Gwangmyeong Korean restaurant with no Friday 9pm wait: Sindaebakjip

What kind of restaurant is Sindaebakjip in Gwangmyeong?

Sindaebakjip Cast-Iron Chicken Stew (신짱닭 솥뚜껑 닭도리탕) is a chicken stew place you'll spot about 100m from Exit 6 of Gwangmyeong Sageori Station. It's open daily 11:00–23:00, and there's no parking, so you'll need to use a nearby public parking lot.

I've loved cast-iron pot cooking since I was a kid — whenever I went to Gapyeong I always had to order the cauldron-lid chicken stew there. Since I couldn't go often, I always missed it... and now one opened in my own neighborhood?! I'm honestly so happy 🥹🫢🥹🫢

When I first went it was still called Sindaebakjip, but it looks like the name has changed since. It's just across the street from Gwangsa Meokgol — such a great location.

When can you get in without waiting?

You can get into Sindaebakjjak with no wait if you go around 9pm on a Friday 🤣🤣 Both times I went after 9pm it was fine. Right after opening there's always a crowd bunched up in front, and I kept assuming that since it had just opened, the crowd would thin out eventually — but this place isn't like that. It's just always busy. Once you go, you understand exactly why.

No wait outside doesn't mean it's empty inside — the place is already almost full. People of all ages come here, and since the seasoning isn't harsh or overly spicy, that also makes total sense ☺️🙂↕️

Sindaebakjip menu and prices

The reason they insist on cast-iron pots is exactly why I love cast-iron pots too. On the menu: cast-iron chicken stew ₩16,000, aged kimchi cast-iron chicken stew ₩18,500.

• Add-ons: fish cake skewers / glass noodles / ramyeon noodles / rice cake / potato / cheese
• Steamed egg, aged kimchi
• Soju / beer / cheonghaju / soft drinks

You really must add the fish cake skewers. One skewer per person, no question.

Banchan with free self-serve refills

Three kinds of basic banchan (side dishes) — white kimchi and pickled vegetables, and all three are my kind of thing. Eating them alongside the chicken stew gives it a refreshing reset just when the flavor starts to feel a little heavy 👀 They bring the side dishes out the first time, but after that you can refill them yourself.

The owner cooking right there in the cast-iron pot, next to the refill station.

Aged-kimchi chicken stew with ramyeon noodles

Both times I ordered the kimchi cast-iron chicken stew. Since it's aged kimchi, you need to wrap it around the chicken breast when you eat it so it doesn't feel dry. Our dish, bubbling away — this is exactly the flavor of that cauldron... lid...

Once the first round of cooking is done, the burner at our table lights up.

And in comes a chicken stew of an absolutely enormous size.

The owner tears long strips of kimchi for us. I tried ramyeon noodles here for the first time — I'm someone who won't even put ramyeon noodles in budae jjigae — but I'm definitely adding it again at Sindaebakjip Cast-Iron Chicken Stew. The noodles soak up all the sauce and were tastier than any stir-fried noodle dish I've had. The broth also gets thicker and richer.

It's hard to judge the size from a photo, but the pot is easily big enough to fit three hands in it... genuinely huge. I have no idea how the staff carry it back and forth ㅠㅠㅠ Watch your wrists!

How spicy is the chicken stew?

The sauce isn't spicy at all. But it's not bland either — just the right seasoning. Personally I'd like it a bit spicier, but I go with the standard version for my husband, who can't handle spice as well as I can. Even though I'm not great with spicy food either, dishes like this make me want it hot for some reason?!

You can eat it right away, but we simmer it on low heat while eating.

We only ordered one bowl of rice, but look at this heaping mound 🤣🤣 The owner and staff are all so kind, and the portions are seriously generous. Finally digging in with a fresh drink on the side.

That fish cake I mentioned earlier — you must order it. Not an intense flavor, but strangely you keep craving more. And since it's protein, there's no reason not to eat it. It comes out boiling hot in real time and you simmer it on low while enjoying an after-work drink on a Friday, loaded up on protein. My husband, who doesn't drink, will never understand this feeling 🙂↔️🙂↔️

Cheese fried rice and taking leftovers home

No words for the cauldron fried rice... I held back on the chicken stew specifically to save room for this fried rice.

Fried rice with extra cheese. It's technically self-serve fried rice, but maybe because it wasn't too crowded, a staff member made it for us.

We definitely only ordered one serving of fried rice.

Wow ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It was way too much, so we packed it up. For ₩1,000 you get a microwave-safe takeout container. The leftover bits of chicken got packed together too — I'll be eating this again in a few days 🤫🫣

Who is Sindaebakjip best for?

Finishing off with the cheese all set into the fried rice. Given the menu, plenty of elderly customers come here too, and that day the table next to us had a whole group celebrating an engagement. Sindaebakjip is great as a company dinner spot or a date spot in Gwangmyeong — I highly, highly recommend it as a must-try near Gwangmyeong Sageori Station! It's ridiculously good value too.

My husband and I like to rank our neighborhood favorites, and Sindaebakjip Cast-Iron Chicken Stew has confidently earned a spot in the rankings lately. Come for a meal, a drink, and a protein refill 🤤🤤