Songpa dak gomtang restaurant with glass noodles: Hanyang Dak

With the kind of autumn morning chill that makes you shrink into your jacket the moment you step outside, I came back after a while to a hot chicken noodle soup place I love, Hanyang Dak Kalguksu.

Hanyang Dak Kalguksu hours and how to get there from Gyeongchal Hospital Station

Hanyang Dak Kalguksu has no closed days, open Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00 and Sat–Sun 11:00–20:00. Parking is available, and delivery, takeout, and group bookings are all possible.

There's parking space right in front of the restaurant, so it's easy to drive there, and it's less than a 5-minute walk from Exit 4 of Gyeongchal Hospital Station, so accessibility was great.

What the Garak-dong storefront looks like

A clean white sign with "kalguksu" written large. You know a restaurant like this, with no unnecessary flair, is a good one. They said it's open as usual even on Chuseok, so if you live nearby, it might be worth a visit during the holiday.

Interior and seating on an early weekend evening

I visited Hanyang Dak Kalguksu during an early weekend dinner slot, and unless it's weekday lunch, you can eat comfortably without a crowd.

There were spacious sofa seats too, so I ate comfortably and left satisfied. Looking toward the kitchen, I saw the walls covered in autographs from celebrities who'd visited — I guess everyone finds their way to the good restaurants somehow, haha.

Kimchi self-bar: three kinds, and the spicy kimchi is genuinely hot

At Hanyang Dak Kalguksu, you scoop as much kimchi as you want from the self-serve corner, and there are three types: spicy kimchi, mild kimchi, and diced radish kimchi.

Kimchi matters so much with kalguksu, right? With three types available, it was nice to pick according to taste. I'd tried the spicy kimchi before and it was quite a bit spicier than expected, so this time I went with the regular kimchi and diced radish kimchi instead.

Hanyang Dak Kalguksu menu and prices

Dak kalguksu and dak gomtang are the main dishes. Prices vary slightly depending on the toppings added, but at around 10,000 won per serving, it's quite affordable.

There was also an unusual item on the menu called dak maeuntang (spicy chicken stew) — once it gets a bit chillier and I'm craving something spicy, I'll have to come back and try that one.

Dak kalguksu, 10,900 won — gim garnish gives it a mandu-soup flavour

We ordered dak kalguksu for 10,900 won, dak gomtang for 11,500 won, and galbi mandu for 6,900 won. The food came out in under 10 minutes. Since I wanted both rice and noodles, we happily ordered one kalguksu and one gomtang to share.

Kalguksu in a milky chicken broth, loaded with chicken meat and a generous gim (dried seaweed) garnish. The nutty flavor of the gim adds a taste like eating mandu-guk (dumpling soup), so I think kids would enjoy it too.

There's a generous amount of noodles too, and since it's kalguksu-style noodles, they have a chewy texture. I tend to eat slowly, and even after the soup cooled a bit, the chewiness held up well, which I appreciated.

Galbi mandu side, 6,900 won for 6 dumplings

We also ordered the slightly sweet galbi mandu as a side, and one plate comes with 6 pieces, perfect for two people to share. The sweet galbi filling pairs well with the hot, savory dak gomtang broth.

Dak gomtang, 11,500 won — plenty of glass noodles and chicken thigh meat

When you really want to taste that milky broth properly, the plain gomtang is the way to go. It comes with white rice, and there's quite a lot of glass noodles in it too, so even without the mandu, a bowl of gomtang alone would be enough to fill you up.

The dak kalguksu seemed to use chicken breast, but the gomtang had chicken thigh meat in it. It was boiled until tender, and some parts were so soft it made for a satisfying, filling bite.

Topping it off with a bit of kimchi is the finishing touch. The crunchy, freshly-made geotjeori (fresh cut kimchi) is so good you could call this a kimchi specialty restaurant. I've been eating a lot of Western food like pasta and burgers lately, so having hot Korean food after a while, I really enjoyed this meal.

I thought it might be too much for two people, but as always, we cleared it all up neatly today too.

Is Hanyang Dak Kalguksu worth a visit?

Hanyang Dak Kalguksu is a place that always comes to mind once the weather turns chilly. A rich gomtang broth with a crunchy bite of kimchi — this Garak Market restaurant is seriously addictive.