This small korean bone marrow soup shop located in a potholed strip mall features terrible ambiance (counted at least 6 missing drop ceiling tiles, super basic tables and chairs) and delicious soup. This place does not specialize in soup, they ONLY serve soup (with tea, rice, and good kimchi on the side). The same bone marrow soup base is served with your choice of tongue, tripe, brisket, spleen, tendon, or honey comb (nobidea what that is!). Or if you're like me and don't really like the exotic cuts of cow, get flank. The large bowl of piping hot soup contains a deliciously rich broth, your choice of meat, and some clear or white noodles. You add scallion, hot sauce, pepper, and salt (or maybe its msg?) to taste. My bowl had an ample amount of soft flank in it and my friend reported the tongue in her soup was some of the most tender she's ever had. Your meal will set you back $7.26 ($8 incl tax). When we came for a weekday lunch the other patrons were all speaking Korean while they happily slurped their soup.
Review Source:I have been eyeing this place for the past 3+ years, almost to the point that it has taken on a mythical quality. I finally tried it today and was very pleased with the experience.
I really enjoy places that have a limited menu and highly specialized offerings so Han Bat is right up my alley.
I had the flank beef soup with rice noodles which was great. The broth is thick and hearty, the condiments are simple and tasty. The beef was tender and...flanky?
The Kim chi was the best.
Highly recommended!
I came here on a Sunday at around 1PM for lunch with friends. Â The place was empty so we were seated immediately. Â The place doesn't have the greatest atmosphere so don't expect it to be well heated, air conditioned well or have comfy seats (just eat and go). Â However, it's a great place to come on a cold winter or cold rainy day. Â It's like eating "pho," but Korean style... :) yum!
Food: delicious side dishes (kimchee & and kkakdughee)
Korean beef soup "Sul Lang tang" ($7.26-$8.62) - most of the soups are $7.26, but  there are maybe one or two soups that are $8.62 which is still cheap for the amount of food you get!
Costs: definitely a great price for quality and amount of food you get!
Atmosphere: run down shop... but I don't see any rats in here so i think it's safe..
Customer Service: good..probably better if you can speak Korean since the ladies might not speak english very fluently...
I would come here again if I was craving Korean Sul Lang tang.. YUMYUM...
This is definitely a Mom and Pop store. After serving everyone, the waitress/Mom? went back to her little table and continued reading the Korean paper.
My friend was Korean so he ordered for me. I'm a big fan of noodles and broth. Absolutely LOVE it. It's my comfort food. So I was excited to eat here. I got the soup and noodles with everything in it. I liked the soup, but I wasn't in love with it. It wasn't as flavorful as I thought it was going to be. I poured all of the Korean sauce, even with some of the radish juice into my broth. I liked that they provided rice so that I could finish off the rest of the soup!
I liked the kimchi, but I didn't touch the radish. The rice tea was very nice as well.
Overall, I liked the place. I don't really have another Korean noodle place to compare it to. But if I had to choose between this and Vietnamese pho, I'd choose pho.
Free parking lot in the front! Also, CASH ONLY. The entire menu is quite cheap!
When you go here get the beef bone soup. Actually that's all they serve. As other posters said it is a long simmered bone broth, the marrow gives it  the opaque color. It comes with rice noodles, and your choice of various cow parts, ranging from brisket to tripe to tongue to tendon. You season it with the bowl of sea salt at the table, chili paste and green onion and the fresh homemade kimchi. The kimchi is great so is the pickled radish pieces that come with every order.  You also get a bowl of rice, I dump some in the soup and pour some radish sauce on the rest.  Located in a mostly empty funky little strip mall, don't let the location dissuade you from stopping by. Five stars for the deliciousness and their obvious dedication to doing their one thing righteously.
Review Source:Specialized in those beef soup thing that I love. If you are a beginner, just get the beef soup with noodle. You have salt, hot sauce, and chives on the table, so you can add however much you like. The soup also comes with a bowl of rice, some radish kimchi and unripe kimchi. Per my husband, that's the best unripe kimchi he's ever had--a bit background information: ripe kimchi tastes sour, versus unripe kimchi tastes sweeter.
