Stone-pot rice and sungnyung, Gachiul Korean restaurant: Gim Myeongju

If you're craving Bucheon Korean set-meal food...

Starting my review of Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang, a Gachiul favorite where you can properly enjoy clean side dishes with freshly cooked rice :)

59 Gilju-ro 560beon-gil, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea / 10:30–21:00

Where is Gim Myeongju near Gachiul Station, and is there parking?

This Bucheon Korean restaurant is near Gachiul Station and the stadium, so it's easy to get to, and staff help with parking so that's no trouble either~

There's also a room-style space for reservations or group visits, and the store is kept very neat and tidy. There was a wait during lunchtime, so I waited a bit before getting seated :0 hahaha

The banchan self-bar is used for one day only

Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang picks fresh ingredients daily and serves freshly cooked stone-pot rice, cheonggukjang, and various side dishes together! If you want more, the self-bar in the photos lets you help yourself unlimited!

It's extra reassuring knowing the self-bar is only used for that single day, haha. Since it's managed and refreshed constantly, you always get fresh, tasty banchan! haha

Tteuranchae Bapsang set 13,000 won plus one required dish

The base Tteuranchae Bapsang set is ₩13,000! And you have to order at least one single dish per table! We ordered the charcoal-grilled pork (₩18,000) to go with it..! Looking around, a lot of people were also eating soy crab and dried yellow corvina haha.

They mentioned you can get cash-equivalent points for a receipt review, so take a moment and grab that perk~!

With so many people there, I worried the food would take forever, but it came out about 5 minutes after ordering! Freshly cooked stone-pot rice, cheonggukjang, and a variety of side dishes arrived! There were so many kinds I actually had trouble deciding what to eat first!! haha

Cheonggukjang refills: mild, not strong-smelling

Let me start with the seriously savory cheonggukjang. As soon as you get the earthenware pot, that nutty aroma hits you first! You can feel the beans' savory flavor coming through subtly, and once you scoop it over rice, a whole bowl disappears fast!! It does have that distinctive cheonggukjang smell, but it's not overpowering, so even beginners can enjoy it!

Oh, and true to a solid Gachiul favorite, the cheonggukjang here is refillable! If you run out while eating, you can get more, so don't worry about the portion — eat as much as you like haha.

Charcoal-grilled pork, 18,000 won: how it tastes

The charcoal-grilled pork we ordered as a single dish was also amazing..! It's domestic pork neck, and grilled over real charcoal so the fat ratio is on point and there's a nice subtle charcoal aroma!

The seasoning wasn't too strong, so it went well with rice! Not overly sweet, with just the right salty kick as a side for rice!! The portion was pretty generous too, so we actually ended up with leftovers haha. Served generously with onions — very satisfying!

Fried eggplant, japchae and geotjeori: what's on the banchan bar

Side dishes matter a lot when it comes to a Bucheon Korean set meal, right? Fried eggplant, pickled gochujang peppers, japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), gutjeori (fresh cabbage kimchi), namul (seasoned vegetables), pickles, and more — a lineup where you can taste many different flavors without repeats! With most Bucheon Korean restaurants, there's always one banchan you don't touch, but here there were so many that go well with rice that I kept picking at one after another haha.

None of the side dishes were too salty or too sweet, so they paired perfectly with the stone-pot rice!! The tastiest was the fried eggplant — the eggplant's naturally soft texture plus a crispy batter! The seasoning drizzled on top was also great haha.

Finishing the stone-pot rice with sungnyung

They must be using good rice, because it was glossy and shiny..! Aren't the two black beans on top just so cute? haha. As soon as it arrives, carefully scoop out the rice, then add water and wait!

And there you have it — instant K-dessert sungnyung! The table next to us made nurungji (scorched rice) instead of sungnyung, which I thought was a great idea...haha. As the crispy scorched rice dissolves into the water and turns into savory sungnyung, it's the kind of flavor you can't resist even when you're already full..! haha

Rather than eating several fancy dishes at a Bucheon Korean restaurant, this is the kind of place where stone-pot rice, cheonggukjang, and well-matched banchan get the job done fast!!!

Top a spoonful with a crunchy side dish and it's hard to put the spoon down until the very end haha.

Banchan to take home, 5,000 won per pack

If you enjoyed the meal, you can also buy banchan to take home — ₩5,000 per pack, and they pack the containers nice and full haha. Might be worth grabbing one as a sort of Gachiul favorite souvenir!