Gyeongju Korean restaurant, tomato cheese chicken stew: Dongyang

Finding Dongyang Baekban tucked into Hwangridan-gil

I imagine lots of people traveling around Gyeongju by car like we did, so we used the nearby Hwangnam Living Culture Center Public Parking Lot. Luckily, there were about two spaces left, but I also saw quite a few cars parked along the sides of the surrounding alleys. Parking is not especially plentiful around Hwangridan-gil, so I recommend arriving with plenty of time to spare.

The restaurant is tucked farther into Hwangridan-gil near the Living Culture Center, among peaceful hanok (traditional Korean houses), so you can naturally find it as you walk around.

Room-style seating in a renovated old home

The interior was the first thing that caught my eye when I walked in. Since the space was made by renovating an old family home, the layout itself was very distinctive. The restroom was separately located outside the building, and indoors was divided into several small room-like sections.

I liked that the room sections let us eat quietly without worrying about neighboring tables. Each table had a kiosk, so we could order comfortably without leaving our seats.

Choosing tomato cheese chicken stew and rice dishes

Dongyang Baekban had such a varied menu. There were lighter baekban (set-meal-style rice dishes) such as caviar roe rice, beef tartare rice, pollack roe rice, spicy pepper rice, egg rice, gamtae seaweed rice, and gondre herb rice, along with substantial mains including Sumi dakbokkeumtang (spicy braised chicken), tomato cheese dakbokkeumtang, five-color vegetable steamed chicken, and pork kimchi duruchigi (stir-fried pork stew).

Since it was our first visit, we looked through everything and decided to try something unusual. We were going to order the tomato cheese dakbokkeumtang, egg rice, and gamtae seaweed rice, but the gamtae rice was sold out, so we switched to pollack roe rice.

• Tomato cheese dakbokkeumtang ₩30,000
• Egg rice ₩3,500
• Pollack roe rice ₩5,500

How the egg rice and pollack roe rice tasted

First, I loved the look of the egg rice I chose, topped with a beautifully halved marinated soft-boiled egg. The moist, jammy yolk was exactly my style, and sesame seeds and crushed seaweed, like Japanese furikake, were sprinkled over it, so it was delicious even on its own. It also paired nicely and easily with the dakbokkeumtang.

My husband chose the pollack roe rice, topped with a generous scoop of prepared pollack roe. It had a clearly savory, salty umami flavor. We usually eat fairly mildly seasoned food, so it was good on its own, but it felt a little salty alongside the already savory dakbokkeumtang, which was a slight shame.

The broth of the tomato cheese dakbokkeumtang

The tomato cheese dakbokkeumtang I had been most looking forward to finally arrived. Since it was a fusion-style Korean dish with tomato and cheese added, I honestly could not picture what it would taste like before ordering. But once I tried it, I could see why this is considered such a good Korean restaurant in Gyeongju's Hwangridan-gil! The tomato aroma was not as strong as I expected, while the umami was deep, and the broth was definitely special and different from regular dakbokkeumtang.

It came topped with a soft-boiled egg and enoki mushrooms, with plenty of vegetables including potatoes, onions, and scallions, plus glass noodles. Most ingredients were already cooked, so it was convenient that we could eat as soon as the mushrooms softened a little. Best of all, this was boneless chicken stew, so we could eat comfortably without picking around bones.

The broth combined spiciness with sweet-and-tangy notes, with the characteristic flavor of red pepper flakes gently coming through. Made with fresh tomatoes and minced garlic, the broth was rich and deep while offering a distinctive umami flavor.

The bright tomato flavor and generous garlic aroma were completely perfect for both my husband and me. Usually, we focus on the ingredients in dakbokkeumtang and leave the broth behind, but here we kept mixing rice into the broth because we could not stop reaching for it. The Sumi potatoes were fluffy and soft too, so we finished every last bite 😋

Final thoughts

If you are looking for a great place to eat in Hwangridan-gil, I would definitely recommend Dongyang Baekban Gyeongju Hwangridan-gil Main Branch. The renovated old-home setting made the whole meal feel special, and I had no idea that the new combination of tomato, cheese, and dakbokkeumtang could work this well. There are also plenty of side dishes to choose from according to your taste, including egg rice and pollack roe rice, so I would love to return and try another menu on my next Gyeongju trip.