Uijeongbu blood sausage soup for a hangover lunch: Yetnal Gyeongseong

This time I went to a great new sundaeguk (blood sausage soup) place that's perfect for lunch in Uijeongbu and also nice for a light drink in the evening. We're gukbap (soup with rice) maniacs, so we tend to hunt down sundaeguk hangover-soup spots around the Uijeongbu-Yangju area, and this time a clean, nutty, and spicy sundaeguk place opened up right in our neighborhood of Nokyang-dong, so we had to check it out.

Bottom line: the broth here is nutty, and the spicy sundaeguk is spicy enough to be great for both a hangover cure and a drink alongside your meal. On top of that, they gave us free chewy sundae as an opening event, which was a really nice touch.

Where is Yetnal Gyeongseong Sundaeguk Nokyang Branch, and is there parking?

Yetnal Gyeongseong Sundaeguk was originally a famous spot in Yongin, and it tasted so good it became a chain. There's parking for about 10 cars right in front of the restaurant.

Spicy vs regular sundaeguk: how much do you get?

And the spicy sundaeguk I had — wow. It looks great and tastes spicy too. Best of all, for a Uijeongbu lunch hangover cure, the portion is huge. Out of all the sundaeguk places I've been to, this one is in my top three for portion size.

And the regular sundae-only soup had this pale, milky broth with a strangely nutty flavor I was curious about — turns out it's from sesame, and it sits easy on the stomach.

This one is the free chewy sundae from the opening event. The chewy sundae is mild too, and wrapped in onion, it disappears a bottle of soju in no time!

Self-serve side dish bar and the mood inside Yetnal Gyeongseong Sundaeguk

The self-serve bar has all kinds of side dishes, and personally, the garlic is really tasty.

Since it's a newly opened sundaeguk restaurant, the place is super clean and tidy. We intentionally avoided peak hours and went around 4pm on a Sunday, and there were a lot of families and young people there.

Takeout: 2 uncooked servings for 16,000 won

Yetnal Gyeongseong Sundaeguk Nokyang Branch also offers takeout — uncooked, 2 servings (that's like 3) for ₩16,000, but only after you've eaten in the restaurant. We thought about tasting it and then taking some home, but decided to just come back another time. Without a stone pot (ttukbaegi) at home, this dish just doesn't taste the same. Plus you can only eat the side dishes freely while dining in!

Choosing your cut and adding the spicy broth

One great thing about this place is you can choose the part you want — sundae only, innards only, or lean meat only. Spicy is +₩1,000 and Large is +₩2,000 extra. Since we love sundae so much, we both went with sundae-only, one of them spicy. By the way, it's native-style sundae by default, but you can switch to chewy sundae.

The unusual thing is they have ground sesame on the table. You usually only see that at pork cutlet places, but it's a sneaky little trick — add it in and the sundaeguk gets really nutty.

It's not a séance, haha — they just grind the sesame for you.

The basic side dishes are seokbakji (radish kimchi), kimchi, garlic, peppers, lettuce wraps, and salted shrimp. The rest of the side dishes are at the self-serve bar.

The regular sundaeguk came out and wow — the filling is so hearty, there's actually more sundae in it than broth. That calls for soju right away!

The spicy sundaeguk had a ton of sundae too. Since I like a hearty lunch, this is exactly what a Uijeongbu sundaeguk lunch should look like!

Hangover cure: two swirls of chili oil and about 20 pieces of sundae

Look at the amount of sundae in the regular sundae-only soup. I don't think I've ever seen a place give this much sundae!

I tasted the spicy sundaeguk broth and immediately ordered soju. Since I wasn't 100% over the previous night's drinking yet, I swirled in two rounds of chili oil to make it extra spicy for the hangover cure.

There must have been nearly 20 pieces of sundae in there! If you order just the other innards and head meat, you'd probably get about this much too. The sundae is so plump it's hard to even lift with chopsticks — properly stuffed, native-style sundae.

Picking up a piece of sundae, topping it with salted shrimp, and eating it after a shot of hangover soju — that instantly cures the hangover feeling. But of course, the real hangover cure is...

...pressing it down with rice! There's a lot of rice too, and since the soup is so full already, you really need to eat some sundae first before mixing in the rice — otherwise the stone pot overflows!

After mixing in the rice and taking a bite with the sundae, it's way too hot! Let it cool a bit before eating. But with the sundae so full inside, it fills your whole mouth and just feels great.

Best side dish at Yetnal Gyeongseong Sundaeguk: seasoned garlic

I tried it with seokbakji and with kimchi, but personally, my favorite side dish is...

...this seasoned garlic! It's kind of like a pickle, and it's a real gem — sharp and spicy but also sweet in that distinct garlicky way, and it goes so well with sundaeguk.

From this point on, I just kept scooping up more and more garlic. The broth is rich and nutty, and the spiciness cures the hangover right away while still sitting easy on the stomach!

Especially since the sundae portion is so generous and stuffed full, it's great for a meal, but as a drinking companion, you could easily go through two bottles!

Final verdict on this Uijeongbu sundaeguk restaurant

As we were leaving after eating our fill, they even gave us coffee and rice candy (gangjeong). It's perfect for a Uijeongbu sundaeguk lunch — the portions are huge and the taste is great, so I think I'll be back often! Parking is convenient, and it's about midway between Eulji University and Nokyang Station.