Korean restaurant in Seo, Daejeon for generous galbitang: Hanppong

At Hanppong (한뽕), a gukbap (rice soup) and galbitang restaurant in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon, I had piled-high galbitang and piled-high pork bone soup. Both dishes came with generous amounts of meat, and it was nice to compare the clear galbitang broth with the spicy pork bone soup broth.

Where is Hanppong, and is parking available?

The address is 27 Dunsan-ro 74beon-gil, Seo-gu, Daejeon, South Korea. It is about 470 m from Exit 2 of City Hall Station, so it was an easy stop for lunch in Dunsan-dong. Parking is available in front of and behind the restaurant.

The hours posted during my visit were 10:50 AM to 8:30 PM, Monday through Saturday. There is a break from 3 PM to 5 PM, and last orders are at 8:10 PM.

Is the atmosphere comfortable for dining alone?

The restaurant was generally pleasant and tidy. It felt comfortable both for eating alone and for taking my time over a meal.

A neatly arranged self-service bar on one side made it easy to pick up extra side dishes. There was spicy silbi kimchi, which I could add little by little to the gukbap.

What is on the menu, and what did I order?

There was a wide range of dishes, including gamjatang, galbitang, bak kut teh, doganitang, pork bone soup, ox-head gukbap, brisket hangover soup, and pork gukbap. They also had pork-bone gamjatang and boiled beef slices, which I thought would go well with a drink in the evening.

I ordered the piled-high galbitang and piled-high pork bone soup. The restaurant indicated that the piled-high galbitang is limited to 130 servings per day.

How did I eat the spicy silbi kimchi?

Instructions for enjoying silbi kimchi were posted on the wall. Since I am not very good with spicy food, I put only a little kimchi on the galbitang meat at a time.

Pepper, salt, wet wipes, and tissues were available to use as I liked.

The basic side dishes were spicy silbi kimchi and seokbakji (cubed radish kimchi). Adding a little silbi kimchi to the lean meat gave it spice that cut through the richness.

What were the meat and broth like in the piled-high pork bone soup?

When the galbitang and pork bone soup arrived, my first impression was how generous the portions were.

The piled-high pork bone soup contained plenty of large bones. Thick pieces of meat clung to them and came away easily and tenderly.

The meat pulled apart softly along the grain. I also liked dipping the mild meat in mustard sauce.

The meat was moist from the spicy ugeoji (dried cabbage greens) broth. The broth had depth without tasting muddy, so it was easy to eat.

How did the piled-high galbitang differ from the pork bone soup?

Unlike the spicy pork bone soup, the piled-high galbitang stood out for its clear, deep broth. The restaurant said it uses beef ribs and simmers them in a cauldron for 24 hours, using a traditional method and patented technology.

The galbitang also had plenty of meat. The broth smelled clean with no off odor, and it was clear yet deeply simmered. The seasoning suited my taste as well.

The meat on the large rib bones was moist and tender enough to separate easily with chopsticks. The more I chewed it, the more nutty flavor it had, and it went well with the broth.

The galbitang also contained dangmyeon (glass noodles).

The galbitang offered clear broth and tender beef ribs, while the pork bone soup offered thick meat and spicy ugeoji broth. I enjoyed the galbitang meat to the end with small amounts of silbi kimchi.