Anyways, for a more adventurous spirit, Â I'd suggest get the tendon soup. Try it and you will like it. :)
P.s. Cash only.
Here is a quick summary of ratings based on the category:
Taste: Â 5 stars
Service: Â 4 stars
Ambiance/Decor: Â 2 stars but who cares...
Value: Â 4 stars
I have been to LA and NY and had their best sul lung tang (Korean authentic beef soup) but Han Bat is just as good or even better. Â This is the only Korean restaurant I can confidently say this as everyone knows Chicago isn't in the same level as LA or NY when it comes to Korean restaurants.
Highly recommend this place for sul lung tang with good kimchi (cabbage and radish).
Really, just try it. Not expensive, not in pretty setting. But the food, OMG. Better than famous spots in Korea. Muy muy muy awesome. My hubby, who normally doesn't like my food, likes this place a lot. If you don't have any Korean buddy to teach u how to eat, let me know. =) Â You just mix salt, pepper and spicy sauce into the soup served with ur choice of beef parts. Then add rice into the soup, and indulge yourself with 2 kinds of kimchi. Gosh, I'm drooling.
Review Source:I talked my husband into taking me here for breakfast as I was looking for something gluten-free and didn't want eggs and potatoes. We're pretty daring, but the waitress was really helpful helping us choose what to eat. We loved it! We had some type of beef soup with rice noodles and the kimchee was excellent. Will certainly go back.
Review Source:Just moved to Chicago and happy to find out that there are many nearby Korean restaurants that have good Yelp ratings. I went to this one which had yummy soup. If you haven't had sah lang tang before, bring a Korean friend or find out how to eat before (you add salt and onions and rice into your soup bowl!). I gave it a 4/5 just because they didn't have any other types of food except soup. If you have a soup craving though, this is it! :-) Downside is Cash only. Also, I took the Brown Line and it was only a 10 minute walk off the subway.
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Han Bat | Chicago
2723 W Lawrence Ave
(between Fairfield Ave & Washtenaw Ave)
Chicago, IL 60625
Neighborhoods: Lincoln Square, Ravenswood
(773) 271-8640
***********************************************
American breakfast options revolve around eggs, and the non-egg options fall within a few major categories - bagels (usually with cream cheese), pancakes, corned beef, or a healthy medley of yoghurt and fresh fruit.
Craving Asian food last Saturday, I went to Han Bat, which is Korean restaurant, and ordered their seolleongtang. Seolleongtang is a broth soup made from beef bones, simmered over many hours, where the marrow leaches out of the bones and turns it an off-white colour. The soup is mild-tasting, and spring onion, chilli was provided at the table.
The $10 bowl of seolleongtang (4.5/5) was a refreshing dish, and the kimchi (4.75/5) is free flow. It's authentic Korean - when I went into the restaurant at 9am on a Saturday morning, I was greeted with a string of Korean. This, according to Tyler Cowen, bodes well for the authenticity of the restaurant. Very enjoyable Korean home cooking.
Sometimes this place is exactly what you need: a simple, clean and satisfying soup. They are absolutely superb if you're looking for something to warm the soul.
I can't give specifics as to what I've had (because I am never the one ordering), however they've all hit the spot (especially the one with tendon). The owners of the place are cute and friendly... don't expect much from the interior. A must go if you like Korean and live in the hood.
We came on a week day and it was a busy lunch for them. We ordered special soup and beef tongue soup. They were both really good due to the special broth. There is not much noodle or beef inside the bowl, the star is definitely the soup base and the wonderful Homemade kimchi! We will definitely come back!
Review Source:Are everyone's taste buds working properly?!? What is going on with the biased reviews for Han Bat?? Cash only policy in my opinion because all the kitchen staff is mexican guys (you can see this every time they go into the kitchen). I love Mexican people but if they arn't legal then don't inconvenience me into having to go to the atm so that you don't have to do books. Anyway on to the food....
