Chuncheon sushi buffet with pork ribs and waffles: QooQoo

Over the weekend, I headed out to CGV Chuncheon to finally see Odyssey and enjoy a little culture. Once the movie ended, my stomach clock started ringing! I considered heading straight back to Hongcheon, but since I had come all the way to Chuncheon, I wanted a delicious meal—so I went straight to QooQoo Chuncheon Branch (쿠우쿠우 춘천점), an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet where you can eat as much sushi as you want!

It also fit perfectly into my route from CGV Chuncheon, and the restaurant has a spacious, clean kids’ zone (children’s playroom), so it looked like a great choice for families visiting with children too.

QooQoo Chuncheon Branch: location and prices

• Weekday lunch (before 17:00): ₩24,900
• Weekday dinner (from 17:00): ₩29,900
• Weekends and public holidays: ₩32,900
• Elementary school children: ₩16,900 weekdays, ₩17,900 weekends
• Preschool children: ₩8,000; under 36 months: free

Eating out has become so expensive lately that even picking up just a few pieces at a regular sushi restaurant can easily cost ₩30,000–₩40,000. But with dozens of sushi and roll options, a salad bar, and desserts at this price, it is excellent value 👏

QooQoo has a kids’ café area inside, which makes it even nicer to visit with children. The kids can play happily after their meal while parents can eat comfortably, and it seemed to be a popular family dining spot for that reason. Being able to take care of both food and play in one place is a major plus when visiting with children.

What was on the salad bar and hot-food station?

QooQoo had so many choices that it was fun selecting things one by one. There were lots of appetizing-looking dishes, so even filling my plate was a feast for the eyes. The smoked salmon had a subtle smoky aroma and a soft, moist texture, while the seafood sausage stir-fry was generously packed with seafood and sausage. The nicely browned lamb chops looked delicious, and I was happy with their juices and chewy texture. The clam chowder was warm and creamy with seafood mixed in—rich and comforting.

The hot dogs made for an easy, casual bite, and the fried shrimp paired crisp batter with plump shrimp nicely. The round little takoyaki (octopus balls) looked cute, were easy to eat in one bite, and kept me reaching for more. The corn pancake pizza caught my eye with its colorful look, and the sweet corn-and-pizza combination felt refreshingly different. The garlic butter shrimp was delicious, with rich buttery flavor and plump shrimp, while the bite-size steak was easy to eat and had great juices and texture.

The dongpo pork looked appetizing right from its glossy appearance and had a wonderfully tender bite—so good!! The quesadilla had cheese that stretched beautifully, and the beef brisket and mung-bean-sprout stir-fry paired nutty beef with crisp sprouts nicely. Overall, every dish looked good and offered different flavors and textures, so choosing what to eat was great fun!

Along with fresh vegetables, there were plenty of salads and dressings, including kabocha squash salad, yukhoe (Korean beef tartare) salad, and pasta salad—perfect for adding something light and fresh. The hot-food corner had tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour fried pork), chili shrimp, pizza, yaki udon, cream pasta, and more. There were lots of warm dishes to choose from, and just looking at all the inviting food made my mouth water. From crispy tangsuyuk and sweet-spicy chili shrimp to rich cream pasta, there was plenty to enjoy according to your taste.

Sushi and roll selection, plus the making process

It was fresh and fun to watch the rolls being made right in front of me. Being able to see the process with my own eyes made me trust it even more.

The biggest strength of QooQoo, this all-you-can-eat sushi buffet in Chuncheon, has to be its overwhelming number of choices!!! As soon as I got settled, I picked up a plate and made a beeline for the sushi corner.

The first things I grabbed were my favorites: fresh salmon sushi and flounder sushi! For an all-you-can-eat buffet, the fish was impressively fresh. There were also yukhoe sushi, seared beef tataki sushi, eel sushi, raw shrimp sushi, soy-marinated shrimp sushi, and plenty of meat and seafood choices, making it fun to pick according to my mood. I especially went back for the beef tataki several times—the subtle flame-grilled aroma and slightly sweet sauce worked so well together.

No croissants, but waffles were an unmissable dessert

There was a wide range of roll cakes and fruit too. The first line had roll cakes and mini cream puffs, while the second offered assorted fruit including grapefruit, pineapple, orange, passion fruit, dragon fruit, and kiwi. The final line also had three kinds of fruit-flavored jelly.

Coffee bean bread, garlic pie, apricot pie, marshmallows, and pain au chocolat Danish pastries. I love croissants, but there were none, haha.

Freshly baked waffles piled high with apple jam and whipped cream. If you come to QooQoo, this is an absolute must-do course. You also have to properly make room for seasonal fruit such as passion fruit, pineapple, and Kyoho grapes, mini cakes, rice cakes, and finally snowflake shaved ice and ice cream on top!

The sushi, buckwheat soba, and ribs I actually ate

When there is too much rice (shari) in sushi, you fill up quickly and cannot try many varieties. I liked that QooQoo kept the rice portion moderate and cut the topping (neta) long. There were seriously so many rolls and gunkan-maki (battleship sushi) too!!! The taco-wasabi gunkan had just the right amount of sharp wasabi aroma to cut through the richness, while the flying-fish-roe gunkan and salmon roll had a lovely popping texture in the mouth too!

At the noodle station, staff will make udon, jjamppong, or memil noodles to order. I got cool buckwheat soba, and sipping the broth between bites of sushi made my mouth feel completely refreshed.

I brought back small portions of tortilla pizza, tangsuyuk, sweet crispy chicken, ribs, and fried chili peppers to taste first, but the pork barbecue ribs suited my palate perfectly! So I inhaled them endlessly!!!!

While eating sushi, I started craving ribs, so I really ate a lot—two full plates of ribs. The green beans were tasty, and the salmon was tasty too~~

It is an academic fact that even when you feel like you might burst, there is a separate dessert stomach, right? Once I had mostly finished my meal, it was dessert time. One bite of a crisp, warm waffle and it felt like an instant rush of endorphins.

I finished with waffles and my favorite Dippin' Dots ice cream. Dippin' Dots is sold for ₩2,500–₩4,500, and I was so satisfied to be able to eat it to my heart’s content!!!

Plan around the peak-time line

The pros are the huge variety of food, moderate rice portions, a pleasant and spacious dining room, and a dessert lineup everyone from kids to adults can enjoy. The downside is that even on a weekday evening, visitors can crowd in at peak time and you may need to queue at the sushi line, so I recommend timing your visit carefully.

If you are looking near Toegye-dong for a great-value sushi buffet for a family meal, a gathering with friends, or a day when you simply want to eat your fill of sushi like I did, definitely stop by at least once!