Bucheon Korean buffet, date for 2 & cockle salad add-on: Gim Myeongju

This is Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Sinjung-dong Branch (김명주뜰안채밥상 중동점), a Korean buffet in Sinjungdong, Bucheon, with private rooms. The address is 70 Jungdong-ro 254beon-gil, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon, Gyeonggi, South Korea, and it's open daily 10:30 to 21:30 (last order 20:50).

Is there a Korean buffet with private rooms in Sinjungdong, Bucheon?

Gim Myeongju in Sinjungdong is a private-feeling Korean buffet with rooms, great for going with family. This time I came on a date with my boyfriend and was so happy with the meal that I plan to come back with my parents! There are lots of Korean dishes older folks love, so it works well for group gatherings too. I recommend it if you're looking for a family-gathering spot in Sinjungdong, Bucheon 💖 It's only 5 minutes from Sinjungdong Station, so the subway access is good, and parking is super easy!!

Gim Myeongju parking and the signature yellow rice

This isn't a small shop tucked into some building. The restaurant uses an entire building by itself, and it's huge!! There's a parking lot on the ground floor with plenty of room, which was so convenient~~!!

The signature here is the hwangmi bap (yellow rice). It's said to be packed with nutrition, and it's different from ordinary white rice, which I liked even more ⭐️⭐️ It was my first time trying this rice. The rice was delicious and there were so many sides to eat with it, so the meal felt really generous!

What's the seating like? Partitioned booths and private rooms

The place is big enough to fill a whole building, and I was surprised at how large it is inside!! What's nice is that every seat is partitioned, so even outside the room seats you can eat comfortably. The restaurant was very neat and clean, and the first impression was a total pass!

There are also private rooms further inside, and they're really spacious and clean! If you're coming with a group, I recommend reserving ahead. The year-end is coming up and I was looking for a restaurant the whole family could go to together. We have a newborn at home, so a room like this is perfect. So we'll probably come back at the end of the year 💖

How do you order at Gim Myeongju?

Ordering is a little unusual. First, order the Tteuranchae Bapsang (table set) according to the number of people. Then add single dishes on top of that, or you can just order a set meal for one person. Main dishes like barley gulbi (salted dried croaker) and ganjang gejang (soy-marinated crab) are ordered separately, while the rest of the sides are unlimited refills, so the amount of food is huge!!

Self-serve bar sides and unlimited rice

All the sides are at the self-serve bar, and there are so many kinds. Rice is also unlimited, so you can really eat until you burst at this Korean buffet. Yet it feels too upscale to call it an ordinary Korean buffet, so I think it's also a great place for gatherings or treating someone. Prices have gone up a lot lately and food costs are a burden, but here you can eat without limit, so the value seems good too!

How much was the Bapsang for 2 plus cockle salad?

• Tteuranchae Bapsang ₩13,000 × 2 people
• Cockle salad (kkomak muchim) ₩15,000 extra

We didn't order a set meal; we got the Tteuranchae Bapsang for 2 and one cockle salad. Wow, there were so many kinds of sides that I was glad we ordered this way…!! I felt like I'd burst just from eating rice, but every single dish was so tasty and there were so many that I kept eating.

Can you get cheonggukjang refills too?

The default soup at Gim Myeongju was cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew), and they say you can get refills of that too! But it has to be boiled and eaten hot, so it isn't at the self-serve bar. You have to ask for it separately.

The extra cockle salad was also a really generous portion, and the seasoning was just right, so it was great with rice! The cockles were plump and so delicious, and just looking at these photos I keep thinking about them… *drool*..

The Tteuranchae café on the ground floor

And the best part: as we were about to leave, we went over to something that looked like a café on the ground floor?? And it turned out there's a Gim Myeongju café inside the building too…!! You don't even need to go to a separate café, because you can do it all here, which is so nice and convenient that I'll definitely come for a family gathering..!! If you're looking for a Korean buffet for a family gathering in Sinjungdong, Bucheon, don't hesitate, just go to Gim Myeongju!!