Average at best. We ordered 2 different dishes but were not at all surprised to that the order was wrong. We speak english, she speaks korean and relayed our order to people who speak spanish. I am starting to see why the United Nations even work out where to buy paper clips... So I convince my husband not to complain because it will take too long and I'm ready to leave. So I start eating my beef stew...minus the beef? Wait a minute! So we get the owners attention after much trouble and show her the problem with the soup. She tries to convince us there is beef but we show her but lifting up spoonfuls that no, indeed there is none. So she kindly runs to the back and gets a bowl of beef and pours it into our soul. Ok, fine.
She's a nice lady who is obviously overworked. She tried her best to make us happy it just is hard when you have a dive of a place. So 4 stars for her effort but 0 for atmosphere. The parking lot is creepy and inside Han Bat the tables are set up like a college study hall.
We were in the mood for Korean but Chicago Kalbi was closed on Tuesdays so we looked at which other had the best review in the area. Ok fellow yelpers you let me down by recommending this but for future patrons here is your warning. If you go it is your own fault.
Also the tea was lukewarm at best which was made more disappointing by the fact that we just came in from the rain and could have used warm tea.
Alright I'll stop now.
**CASH ONLY**
Mom & Pop joint
located in korea town..along with other Vietnamese restaurants.
We stayed in downtown of Chicago. It was about 7 miles from our hotel. It cost $20 cab fare each way..totaling out to $45 with tip. With the fact our meal for two was  $20 with tip.
All i have to say....It was worth it!
Don't get me wrong there are other great joints to eat around Chicago.. But when you're looking for comfort Korean soup this is the place to be. Nice & hot to eat on a cold freezing day!
** warning finding a cab back home can be a issue...we walked down a couple of blocks until we spotted a cab**
Best sul lung tang in the city AND suburbs hands down. No fake stuff whitened up with flour or broth without the hearty flavor that can only be accomplished with a lot of slow cooking time and large amounts of ox tail. They also have the softest, gooiest dogani (tendon) around.
This place is a dive and old women serve you that remind me of an aunt or my mom so you get a very home sweet home feeling. Mind you, old Korean are not polite in any way shape or form but they honestly mean no harm so don't be offended if their manners are not exactly the best especially if there is a language barrier.
Do NOT bring anything but cash to pay with because that is all they accept and there are signs posted as soon as you walk in the door. I know, it's a drag to have to go to the ATM but I can certainly understand why a small family business simply can't shoulder the hefty cut the credit card companies take to swipe a card.
To be honest, this is more of a traditional Korean type of place so if you're not Korean and you don't understand why they don't have your favorite glass noodles, or bibimbap (rolls eyes) then please don't even bother trying this place out. Korean food is immensely diverse so just like any other restaurant it is impossible for every Korean restaurant to make all of your favorite dishes under one roof AND make them to your specific liking. If you're adventurous but are shy about going in without guidance then grab yourself a Korean and ask them to show you the ropes. Korean food doesn't consist of just kalbi, boolgogi and chap chae. You'll be surprised to find out that sul lung tang makes for a great hangover cure!
In search of dolsot bibimbap, I found that I'd veered off course upon arrival at Han Bat. Â "We have soups only." Â Good Yelp work on my part. Â It does help to actually read the reviews. Â
But soup is not a bad second choice, particularly when it's Sul lung tang (a traditional Korean ox bone soup). Â It's simple, hearty, and ideal for a bleak Chicago winter day when not even a 27-minute shower can warm you up. Â Like many Korean dishes, there's a ritual to eating it, and everyone has their own. Â The bowl of broth, noodles, and (maybe) beef arrives at your table in simple form; you have an arsenal of rice, green onions, sea salt, and red pepper paste to give it your own personal spin. Â
Go easy on the salt and it's a very healthy, filling meal. Â Savvy Koreans love it for hangovers, but it's comfort food ideal for many occasions. Â 8 bucks gets you a heaping bowl, plenty of kimchi, and a bottomless cup of tea. Â Dining out without an ounce of caloric or monetary induced guilt. Â
Very much a hole in the wall, but you're here for simple soup, not caviar.
Well, well, what can I say about this place. Â Driving into the lot, I could have sworn I was gona get mugged or robbed by some ghetto hoodies. Â Luckily, no harm came to me. Â Of couse, the fact that the restaurant owner tells you not to leave your belonging in the car is another indication that the neighborhood may not be as safe.
