Gagyeong-dong solo pot rice with wasabi and peppers: Sorori Sotbap

Hi, this is the lonely gourmet. I got a break during my internship and came back to my hometown. The weather is so nice. I was debating where to go, but sadly I don't have many friends. So I figured I'd wander around alone. Today's spot is special to me — it's the place I used to go every payday from my part-time job as a kid, and I was happy to hear they've opened direct-run branches all over Cheongju.

A Gagyeong-dong Ipark favorite _ Sorori

Sorori is a place tucked in a corner of Seongan-gil in Cheongju that always had a wait — you needed sharp timing to get a seat. Not a franchise, but a direct branch ~

How to find Sorori Sotbap Gagyeong Direct Branch

Sorori Sotbap Gagyeong Direct Branch is in the basement of a commercial building near Gagyeong-dong Ipark, so you can get lost even after reaching the entrance. I found that entrance but still had a bit of trouble locating the actual restaurant, so I took photos of the way there.

You come in here and need to take the escalator down. I didn't go down at first — I thought this floor was already the first floor and wandered around.

If you exit through this entrance, Sorori is around the corner.

When I first saw this exterior, I thought I was walking into a small place. But the entrance is just small — the interior is actually huge.

How big is Sorori Sotbap, and what is the weekday lunch crowd like?

The interior of Sorori Sotbap Gagyeong Direct Branch looked about 4-5 times bigger than the Seongan-gil flagship, and there were a lot of office workers during lunch hour. The building shares a parking lot with a mart, so the lot is huge — probably why it's such a popular lunch spot for people who work nearby. There were tons of office workers.

Unlike what the outside suggested, the interior is huge. There are 2-top and 4-top tables, and you can push tables together too.

There are floor-to-ceiling windows. Eating with sunlight streaming in — the sun only reaches right up to the front of the restaurant, so there's no glare, and you can enjoy the atmosphere while eating.

There's a spot for prepping side dishes and one for prepping pot rice. The main kitchen is tucked inside, but this open prep area lets you watch some of the process.

There's a high chair and a bib, so it would be a good spot for families or people coming with kids too.

The 4-top table was quite spacious. Plenty of room — tight seating is uncomfortable, but I ate very comfortably here.

The basic table setting: water, water cups, soy sauce, sesame seeds.

You order through a kiosk. Payment works by both cash and card.

Wet wipes and tissues are set out, and the tableware comes individually wrapped, so it looked very hygienic and neat.

Beef intestine pot rice and buckwheat salmon gimbap: too much for one person?

What I ordered: beef intestine (daechang) pot rice and buckwheat salmon gimbap. If you order pot rice, it can also be finished off as sungnyung (scorched rice tea), but I like eating it plain so I skipped that. The spread was really good — side dishes, even butter, and soup too. Looks good, tastes good, as they say.

This restaurant was actually where I first tried beef intestine, and it's cooked just right with the seasoning soaked in nicely. Even after not having it in a while, it still tastes exactly like the original branch. Maybe because it's a direct branch — it's just different.

The intestine pieces are pretty big too, and wonderfully tender.

The buckwheat salmon gimbap (seaweed rice roll) came out while I was eating. Buckwheat instead of rice, packed with salmon and egg. Came out to 8 pieces total.

Since it's not rice, it seems good for dieting too — though of course, eating it alongside beef intestine pot rice kind of kills that, it's just so good that I always order this side gimbap whenever I come.

Inside, there's a generous amount of salmon and egg. I eat a fair amount myself, but if you don't, ordering both the pot rice and gimbap solo will likely leave leftovers.

Scallop seaweed soup and the side dishes

It's tasty with salted seafood or the other side dishes too. The seaweed soup has scallops in it, so the texture and flavor were both excellent.

The best way to eat beef intestine pot rice: seaweed, wasabi and kkwari peppers

I'd recommend pairing Sorori Sotbap's beef intestine pot rice with three things: dried seaweed, wasabi, and cheongyang peppers. Mix part of the pot rice well and eat it with the intestine — it's delicious. Honestly, this combination can't not taste good. The savory rice and savory intestine just melt together.

They give you dried seaweed, so wrapping bits of everything creates yet another combination — one of many ways to enjoy the meal.

Personally I recommend eating the intestine with wasabi. The wasabi here seems to be good quality ~

And especially the cheongyang pepper kick inside the pot rice — butter plus intestine plus cheongyang pepper. It could be rich, but try it once. It really melts in your mouth, and it's the exact combination where you can taste the 'fat' in low-carb high-fat.

Anyway, I wrapped and ate things in my own way, this way and that.

Self-serve bar and kid-friendly extras at Sorori Sotbap

There's a self-serve bar. The side dishes were all neatly laid out, and if you asked for something specific, they'd bring it to you separately. Since it's near an apartment complex, they have kids' tableware and a separate microwave, which made me think it's a great spot to bring children.

I refilled with kimchi and pickled onion. I didn't even know they had kimchi. It had a slight fresh-kimchi feel to it.

I topped the buckwheat gimbap with kimchi for the last bite.

Parking at Sorori Sotbap: 2 hours free

Since there's a parking lot, there's a pay machine at the entrance. They give a generous 2 hours free, so if you're driving, keep that in mind. Sorori is the place I always used to take out-of-towners when they visited Cheongju, and it's wonderful that instead of franchising, they've opened several direct-run branches. You should go check it out too.