Baby-friendly Bongdam restaurant with yellow croaker set: Hwadamga

I visited Hwadamga in Bongdam, Hwaseong, wanting a filling meal. It wasn't just grilled fish — they also had pork and beef dishes on the menu, so it seemed like a good spot for a family meal or gathering.

Where is Hwadamga, and is there parking?

Hwadamga is at 58 Nangnaegi-gil, Bongdam-eup, Hyohaeng-gu, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, 1st floor, open daily from 11:00 to 22:00. Break time is 15:00–17:00, last order is 21:30, and they offer group seating, takeout, high chairs, and reservations, with separate men's and women's restrooms.

Head along the road past Wawoo Middle School and Wawoo High School, turn right after about 100 meters, and it's just before the entrance to Bongdam Xi La Zenne apartments.

There's a large parking area right in front of the restaurant, so I had zero parking stress.

Inside Hwadamga: partitioned seats and private rooms

Inside, each seat is separated by partitions, which gave a sense of distance from the next table. It made for a more comfortable, private meal, and there's also a separate room, which looked well suited to family gatherings or work dinners with several people.

Hwadamga's menu: plenty to choose from

Hwadamga isn't just a fish place — pork and beef grilled dishes are on the menu too. I liked that fish lovers and meat lovers could visit together and each order to their own taste.

The three set menus we ordered at Hwadamga

I ordered the wood-fired mackerel set, the wood-fired bori-gulbi (dried yellow croaker) set, and the direct-fire pork set.

Wood-fired mackerel set

Grilled in a wood-fired oven, the mackerel came out with a nicely browned surface — crispy outside, moist inside!

The seasoning wasn't too strong either, so it went well with rice.

The flesh wasn't dry at all — soft and tasty.

Direct-fire pork set

The pork pieces were nice and chunky, well coated in a spicy sauce with a hint of smoky char.

There were plenty of vegetables to eat alongside the meat, and the spicy sauce paired well with rice too.

Wood-fired bori-gulbi set: soaking rice in green tea water

The bori-gulbi (dried, seasoned yellow croaker) wasn't small, and a staff member deboned it for me, so it was easy to eat.

The flesh had a pleasant chewy texture and was seasoned just right.

What I really loved was soaking the rice in green tea broth and eating it together with the fish.

There was barely any of the fishy taste you sometimes get with croaker — it was clean and savory-salty, and it matched the green tea broth really well.

The doenjang (soybean paste) stew that comes standard was also loaded with tofu and vegetables, rich and deeply savory — delicious!

How to eat the Hwadamga sets at their best

The basic rice served is barley rice, but if you want white rice, you can get it separately from the self-serve bar!

The white rice uses sujanghyangmi, apparently, and it had a subtle fragrance — the rice itself tasted great.

Gochujang (red chili paste) and sesame oil are set on the table, and combined with the ganjang doenjang (thick soybean paste) that comes standard, I mixed barley rice + herbs + ganjang doenjang + gochujang + sesame oil into something like bibimbap — a real treat.

What's on the self-serve side dish bar?

Side dishes are run as a self-serve bar, so you can pick and choose whatever you feel like.

There was a wide variety of home-style, healthy sides — seasoned greens, pickles, japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), quail eggs — plus white rice, barley rice, and seaweed soup.

There were even wrap vegetables and salad, so I could add whatever suited my taste. Some places run low on self-serve food as break time approaches, but Hwadamga kept restocking sides right away, so it was easy to use no matter when you visited.

Visiting Hwadamga with a baby: dishes, microwave, high chair

The restaurant had a microwave on hand, which looked handy for warming up baby food,

and separate baby dishes were also prepared. Since this was a family meal with a baby, these details stood out to me.

Dessert after the meal

After finishing the meal, dessert was available too.

Coffee

Omija (schisandra berry) tea and mango juice — with a choice depending on taste, I could wrap things up cleanly at the end.

Final thoughts on Hwadamga

Hwadamga was great for being able to pick from grilled mackerel, bori-gulbi, and stir-fried pork all in one visit. With various self-serve sides, barley rice, white rice, and doenjang stew added on top, it was a full, satisfying meal.

What I appreciated most was how quickly they restocked sides when running low, plus having baby dishes and a microwave ready. Good value for the composition and satisfying on taste too! If you're looking for a family meal, a gathering spot, or a hearty Korean meal in Bongdam, Hwaseong, this is a place I'd want to visit again. 😊