot rice arrives. Freshly made and warm, so the rice itself tastes sweet too. Scoop the rice out and pour in warm barley tea — you'll want that for the sungnyung dessert later.

How does the broth taste, and how spicy is it?

There's already a ton of meat, but there's also a whole mushroom lineup — wood ear, king oyster, enoki, oyster mushrooms~~~~~~ plus bracken fern, the amount of vegetables packed in is really impressive.

The spice level is moderately hot — hot enough that anyone would call it spicy, but manageable. With the bracken fern in there it's a bit like yukgaejang (spicy beef soup) crossed with spicy shabu-shabu, and since they brew the broth deeply from scratch every day, the broth flavor is genuinely rich and deep — you can really feel it seeping through.

Can you see how generous the amount of ingredients is,,, just scoop it onto your rice like this and dig in.

The meat is tender, not chewy at all, and has zero gamey smell. It's soft enough that the meat comes off the bone easily. Mixed onto rice, mmm — even writing this post right now makes me want to shove a mouthful in ㅠㅠㅠ

Perilla leaf beef wraps and adding ramyeon noodles

Try wrapping meat and a piece of white kimchi together in a perilla leaf. It's an even tastier combo that way. I'm not usually a fan of perilla leaves because of the smell, but it's a delicacy here, so definitely wrap some up👍🏻

Once you've eaten some rice, go ahead and add ramyeon noodles too!! When you order the noodle add-on, they automatically pour in more broth too. Usinjeongol only gets a broth refill if you add noodles.

My boyfriend, who eats a lot, even ordered an extra bowl of rice on top of everything. The reason we eat this much is because it's genuinely delicious,,really,,

After finishing off the K-dessert nurungji sungnyung (scorched rice tea) that we'd poured water into earlier, we headed out

Cleaned every plate, even the kimchi~ no need to even ask if we enjoyed it — we finished absolutely everything and walked out with our stomachs full, breathing heavy and content. A totally satisfying meal😙

Receipt event, takeout and payment methods

There's also a receipt event running, so join in and grab a cup of ice cream too.

Takeout orders are available too, so it'd be great to take it home and eat there! They also have holiday gift sets ready for the season. Seems like a gift most people would like without any complaints.

There's also dessert ice cream, so try that before you leave~~ You can use Gwangju Sangsaeng Card, Onnuri Gift Certificate, and Nam-gu Donghaeng Card, all accepted. Get those discounts when you pay.

Would I go back to Dugeori Usintang? Final verdict

I've always visited here paying out of my own pocket — well, actually out of my dad's pocket hahahaha. Hyocheon-jigu is far from Cheomdan though.. I wish the wonderful owners would open a branch in Cheomdan too (I'd want to run it myself lol).

Worked up a sweat getting my health boost and left fully satisfied with the meal~~~ The place is clean and the food is made with real care, so it's a great spot to bring parents or elders! Also great for a daytime drink or as a side dish for drinking, and if you want a hearty health-restoring meal, I fully recommend usintang or usinjeongol. Officially certifying this as an Imam-dong favorite..!