Daejeon Korean restaurant galbi kimchi stew and egg roll: Jeonju House

A Korean meal found near Gyeryong Spatel

On our Daejeon trip, the place our family stayed was Gyeryong Spatel (계룡스파텔). There are plenty of restaurants around Gyeryong Spatel, and the one we picked because we were craving Korean food was Jeonju House (전주하우스). We had a really delicious galbi kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew with beef short ribs). On our last trip we walked right past this place without knowing it, so I'm glad we found it now at least.

Jeonju House 09:00–22:20 / last order 21:20

A big place that was still busy in the evening

We visited in the evening, and besides the kimchi stew there were lots of tables having samgyeopsal (pork belly). The restaurant is in its own standalone building, so it's on the large side. When you walk in, the dining areas spread wide to the left and right.

This place specializes in galbi kimchi stew and sotttukkeong samgyeopsal (pork belly grilled on a cauldron lid). We ended up having a late dinner and got there after the usual dinner hour, yet it was still crowded. It's a popular Korean restaurant in Daejeon. I'd recommend it to anyone craving a home-cooked-style menu. Please see the photo below for the menu board. There's a good variety of extra dishes too.

Cauldron kimchi stew and a giant egg roll for the kids

We ordered two servings of the gamasot (iron cauldron) kimchi stew and a giant gyeran-mari (rolled omelette) for the kids. The side dishes included bean sprouts and seaweed stems, which the kids like, so they could have a proper meal too. They hadn't been eating well lately, but they really ate well here.

Ordering the kimchi stew includes sotbap (rice cooked in a small pot), and we ordered one extra sotbap. Taking the sotbap into account, I thought ₩16,000 for one serving of kimchi stew was a fair price.

The egg roll the kids devoured

Egg roll, ₩10,000. I did think, an egg roll is pricier than I expected? But I ordered it as the kids' dish anyway. Once we tried it, the two kids polished off a whole bowl of rice with it. They ate so well and it was delicious too. I don't think there's a better dish for them.

We had a taste too. (Delicious!) We're always fretting over what to order for the kids, and this was far better than the kids' menus you sometimes see. Come to think of it, this was the first time we'd felt free to order a red-broth dish at a restaurant with the kids.

Extra side dishes are at the self-serve bar, and there was tofu ready to put into the kimchi stew too. There was so much galbi in it that we never got around to the tofu. I love tofu kimchi stew too, so that was a shame. Next time..?!

Kimchi stew loaded with galbi and aged kimchi

At last, the main event: two servings of galbi kimchi stew. With green onion and chili on top of the cauldron, it looks even better. The portion was bigger than I expected. Lots of kimchi and lots of galbi. The broth is tasty too.

I can't remember the last time I had mugeunji (well-aged kimchi) cooked this thoroughly. Properly simmered, the kimchi flavor is spot on. It was the best kimchi stew I've had lately. If you love aged kimchi, this dish will be everything you could ask for.

We had soju with it in the evening, but it would be just as good as breakfast after a sauna at Gyeryong Spatel. Single servings are available, so it seems people do come to eat solo fairly often.

Sotbap and scorched rice, scraped clean

A bowl of rice is fine when you need more, but sotbap can't be left out. Three sotbap, completely cleared. And we scraped up every last bit of the nurungji (scorched rice at the bottom of the pot) too. It still wasn't enough, so we added a bowl of rice as well. Sotbap definitely tastes better.

Looking back, the photo of cutting the meat is a chaotic mess, and the fact that there are hardly any photos shows I was completely absorbed in eating. That's what a real hidden gem does to you- (hahaha)

Last time we passed it by thinking there'd be nothing for the kids, but we hadn't thought of the egg roll. Glad we figured it out this time at least- next time we come to Gyeryong Spatel, we'll be going again.

Jeonju House is a place I confidently recommend as a Yuseong, Daejeon restaurant and a Gyeryong Spatel restaurant.