Gwangju Chinese restaurant with brisket jjamppong: Mayway

Mayway, newly opened in Cheomdan

Honestly, I do not think I go to Chinese restaurants that often. I actually visit jjamppong specialty places fairly often, but Chinese restaurants are more of an occasional thing for me. I think it is because there are not that many great jjajangmyeon places. There are lots of places that do jjamppong well, but it is hard to find one that does jjajangmyeon well... So I tend to seek out places specializing in jjamppong rather than ones that serve jjajangmyeon too.

But. Then. I saw that a new Chinese restaurant had opened in Cheomdan, and even the exterior had that great-restaurant vibe~ I had come to Cheomdan for tonkatsu, spotted Mayway, and said, “Let’s come here next time,” which is how I ended up visiting today. First of all, the exterior has great-restaurant vibes: GOOD. And tangsuyuk for just ₩1,000 when you order two draft beers? Seriously... WOW.

Ah! And I heard that Daehung Banjeom, a renowned Gwangju Chinese restaurant, has started anew as Mayway^^

Location, parking, and restaurant information

Mayway is near Cheomdan Lotte Mart, so it is easy to find. There is no separate parking lot, so I recommend parking on a nearby side street before visiting~

They say the ₩1,000 tangsuyuk event will continue until the economy improves. Just order two draft beers and you can get tangsuyuk for only ₩1,000.

Inside, there are two- and four-person tables, with enough room for groups too.

Mayway, a Cheomdan favorite with all the Chinese-restaurant atmosphere.

There are hotpot dishes too, so the tables have burners in the middle. Groups can visit with a reservation, so I recommend booking ahead for group gatherings or family get-togethers~

A self-service bar with green onion kimchi and unlimited rice

Mayway, this great Chinese restaurant in Cheomdan, has a self-service bar area.

The self-service corner has danmuji (yellow pickled radish), corn salad, onions, chunjang (black bean paste), and pa-kimchi (green onion kimchi). These days, green onion kimchi seems to be a special side dish at Chinese restaurants. Since the Chapagetti-and-green-onion-kimchi combination is so delicious, I have also been having jjajangmyeon with green onion kimchi now and then lately, and it is so good. This is one of Mayway’s distinctive points too^^

Mayway also has a rice cooker in the self-service corner, so you can help yourself to unlimited rice. But let’s only take what we can eat~ Unlimited free rice, especially at a Chinese restaurant, means you can enjoy a little jjajangbap and jjamppongbap too^^

A sip of dabang coffee for dessert@

What I ordered and the complimentary sweet potato fritters

At Mayway, you scan a QR code at the table to order. From the menu, I ordered the one-person set meal (jjajang + jjamppong + tangsuyuk), brisket jjamppong, and grapefruit cream shrimp. Mayway also gives you sweet potato fritters as a complimentary starter,

They were not the usual thick sweet potato fritters we know. These were Mayway’s own thin sweet potato fritters, not the kind where all you taste is batter. They were the best little specialty ^^.

Brisket jjamppong rich with smoky flavor and seafood

Brisket jjamppong

I debated between spicy jjamppong and brisket jjamppong, then ordered the brisket jjamppong—and it was spicy and warming too. It was packed with ingredients, and the broth was so delicious, with vegetable sweetness, seafood flavor, and a spicy kick. Add the smoky flavor from the brisket, and it was a truly rich bowl of brisket jjamppong. There was plenty inside, so picking out and eating the vegetables was delicious too. The noodles were wonderfully springy, and there were so many of them—it was a huge portion.

The one-person set meal that led to jjajang rice

One-person set meal (jjajang + jjamppong + tangsuyuk)

The jjamppong that came with the one-person set meal seemed to be brisket jjamppong too. It was loaded with brisket, and the broth was seriously so good. The meatiness of the brisket and the seafood flavor were both absolutely top-notch.

It had been so long since I found a jjajangmyeon place that made my eyes pop open. The jjajang sauce was so delicious that I brought over a bowl of rice and had jjajangbap too. And~~ Mayway’s tangsuyuk is seriously delicious. It had been ages since I had thick tangsuyuk. Rather than long strips of meat, it felt like diced cubes of tangsuyuk meat. It was full of juices. If you are not getting the one-person set meal, definitely! order the tangsuyuk. I totally, completely recommend it~

Cream shrimp paired with grapefruit

Grapefruit cream shrimp

I had never heard of or seen a dish called grapefruit cream shrimp before, but I had really been craving cream shrimp for ages, so I ordered it—and the fried shrimp were seriously huge. Cream shrimp sauce can be very sweet, but paired with grapefruit, it had such a delicious bittersweet flavor. I think this is a sauce you can only enjoy at Mayway, this great Chinese restaurant in Cheomdan.

Everything I had today was so delicious. The tangsuyuk was thick, juicy, and almost dice-cut, so Mayway has truly become one of my favorite tangsuyuk places. The brisket jjamppong was full of smoky flavor and amazing savoriness, with the seafood flavor and beef fat working perfectly together—GOOD. And I think grapefruit cream shrimp is something you can only enjoy at Mayway.