Hanbat Sul Lung Tang
Korean restaurant · Koreatown ·
Traditional Korean oxtail soup specialist with brisket & tripe
Traditional Korean oxtail soup specialist with brisket & tripe
"A meal at Han Bat Sul Lung Tang happens at warp speed. Before you put your jacket on the back of your chair, a waitress asks you what you want—an easy choice, considering there is basically one thing on the menu (sullungtang). Within a few minutes, a steaming bowl of cloudy white soup arrives stocked with rice noodles and long-braised beef parts (we usually get the brisket), followed closely by the check, all before you’ve taken a bite. Don’t worry, your meal is not over—season the heavenly broth with salt, pepper, green onions, and radish kimchi, and experience why this place has been a local landmark for decades." - sylvio martins, brant cox, garrett snyder, cathy park
"A decades-old seolleongtang specialist now run by a third-generation owner, known for restorative, slow-simmered beef-bone soup served in bubbling stone pots. The near-windowless dining room is lit by bluish fluorescent lights and encourages quiet, noodle-house-style eating; the intentionally mild broth is typically seasoned tableside with sea salt and pepper and brightened with kkakdugi, kimchi, sliced green onions, and spoonfuls of rice for a comforting, hangover-curing meal." - Rebecca Roland
"Koreatown’s Han Bat is a soup institution. The family-owned restaurant was first founded in South Korea in 1953 before it moved stateside in 1987. Since then, multiple generations within the same family have spent hours slowly simmering down ox bones into a rich, opaque broth for seollongtang. The soup comes out in a black bowl, with steam gently rolling off the surface and slices of beef like brisket, tendon, or tribe just visible as they dance just under the surface. Salt, pepper, and scallions can be added to taste. Alternate bites of the seollongtang with rice, pa-kimchi (scallion kimchi), cubed kkakdugi (radish kimchi), and classic cabbage kimchi. For a true Han Bat experience, try going for breakfast, and don’t forget to park in the back." - Rebecca Roland
"The cloudy bone marrow broth here is legendary, as are the tender slabs of brisket and various organ meats brimming in it. The menu is very simple, just seolleongtang. Build the meal with seasonings, kimchi, and rice, along with a dash of salt and a sprinkling of green onions." - Matthew Kang
"There’s a tiny menu on the wall at Han Bat Sul Lung Tang, but nobody needs it. Everyone from the grandmotherly servers to the hungover accounting bros in the corner knows you’re at this Koreatown institution for seolleongtang, the milky-rich ox bone soup with restorative properties that Han Bat’s been serving since the ‘80s. The only decision required is what kind of beef parts you want in your broth. Then, before you even have time to scan for an open wifi network, a steaming bowl appears in front of you. Season the soup with whatever combination of salt, scallions, and kimchi speaks to you, slide your brain into airplane mode, and slurp away." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park, garrett snyder