Nestled in Apugujeong ward in the swanky Gangnam district is Sinsa Sogopchang, a Korean offal barbecue restaurant. Apart from Tosokchon (토속촌), this is another restaurant that I dined at in 2018, that to this day, I cannot get off my mind.
I searched high and low for a good gopchang restaurant in Singapore to scratch that gopchang itch. But it’s really hard to get good gopchang here to match what we had at Sinsa Sogopchang. So in our #SeoulNeeded trip in late October and early November this year, we’re definitely adding Sinsa Sogopchang to our priority list of places to eat in Seoul.
Tip: If you’re like me and you crave gopchang in Singapore, Woohyang comes pretty close!
Just for context, even before discovering Sinsa Sogopchang, I love offal. Although I hadn’t tried barbecue style before back then, I love it boiled and braised! I love the chewy texture and the rich fattiness. I know barbecued offal is not for everyone, but I’m so glad that I have friends who enjoy it enough to find the best places to have them.
Sinsa Sogopchang Address and Details
- 신사소곱창, 서울 강남구 압구정로2길 62 (Open on Google Maps)
- Sinsa Sogopchang, 62 Apgujeong-ro 2-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
- Open daily from 5 pm – 2 am
Table of Contents
- Gopchang from Sinsa Sogopchang
- What’s the Difference Between Gopchang, Daechang, and Makchang?
- Bonus Round: Fried Rice
Gopchang from Sinsa Sogopchang
My 2018 South Korea trip was the first time I’d ever tried barbecued offal. I fell in love with this style of pork and beef innards from that day onwards.
Look at this glorious sizzling pan of gopchang (beef small intestines), daechang (beef large intestines), and makchang (tripe). The innards are served with some onions and marinated spring onions.
What’s the Difference Between Gopchang, Daechang, and Makchang?
They’re all from a cow’s digestive tract, but here’s what makes each so delightful and yummy.
The Most Sinful Beef Innard: Daechang (Beef Large Intestines)
This is the fattiest of the three beef innards. Daechang is also something that not everyone might love even if you enjoy innards. It has a really unique texture. It’s really chewy and juicy. If you’re someone who loves chewing on fat for the flavour, you’ll love daechang.
The Beef Innards with the Best Texture: Gopchang (Beef Small Intestines)
I personally like gopchang the most. It isn’t as fatty or chewy as daechang but is still really rich. Personal taste is very subjective, but I love it because it has the best texture out of the three. When left on the barbecue grill long enough to cook in the fats from daechang, gopchang texture turns crisp like bacon. Amazing.
The Meatiest Beef Innard: Makchang (Tripe)
Makchang has a chewier, meatier texture than gopchang and honestly, it’s also fatty. These are all innards, they are all fatty, so there is no “healthier”, it’s just not on the same level of richness as daechang or gopchang. In terms of texture, it falls somewhere in between the crisp barbecued gopchang and extremely chewy and fatty daechang.
The innards served at Sinsa Sogopchang are so buttery and delicious because they’ve been cleaned and marinated well. How clean the offal is makes or breaks the experience.
My day was indeed made when I tried it. We already had some dinner at Jongno 3-ga, so I was definitely not praising this meal to the high heavens because I was starving.
We also had a serving of ramen served on another stove and a serving of rice cakes that we grilled on the pan in the leftover fat from the beef innards. Needless to say, that was damn delicious.
Bonus Round: Fried Rice
To end our meal, we were offered some rice that we could fry in the leftover fat. Probably the most sinful plate of fried rice ever, but also incredibly delicious fried rice! There’s a good reason why I can’t get this place out of my mind.
Perhaps, it being my first trip to South Korea, everything might have felt new and novel. Emotions do influence our memories and how we experience taste, so I won’t rule that out. I’m going to try it again on my upcoming trip and let’s see if it is as magical as it was the first time.
Update: We revisited the restaurant in October 2022 and it was as good as we remembered. We were in the queue for about 30 -40 minutes. We left our local number (as we had a SIM card with a voice calling). There are a few changes:
- They swapped out the amazing tteok-bokki (rice cake) for fried potato wedges.
- They served a side of liver and some raw innards as a starter in addition to the ramen
If you’ve visited because of my recommendations on your own holidays in Seoul, please comment and let me know what you think!
If you find this guide useful, you can buy me pasta!
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