Pork bone soup solo dining near Yusimcheon, Suncheon: Namdareun

Today I had a filling dinner at Namdareun Gamjatang, a Suncheon haejangguk (hangover soup) spot near Yusimcheon that's great for solo dining.

Parking and access at Namdareun Gamjatang Suncheon Jorye branch, near Yusimcheon

Namdareun Gamjatang, a Suncheon gamjatang favorite, moved to a spot not far from its old location!! There's a large parking lot so parking was really easy, and it wasn't far from a bus stop either, so access was great.

A 60-pyeong dining room, good for both solo diners and groups

The restaurant was huge at about 60 pyeong (~198㎡). Usually when you think 'gamjatang restaurant' you picture a smoky room, but this Suncheon branch was super clean and comfortable, which put me in a good mood! There were tons of seats, and group tables too. Solo-dining spots near Yusimcheon are surprisingly hard to come by, but this place seemed like a good option for eating alone.

Having the restroom inside the restaurant was also a really nice touch :)

Menu board and kiosk ordering

This is the menu board at the entrance! It's full of hearty dishes. Haejangguk, bone jjim, bone jeongol, bulgogi, donkkaseu, and more — the menu is so varied that I'd recommend it for a family meal out too, haha.

You order through the kiosk at each table, and some prices differed slightly from what was on the menu board. Overall, it didn't feel like an expensive place.

Basic side dishes, the self-serve bar, and sujebi too

The side dishes came out really neatly plated — diced radish kimchi, kimchi, cheongyang chili peppers, bean sprouts — simple but a perfect match for haejangguk, which I loved.

I really love eating diced radish kimchi alongside gukbap (soup with rice) or haejangguk, and this place's diced radish kimchi was seriously good ,, The cheongyang chili peppers themselves had a sweet edge, super crunchy and spicy — perfect with haejangguk!

On top of that, Namdareun Gamjatang Suncheon Jorye branch has a self-serve bar, so you can help yourself to whatever side dishes you need! If you order gamjatang or jeongol, you can also refill the broth and ramen noodles. Amazing value for money .. ♡

As someone who loves adding sujebi (hand-torn dough) to gamjatang, I was thrilled to see sujebi at the self-serve bar. Next time I'll get the Namdareun bone jeongol and load it up with sujebi, hehe.

Namja-tang — the bone soup broth and meat

There's an unbreakable rule that if the basics aren't good, nothing else will taste good either, wherever you go. I ordered the namja-tang, which looked generously portioned. Just seeing a bowl filled to the brim made me feel full and satisfied already!

The moment the earthenware bowl arrived, a savory broth smell hit me — no gamy pork smell at all, just a subtle, savory, clean aroma. A gentle whiff of spicy seasoning rose up too, which really stirred up my appetite.

I tried the broth first — rich but not heavy, and clean. It was spicy but not harsh, so it was great for mixing with rice, with a bit of a sharp kick and umami that kept me spooning up more!

The deeply simmered broth with its spicy kick felt like it cleared right through me — I'd recommend it as a Suncheon haejangguk spot! A clean, spicy broth that shouldn't split opinions.

The bones were big with plenty of meat attached, so it was even more filling than I expected. The meat was cooked soft and tasted great paired with the rich broth on its own, and even better with rice.

The meat was cooked through so well that it fell off with just a light touch of my chopsticks. No toughness or dryness, just tender bites that were easy to eat! It felt like it had been simmered a long time — soft and moist — and there was real fun in picking the meat off the bone haha.

The siraegi (dried radish greens), simmered thoroughly, was tender to chew while still holding onto the rich broth flavor! Its distinct savory taste paired really well with the deep pork bone broth. Eating it together made everything taste even more savory and clean.

And the chewy sujebi — need I say more. It cooked up soft at just the right texture, perfect with the broth and meat together.

So what does tofu kimchi haejangguk taste like?

From the name alone, I couldn't quite picture what tofu kimchi haejangguk would be, but the first sip of broth felt exactly like a richly simmered kimchi stew.

For anyone who prefers a cleaner broth over the typical rich meaty haejangguk broth, tofu kimchi haejangguk is worth recommending — the kimchi's tangy, spicy flavor really came through in the broth, making it great with rice!

With bones in the sharp, rich broth, it had a different charm from an ordinary kimchi jjigae, and the meat on those big bones was cooked through and fell off easily!

You also get soft tofu alongside, and with well-fermented kimchi, eating it with rice made for a really satisfying meal. Even my mom, who isn't a big meat person, enjoyed it — there was no gamy smell to the meat at all, which was an extra plus.

Namdareun dumplings — kimchi, meat, and shrimp, three kinds

I'm a well-known dumpling lover, so there was no way I could skip ordering dumplings, haha. They also sell Mr. Wang Mandu (big dumplings), but I prefer regular-sized dumplings over the big ones, so I went with the Namdareun dumplings :-)

I was surprised at how generous the portion was — and even more satisfied that there were three kinds: kimchi dumplings, meat dumplings, and shrimp dumplings. For two people, since the haejangguk itself is already filling, the dumpling portion felt like a lot, so I'd strongly recommend it for three people! With three people, it seemed like the perfect amount to try one of each kind.

That glossy shine is amazing, right? The filling was juicy and packed full, and the wrapper was thin and chewy — fun to bite into and delicious too.

The round dumpling is the meat one — can you tell how packed the filling is even from the photo? It was loaded with meat and glass noodles, so it was incredibly filling, and it went really well with the pork bone haejangguk too.

The kimchi dumpling had a spicy kick at the finish that kept it from getting boring, and the shrimp dumpling had a satisfying, springy shrimp bite. I think I'll definitely order the dumplings again next time I visit.