마포옥 한우양지설렁탕 — Restaurant in Seoul

I will preface the review by saying: this was the restaurant we frequented the most during my husband and my two week trip in Seoul. And, we chose to eat this as our last meal in Korea - a decision we did not make lightly!

Included in the Michelin Guide over the past several years, this establishment has been serving gookmap (literally translates to rice soup bowl) since the 1950s. It’s a family run restaurant which boasts 3 generations of sons whose lives have been dedicated to serving hot, piping bowls of gookbap - so you know they know what they’re doing.

A bowl of gookbap is priced at a premium, due to the exclusive Korean beef and ingredients they use. While it’s more expensive than the average gookbap, my husband and I agreed it’s the cleanest, tastiest broth we’ve tasted at a restaurant. The other caveat is that the quantity of meat leaves a bit to be desired, especially for hungry and hearty eaters, but again - this gookbap is all about quality, not quantity.

Lastly, don’t forget to savor the kimchi - it was the best kimchi I’ve tasted on this trip and...

My highschool buddy took me out to dinner to this restaurant because it is his favorite Seolleongtang restaurant. This restaurant has been opened since 1949 and Michelin Guide Seoul restaurant since 2018. We orderded Yangji Seolleongtang and it is pricey since this soup is made of 100% Korean beef. The server brought out two diffrent types of kimches immediately and we requested one green onion kimch and one more fermented kimch as well. The kimches are not top notch compares to the quality of the soup. Seolleongtang was served in a bowl of Ttukbaegi with chopped green onion. The soup comes with meat, rice and noodles. The broth is clear and it has deep distinct flovors in a good way. The meat is very tender and tasty. I did not add salt and enjoyed the taste of the soup to the very last drop. I highly recommend this restaurant if you like to try authentic Seolleongtang and don't mind the...

** THE GOOD: The soup flavor was excellent, and it was nice not being surround by tourists.

I actually prefer this place to Ha Dong Kwan, in terms of the taste of the soup.

I think I ordered their “normal” instead of the “special”, but I’ll have to try the special next time. I don’t know what the difference is, besides the normal comes with the rice place in the soup before getting to the table.

I also don’t like the intestines or other non-beef, so maybe the “special” has non-beef meats or ingredients added.

** THE BAD: The kimchi wasn’t special, but was still serviceable.

** THE VERDICT: Would definitely go back, even though we didn’t see any tourist site to combine with the trip. I would definitely go back just for the meal, before continuing our...