Weekend dinner for 4, clam hotpot plus kalguksu: Widaehan Jogae

This unusually hot summer has finally passed and a cool breeze is starting to blow. As the weather cools down I start craving clam hotpot, so I went and ate some. Let me introduce a kalguksu (noodle soup) spot in Dong-gu, Daejeon called Widaehan Jogae Jeongol.

Widaehan Jogae Jeongol hours and parking

• Hours: daily 11:00–23:00
• Break time: 14:30–16:30
• Closed every other Sunday (1st and 3rd Sundays of the month)
• Address: 38 Daehak-ro, Dong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea, 1st floor, Widaehan Jogae Jeongol
• Parking: parking behind the building, or roadside parking after 6pm

Weekend 7:30pm vibe and seating

I visited around 7:30pm on a weekend and there were already plenty of people eating — families, friends, couples, all sorts. Most tables were 4-seaters, but there was some sofa seating too! Tables weren't spaced far apart, but it didn't feel disruptive during the meal :)

The menu and adjusting the spicy pepper

This is the menu board at Widaehan Jogae Jeongol, a kalguksu spot in Dong-gu, Daejeon. We came as a party of four including a kid and ordered the clam hotpot for 3. Cheongyang chili peppers go in by default, so if you're visiting with kids, ask them to leave it out in advance. On the flip side, if you want it spicier, you can ask for more. Besides the clam hotpot, they also sell set menus, clam sampler platters, side dishes and more. There's a toppings menu too, so feel free to add any toppings you like.

You order via table order, and on the table they'd already set out shot glasses, water cups, and vinegar-chili sauce and soy sauce for dipping the clams.

The basic side dishes

For basic side dishes we got cabbage salad, beondegi (silkworm pupae), kimchi that pairs well with kalguksu, and a ton of wasabi! The clam hotpot takes a while to come out, so we curbed our hunger with the side dishes in the meantime.

Clam hotpot for 3 — the size alone is shocking

The clam hotpot came out in an insane size. Staff come by to open the lid once it's cooked enough, so just wait without opening it yourself until then :)

Fried squid and spring rolls while we waited

Even after the hotpot arrived, it took a while to cook through, but they gave us fried squid and spring rolls so we didn't go hungry while waiting. It's a bit of a surprise that a clam hotpot place also serves fried food.

They came out fresh and warm — the spring rolls were crispy on the outside and soft inside, and the fried squid was plump but not chewy at all, so my niece loved it too.

What's inside once the lid comes off

Here's the clam hotpot once it was time to open it up. I was already amazed by the size of the covered pot, but I was even more amazed by how packed it was inside. Fish cake, scallops, hard clams, abalone, moon scallop (keyjogae), whole squid, mussels, napa cabbage, and even cheese. Hard to believe this is a portion for 3!

Staff trimmed the moon scallop, abalone and squid right there for us so they'd be easy to eat. They portioned out the moon scallop and abalone exactly by headcount, so no fighting over it 😂

How the abalone, moon scallop and mussels tasted

After trimming, the abalone was plated individually for each of us. I tried the abalone first — super chewy with that distinct abalone flavor still intact. The squid I ate next wasn't tough either, and the moon scallop paired with the cheese they gave us was so nutty and delicious. The mussels, hard clams, and scallops were just as good dipped alternately in the vinegar-chili sauce and soy sauce — we never got tired of it, just ate in a daze. Every single clam tasted genuinely fresh.

A little cheese pot right inside the hotpot

So the cheese wouldn't harden, they put a small stone-pot of cheese right inside the hotpot, so we could pull stretchy cheese with every bite. And the portion was huge — we never ran short while working through all that seafood.

It was such a massive amount that I thought we'd never finish it, but we did 👏🏻 We ate every last bit! It had been a while since I'd had clam hotpot, and it was so good that I was murmuring 'mmm-mmm' the entire time.

Finishing it off with kalguksu for 3 more

We were already full, but a Korean meal has to end with carbs... We went crazy for that clam broth and added kalguksu for 3 more people ,,, and yes, of course we demolished all three servings of that too 🥹 which probably just means it was really that good... classic case of eyes bigger than stomach and busting at the seams.

The kimchi they gave as a basic side dish was a perfect match with the kalguksu. It's on the spicier side, so people who can't handle spice might struggle, but it's genuinely delicious fresh-mixed kimchi (geotjeori)! Since I was eating with my niece, I asked for the cheongyang chili peppers on the side, and adding them in made it spicier and even more delicious. If you love spicy food, ask them to load up on the cheongyang peppers.

If you're looking for a hot, delicious clam hotpot now that it's getting chilly, I recommend this kalguksu spot in Dong-gu, Daejeon — Widaehan Jogae Jeongol :) It's the season for colds with the changing weather, so everyone take care.