I came here to get what they were known for and that was Sul Long Tang. Â My fiance recommended this place since she knew I have a natural affinity to korean food and korean culture in general. Â We got their combination and I got to say I was pleasantly surprised. Â The soup came out boiling hot and the flavoring was just perfect. Â The aroma was something I had been craving for, but never found in Chicago until now. Â My insatiable thirst for Sul Long Tang had been quenched. Â I slurped up my portion so quickly that I ended up going after my fiance's as well. Â Yeah, I know that is not good, but the Sul Long Tang here was just that good. Â Thankfully, my fiance understood how to share when I came looking for her's.
Anyhow, if any of you guys are out looking for a good old traditional korean soup, this is the place to be. Â Just be careful and be aware of your surroundings. Â
BTW, I gave it 4 star instead of 5 was because the owner (lady) looks really mean and didn't smile much. Â I guess you can't expect too much from a traditional Korean Ajumma.
My friend re-introduced me to Han Bat - and am I glad that she did. I believe I came here with my parents WAY BACK in the day when I was a little kid, so I don't remember much of it (I'm just taking my parents' word for it). But now that I'm all grown up, I can definitely appreciate the deliciousness of the sul-lang-tang here.
Let's be clear - you only come here if you want the hot, white, brothy goodness that is sul-lang-tang (soup broth made from ox-bones). Oh, and also if you're a fan of  Korean spicy pickled radish, ggakkdoogi. The regular kimchi here is also pretty good and generally fresh; it doesn't appear to be fermented very long. As a Korean American with a very Korean mom that regularly makes a very similar oxtail soup, ggolee-ggohm-tang, I'm extremely happy with Han Bat's dish. Food comes out quickly and hot (as expected since sul-lang-tang benefits from long simmer times and is probably constantly being heated), and there's really no wait. But I would suggest sticking with the beef or sogogi as it's really the best tasting IMO. But if you're adventurous, try out the spleen...
This place serves the best Sul lung Tang I have ever ate.
Well I don't usually eat Sul lung Tang that much, so I haven't tried that many places, but it is better than most of the one's I ate in Korea.
I remember they opened up a second location at Urbana-Champaign in 2003. Â I guess they couldn't find that many hung over college students and lost business within 6 months.
This is a hole in the wall place. You will not find any white table cloth but their Sul Lung Tang is one of the best in Chicago.
You can leave your AMEX at home when you visit this restaurant as they will ONLY accept CASH. It is very affordable so the cash you have in your wallet should be enough.
I went to this restaurant on Thursday, 09/15/2011 at 12:00pm
I had the combo with the clear noodle. The soup came with cabbage and radish kimchi. I have tell you all of them were YUMMY!
The waitress brought uncut cabbage kimchi and she cut the kimchi at my table. They do this to show you that their kimchi was not recycled. Some Korean restaurants recycle their Kimchi.
If you have a taste of Sul Lung Tang, I would give this place a try. You will be glad that you did.
If it smells good, you should try it at least once.
Definitely delicous sul lung tang. It's a hole in the wall on a not so lively, clean street, but I would come here again and again.
The restaurant is small and the staff is small, but the service is fast and of course, the food is delicious. The kim-chi is amazing and goes so well with the sul lung tang. The prices are good too - they're not like other overpriced korean restaurants, and this is pretty authentic.
Best Sul lung tang in the city! Â That's Korean beef tongue soup, among other options that you can add like tendon, tripe and rice noodles... Kimchi is perfect there too.
If you're craving this dish you must go here. Â Looks like a hole in the wall restaurant, but aren't those usually the best places to eat??
I'm not Korean but I'm under the impression that Han Bat is one of the more authentic restaurants in Chicago. I guess it's also blatantly evident since Han Bat is run by Koreans who can barely converse in English.
Nonetheless, I must say their soup and kimchi is a perfect match. The soup flavors are much more subtle as is the ingredients which usually consist of beef, tendons, tripes, and noodles. Each order of soup is approximately $7.50 and it comes with rice which you can consume with the soup. The kimchi is a lot more aggressive. I'd consider a bite of kimchi and a spoonful of soup to be the stairway to heaven. Â
Han Bat is a very small restaurant and you could easily miss it, but it's literally the only restaurant in that concaved section of the street.
