Gangnam restaurant for crispy pufferfish cutlet: Bogi-o Boguk

A Cheongdam Station hangover meal after drinks the night before

I was heading to Cheongdam from lunchtime because I had a first fitting for formal weddingwear and my mother-in-law's birthday party. The problem was that I'd had a seriously big night with Mr. Mil in Mullae the day before... haha. The weather has been so cool and clear lately that we had spicy pork cartilage and somaek (soju and beer mixed together) at an outdoor table, haha.

My stomach was not feeling refreshed at all from the morning, so I started looking for a good hangover spot near Cheongdam Station, thinking I had to deal with that before any of my plans. Then I found today's menu: pufferfish! Let me introduce this Cheongdam favorite, where you can have not only pufferfish soup but a range of pufferfish dishes, including pufferfish cutlet!

Bogi-o Boguk location and restaurant atmosphere

It was about a five-minute walk from Cheongdam Station Exit 13, and valet parking was available.

Just hand your car over to the valet and head up. The restaurant was on the second floor, and it looked polished and upscale from the outside.

There were lots of pufferfish soup options, depending on the type of pufferfish and whether you added octopus or abalone. There was also a pretty broad selection of pufferfish side dishes, such as pufferfish karaage and pufferfish cutlet. They have everything from soup to course meals where you can enjoy an array of pufferfish dishes in a refined setting!

The open kitchen somehow made it feel even more trustworthy.

They also had wines that would pair nicely with the food, and corkage is allowed. This is a Cheongdam spot worth recommending to wine lovers too—a bar, pufferfish restaurant, all of it. The overall atmosphere was upscale, and with private rooms available, it seemed like plenty of people come here for formal family meetings as well.

Watch out for the Häagen-Dazs freezer. You may find yourself scooping up ice cream before you know it, completely forgetting how full you are.

The standard side dishes. They were solid enough. I especially liked the refreshing kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi).

Pufferfish cutlet crispy enough to scrape the roof of your mouth

The pufferfish cutlet arrived fried beyond golden—properly glowing. First off, the coating was made with thick breadcrumbs, so it was crispy enough to scrape the roof of your mouth. The pufferfish inside was far moister and more tender than I expected..!

Pufferfish is such a light fish that even fried, it was not greasy at all. Dip it lightly in the sauce served alongside it and you get a touch of sweetness too, so I think it would be easy to enjoy even for anyone trying pufferfish dishes for the first time.

Special milbok soup, refreshing with bean sprouts and water parsley

Milbok soup came in a bubbling ttukbaegi (earthenware pot)! It was loaded with vegetables—water parsley, bean sprouts, and enoki mushrooms—so it looked seriously generous.

There was more big, chunky milbok pufferfish meat inside than I expected, and the broth had that clean, light pufferfish flavor along with the fresh clarity of bean sprouts and water parsley. It felt like my stomach was instantly soothed.

The pufferfish in particular was thick yet tender, separating softly along its grain, and I was very happy with the pleasantly chewy texture of the skin here and there too. I'd had a huge night the day before, but it felt like the hangover disappeared right away.

Overall, this was a Cheongdam pufferfish restaurant that properly washed away the previous night's hangover. The bubbling milbok soup had a cool, clean, refreshing broth thanks to the bean sprouts and water parsley, and it was packed with big pieces of pufferfish, making it a filling meal too. The pufferfish cutlet was unexpectedly satisfying as well, with mild, moist fish inside that crunchy coating. Perfect for a hangover cure near Cheongdam Station after a big night of drinking..!