Cheonan pork cutlet restaurant with a self-serve bar: Jinsim Wang

Jinsim Wang Donkatsu Cheonan Buldang Location: 26 Buldang34-gil, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea, 1st floor units 101, 102, 104 Parking: underground parking in the building

I love donkatsu (pork cutlet), and Jinsim Wang is one of my favorite chains for it! This was my first time visiting the Buldang branch, so here's my review.

Jinsim Wang Donkatsu Cheonan Buldang in one line

• Free soup refills
• Lettuce wraps
• Self-packing station for leftovers
• Generous portions, freshly fried and crispy, sauce not too salty — the real deal for Western-style cutlet
• All the side dishes are delicious too

Where is it and where do you park?

Jinsim Wang Donkatsu Cheonan Buldang, a pork cutlet spot in Buldang-dong, Cheonan, sits on the 1st floor of the Shinbuldang M Tower building. It's right on a corner at an intersection, so it stands out. Clean exterior. Parking is available in the building's underground lot.

How big is the dining room, and is it good for families?

The interior has soft lighting and a bright atmosphere. It's much bigger inside than it looks from outside — really spacious, almost large-scale.

A great spot for group meals with family or relatives too. I should bring my relatives here next time~

The staff were friendly, the atmosphere was relaxed, and there were baby chairs available, so it's also good for a family outing with a baby.

What's on the self-serve bar?

The self-serve bar at Jinsim Wang Donkatsu Cheonan Buldang has soup, udon broth, water, pickled radish, kimchi, lettuce wraps, ssamjang, small plates, kids' tableware and disposable aprons. There's lettuce prepared for wrapping the cutlet in — a spot where you can enjoy the distinctive fried-cutlet lettuce wrap~

Water and broth are self-serve too, so just use the self-serve corner.

What's on the menu?

Here's the menu at Jinsim Wang Donkatsu, a pork cutlet spot in Buldang.

• Jinsim Wang Donkatsu
• Double Jinsim Wang Donkatsu
• Cheese Donkatsu
• Sweet Potato Cheese Donkatsu
• Spicy Wang Donkatsu
• Fish Cutlet
• Jjolmyeon, kalguksu, udon, naengmyeon, cold soba, kimchi nabe, tteokbokki, curry rice bowl, bibimbap
• Fried dumplings, bingsu (shaved ice)

- Choice of sauce poured on or on the side. There are also Korean snack menu items like tteokbokki, fried dumplings and bingsu.

Unlimited cream soup refills

Personally, whenever I go to a Western-style pork cutlet place I refill the soup like 3 times, but here you can just keep eating freely.. Part of why I come back is the great donkatsu, but also because I can freely eat the old-school cream soup I love — which is why I always end up thinking of Jinsim Wang Donkatsu whenever I crave pork cutlet.. Sprinkling pepper on the old-school cream soup is heavenly~

The Double Jinsim Wang Donkatsu with tteokbokki and cold soba

The signature is Jinsim Wang Donkatsu, which comes in a really large size, but the double is the best value, so I order it every time I come!

Jinsim Wang Donkatsu comes with cabbage salad, peppers and rice. Western-style pork cutlet~ true to being a wang (king-size) cutlet, it's really big, the meat has a thick, chewy bite, and it's very crispy.

The salad and crunchy peppers also cut through the richness nicely, giving good balance. Jinsim Wang Donkatsu really has great taste sense down to the side dishes. The sauce is rich too, that classic Western-style cutlet sauce flavor that everyone will like, no love-it-or-hate-it here!

The sauce wasn't salty, it was clean-tasting, and the cutlet was crispy and delicious.

The tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes)

It comes with jjolmyeon noodles, fish cakes and wheat rice cakes, plus a spicy-sweet sauce that's perfect.. This place is good at tteokbokki too.. The wheat rice cakes make it even tastier, there's a generous amount of fish cake, and the jjolmyeon noodles added extra appeal.

The cold soba

I was craving something cool so I ordered the cold soba, and it was true to the classic flavor too. Adding the disposable wasabi made it even tastier.

Everything here is well made — that was my review of Jinsim Wang Donkatsu in Buldang-dong!

Final verdict on Jinsim Wang Donkatsu Cheonan Buldang

• Free soup refills
• Leftovers can also be packed easily at the self-packing station
• Freshly fried, crispy and generous portions — great value
• Side dishes taste great too