As a Korean American, here are my feelings toward Han Bat Restaurant:
LOOOVEEEEE
It is as Korean as Korean gets in America. Â After I was done with the meal of yummy bone soup, I went to the bathroom. Â In Korean, signs read "please put the toilet paper in the garbage" but there were no English translations. Â Man, that's pretty Korean. Â If you are not Korean but want to try delicious authentic Korean soup here, it would be to your benefit to go with a Korean person.... I could take you. Â :-D
Cash only BUT prices are really affordable $7.50 ish per soup. Â Trust me, it's quite filling.
Okay, ready for the best part, you Korean food lovers out there? They make their own kimchi. I can't tell you how many times I've been to Korean restaurant where they serve me gross, over-fermented kimchi. Â (Many. Many times). Â Han Bat serves fresh AMAZING (and gingery) kimchi that almost makes the $7.50 price worth it alone. Â Now that's some good kimchi.
Han Bat=Yes.
Being a Korean with a mother who is a great cook, this place gives her a run for her money, mainly because the cook is another Korean mother.
It's no frills, byob, cheap, like really cheap and delicious. It's home style Korean cuisine so if you want something more traditional that's not focused on bbq and is healthy try it as soon as you can!
After the Saturday shit show, i got the brilliant idea of getting seol leong tang afterwards. Â I used to go clubbing in Kangnam till like 6 am and get seol leong tang every single time. Â
The inside is a total dive. Â I actually found the service to be relatively nice compared to San soo gap san or Cho sun oak. Â
Kimchee and kkadugi are also very good. Â It's pretty much required that seol leong tang places have good kimchee if they want to do well. Â It's a very aggresively seasoned, fresh tasting kimchi. Â Just like how I like it.
The portions are pretty big. Â If you mix the soup with the rice they give you; it's very very filling. Â Make sure you mix in some hot sauce and use plenty of green onions as well.
I got the brisket and tendon. Â The tendon was downright soft and gelatinous. Â Not what I expected...I was thinking chewy like cartilage. Â Overall I just like to keep it to just brisket.
Best seol leong tang in Chicago. Â Best hang over food too. Â Right up there with menudo for Mexicans and...hmmm i wonder if there is wiki entry for international hangover foods....
They also have a private parking lot, which is very convenient. Â Give it a try for sure.
1. Cash only!
2. No Bi Bim Bop! LOL Â I was eavesdropping on some non korean people and they couldn't read the menu so they just rattled off a few things they like. Â None of which they had at the restaurant. Â My heart went out to them.
3. This shop is solely bone broth soup place. Â Not like osso bucco. Â Just a clean white bone broth to be flavored with chopped green onions, coarse sea salt and some hot sauce if you feel like it. Â
I really liked their Sul Lung Tang with Tendon. Â It was the best quality tendon I've ever had! Â No Pho place could come near the quality. Â
I like food with a little bit more character but for Sul Lung Tang Han Bat is pretty good. Â The Kimchee is just ok though. Next time I'll ask if they something more aged.
When temperatures plunge, and I'm shivering in my Uggs, my mind veers straight to Han Bat's soup. It's simple comfort food, and while my mom can make it just as well, my mom is about 300 miles away.
The only thing I would like is some more banchan (Korean side dishes) but I guess given the price of the soup, it's understandable that they don't have more.
One of my best-friends that is Korean brought me here over the summer to try their sul lung tang. He said it was better than pho, and that it'd be part of the last meal he'd like to have before he dies.
First, Their bahn chan was very good, fresh. Of note, their kimchi is very very good! I like kimchi, and the potency of the fermented flavors of their kimchi is subtle and perfect. It is also very fresh and crispy. My friend said it's some of the best he's had, and I'll agree with that.
The sul lung tang was very very very good. It comes out hot and with a side of white rice. The soup itself was very hearty and delicious. I was a little tentative to go out because I had a stomach ache, but the soup did the trick and I felt a lot better. The portion is huge, I wasn't sure how much to expect but I left the restaurant feeling very satisfied. Â My friend says its the best in the city, I'll be sure to try some more eslewhere and come back again to validate his assertion.
