Cheongju pot rice lunch with a self-serve japchae bar: Jeju Badang

On days when I want a hearty lunch, Korean food always wins. This time I was craving grilled fish, so I headed to Jeju Badang in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju.

Where is Jeju Badang in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju?

Jeju Badang is on the 2nd floor at 28 Seohyeonnam-ro, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si. Once I went upstairs, the dining hall turned out to be bigger than I expected. The tables aren't cramped together and there are plenty of seats, so it seemed like a good spot for a family meal or a get-together with friends — and fine for group visits too.

The tables themselves were quite wide too, so even ordering several dishes never felt cramped, and with plenty of seating it was comfortable to eat.

Ordering the lunch special: mackerel and hairtail pot rice

Jeju Badang has its own signature set menus too. This time I went with the lunch special — grilled mackerel pot rice and grilled hairtail pot rice. Grilled fish plus pot rice already sounded like a combo that would make me polish off a whole bowl of rice, haha.

Basic side dishes with seaweed soup and stir-fried pork

After ordering, the basic side dishes came out first. Neatly arranged banchan (side dishes) arrived along with seaweed soup and even stir-fried pork. There were so many kinds of side dishes, all good with rice, that I found myself picking at them even before the grilled fish showed up.

I was especially surprised that seaweed soup and stir-fried pork both came as standard — I thought, 'I came for grilled fish and already this many side dishes?' haha.

What is on the self-serve bar at Jeju Badang?

And another great thing about Jeju Badang — the self-serve bar!

The self-serve bar had a really wide variety of side dishes ready to go. From wrap vegetables to kimchi, pickles, and soy sauce, I could grab whatever I wanted to suit my taste.

And there was japchae, one of my favorites?! The moment I spotted it I loaded up my plate, haha. Once you start eating japchae you just can't stop, so I happily worked through it while waiting for the grilled fish.

The self-serve bar also had chicken alongside the japchae, which was great to pair with rice.

If basics like kimchi or pickles run low, you can easily grab more, so overall it's a place where you can eat generously.

How did the grilled mackerel, hairtail and pot rice taste?

Finally, the grilled fish and pot rice I'd ordered arrived. The mackerel was grilled a nice golden brown with plenty of flesh on top, and the hairtail was grilled crisp too — both looked perfect with rice.

Since the rice was freshly cooked in the pot, the grains had a nice chewy, sticky texture. The rice itself was so good that a single piece of fish on top was enough.

The fish was pleasantly salty even on its own. A piece of fish straight on top of rice was tasty, and dipping it lightly into soy sauce mixed with wasabi gave it a whole different flavor to enjoy.

Freshly cooked, sticky white rice with a piece of fish on top, one bite — it sounds like nothing special but it's so good, haha. The rice was chewy and the fish salty, so together my hand kept reaching back for more.

Finishing with nurungji, plum tea and rice crackers

After the pot rice, you've got to enjoy the scorched rice at the end too. Finishing off a good meal with warm scorched-rice tea made me feel full and satisfied all the way through.

And there was dessert ready too. The self-serve bar had plum tea and rice crackers, so I grabbed a light dessert after the meal. A cup of plum tea plus rice crackers and I felt completely full, haha.

If you're looking for a hearty, clean Korean meal in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju, Jeju Badang is worth checking out :)