Shindonglab Hwaseong Bongdam Review: Japanese Cuisine & Family-Friendly

My husband and I recently enjoyed a delightful lunch at Shindonglab Hwaseong Bongdam, a fantastic Japanese restaurant in Bongdam.

Here's our review of the pristine Japanese restaurant, Shindonglab Hwaseong Bongdam:>

📍96 Wauru-ro, Bongdam-eup, Hyohaeng-gu, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

⏱️Daily 11:00 AM - 9:30 PM (Break Time 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM)

🅿️Dedicated parking in front of the restaurant & 90 minutes free at nearby public parking

💰Total for 2 people: ~$34

✅️Overall, a pristine selection of Japanese dishes!

✅️Generous services for kids, making it a great spot for families in Bongdam!♥︎

Shindonglab: Location & Parking for Lunch in Bongdam

Shindonglab Hwaseong Bongdam is located in Wau-ri,

right next to Suwon University, an area known for its great restaurants in Hwaseong.

There's dedicated parking for about 10 cars right in front of the restaurant, and if that's full, a public parking lot is just a one-minute walk away.

(Offers 90 minutes of free parking)

As an already popular spot in Hwaseong, Shindonglab even has a waiting area outside!

On a bustling holiday, the parking lot was packed, and there was even a waitlist.

Luckily, we made a reservation in advance and were seated right away. You can make reservations through Naver Maps 👇

Naver Mapsnaver.me

Shindonglab Interior: A Great Vibe Near Yunggeonreung

The moment we stepped into Shindonglab, the atmosphere felt instantly 'warm and inviting'!

With its clean aesthetic and warm wood interior, the space truly exudes a cozy feel, doesn't it?

Charming decor pieces scattered throughout the restaurant contributed to that inviting, homey ambiance.

The innermost section featured group seating, thoughtfully separated by partitions, and the four-person tables along the wall also had wooden dividers for added privacy.

I recall there being around 60-70 seats in total.

Lunch Menu Recommendations at Shindonglab Bongdam

The Shindonglab menu, as captured from Naver Maps, offers an incredibly diverse range of set menus, far more than what's shown in these pictures!

Ordering is done via tablet 👇👇

One of the reasons Shindonglab is such a fantastic spot for families in Bongdam is their incredibly generous kids' service menu! Have you ever seen such a thoughtful offering!?

No wonder so many families with children were dining there 👶👼

Our order included:

Gyukatsu + Ricotta Cheese Salad

Sukiyaki Bansang

Lemonade, Nata de Coco Ade

Our Honest Review of Shindonglab Hwaseong Bongdam

Each table was thoughtfully equipped with an array of sauces and seasonings

(Tonkatsu sauce, pepper, salt, shichimi).

They even provided hair ties, a small but significant detail that truly shows their care for guests.

Our complimentary pre-meal tea and cream stew, along with our ordered ades, arrived first.

The lemonade wasn't overly sweet and had a genuinely refreshing lemon flavor, while the Nata de Coco ade, with its tiny coconut jellies, was a delightfully sweet and cool treat 💙.

The Gyukatsu Jumbo + Ricotta Cheese Salad set was incredibly generous, wasn't it?

We ordered the jumbo size, and the amount of gyukatsu was truly impressive 🙄.

Melt the butter on the mini grill, then cook a few pieces of gyukatsu at a time – absolutely delicious 😋!

The white squares next to it are kirimochi; we were instructed to slowly grill them on the edges and then dip them in honey later.

Then there's Shindonglab's signature Sukiyaki Bansang.

I'm a huge sukiyaki fan, and it's always a shame how few places serve it in Korea 🥲.

I wholeheartedly recommend Shindonglab's Sukiyaki Bansang 🧡!

Sukiyaki is like a less soupy version of shabu-shabu. You boil the broth (on the left), then add the ingredients (on the right) to cook them.

And beneath the ingredients? Rice! Topped with a sprinkle of furikake, it added an extra layer of savory deliciousness to the meal.

Even though the grill is small, it has impressive heat, so everything cooked quickly. We even added udon noodles at the end to round out our meal ❤️.

That wraps up our review of Shindonglab Hwaseong Bongdam, a fantastic and atmospheric Japanese lunch spot near Yunggeonreung!