The place is pretty much a neat little hole in the wall with some cheap chairs and tables, but the service was quick and kind.
It was a nice day to go out for some sul lung tang, and afterwards we went on a quest to find some street italian icee.
Just when I thought I'd never get a bowl of authentic sulungtang in Chicago, I met good people that took me here unplanned. Â Thank God - b/c it changed my Chicagoan life. Â My life regained its meaning, and the stars were once again perfectly aligned. Â
The sulungtang here is straight up authentic. Â Sure, the place could use a little help from an interior designer, and the service could be a little more friendly. Â But those are not things you expect of a hole-in-a-wall Korean restaurant that specializes in just a couple of no-frills traditional dishes. Â
I do wish that the portion was a bit bigger, only b/c when you finish the last spoonful, you're left wanting more. Â
GREAT kimchi, too. Â Both bakchoy and radish.
Best seollung tang place in Chicago. That's all they serve (I think) and they serve it well.
I wouldn't recommend this place for those who haven't ventured outside of Korean BBQ. This is a very traditional dish made from beef bone broth, noodles, rice, green onion, and salt and hot pepper paste to taste. This soup is healthy and known as the hangover soup.
They only serve two side dishes. Their dhakdukki (spicy radish) is the best I've had too. Kimchee is standard.
Price is about $10 per soup with everything included.
As I've been under the weather for the past few days, I decided that some sul lung tang would be in order. Â Just a note, I never have a desire for sul lung tang as I usually find it not flavorful enough. Â However, I heard great things about this place from many of my friends so that was how Han Bat found me in their restaurant Friday night.
Keep in mind that this place is a real hole in the wall and if you are a non-Korean, it might be easier to go with someone who speaks Korean as there were no English signs (although the menu did have English translations of the food so maybe you can just point) and I'm not sure if the people who work there actually speak English. Â
We got our food super fast which is always a plus. Â The sul lang tang broth was delicious and the meat in it was very tender. Â And you can't go wrong with either choice of noodles as I tried them both. Â An essential aspect of the meal was their kimchi and pickled radish which really stood out from other Korean restaurants. Â They went perfectly with the sul lang tang. Â
I left very comforted and full and I think I'll actually be having cravings for sul lung tang from now on, as that is the best I've ever tried. Â I'll definitely be back!
This is definitely THE best 'sul long tang' place in Chicago. The 'kimchi + kak-tu-ki' is so good that I've seen people come in to buy just these (which at the time they did not allow, but may have changed since).
One thing noone here has mentioned yet, is that you have two options for  the noodles that go into the soup. The first is 'dang-myun' which is clear noodles. The second is 'gook-su' which is rice noodles. There is no consensus choice between the two, and it really depends on your preference. I honestly switch back and forth every visit depending on my mood that day :P
My mom shared her secret spot with me.
This place is a super dive, but has the best ssul lung tang in the city. The broth is dense, has perfect noodles and large slices of tender beef. Best of all, it comes out hot with a small bowl of rice (in metal bowls!).
The kimchee and kkack doo gee are AWESOME and pretty potent. I don't suggest you go on a date after consuming them.
Guaranteed food coma.
The only (dingy, but long-standing) sul-long-tang house in Chicago K-town. sul long tang, oxtail soup, can be treated much like 'pho' here. Request specific cuts of meat (beef), toss in a coupla pinches of sea salt and voila: you have one of the most treasured brothy soups in Korean cuisine.
Except it looks AND tastes like dishwater. you know.. the stuff in your kitchen sink after you rinse out all your dirty tupperware: opaquely white, a bit thick, pungent smelling.
At sul long tang houses, panchans are held back and scarce. you may get a coupla kimchis, but don't expect a 10 dish seafood spread to arrive from the kitchen. Han Bat's Added bonus: Penguin Ice Cream is right next door!
sul long tang + cha dol baegi baffle me. every Korean chic i know digs this but... i just have to marry mine, i don't have to like what she slurps.
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