Tanbang-dong octopus stir-fry set with cheonggukjang: Chongil Nakji

I was looking for a good restaurant near Tanbang Station in Daejeon and found some great reviews, so I was curious to try it myself and visited Chongil Nakji. Sure enough, as it got closer to lunchtime, the dining room filled up with customers fast, haha.

Parking at Chongil Nakji and how long the walk from Tanbang Station takes

The Chongil Nakji main branch has a parking tower inside the building, and they support 1 hour of parking, so you can visit without worry. For those taking the subway, it's just a comfortable 4-5 minute walk from Exit 5 of Tanbang Station.

📍Tanbang parking tower usage guide • Free 10-minute turnaround • First 30 minutes: ₩1,500 • Additional 10 minutes: ₩500 • Operating hours: 24 hours

Did any of you know this Tanbang-dong neighborhood is near Sungsimdang bakery?? It's the neighborhood everyone from all over the country flocks to for Sungsimdang bread, so I recommend stopping by Sungsimdang and then getting parking support at Chongil Nakji for a delicious meal. On the day I visited, there happened to be street parking near the restaurant, so I parked there.

Ordering at the kiosk: dine-in or takeout

At Chongil Nakji Tanbang branch, you order at the kiosk and select whether you're dining in or taking out. A lot of customers come for takeout, but plenty also come to eat in the restaurant for family outings or dates — it's a place with great accessibility near Tanbang Station in Tanbang-dong.

✅ A clean restaurant for a pleasant meal

What stood out most was how clean and tidy the restaurant looked, which raised my expectations for the food even more!! Something hanging in Chongil Nakji's window also had this Jeju Island vibe that was really pretty. It's a great place for a delicious lunch or dinner, and the staff were kind too.

I arrived around lunchtime and there were already customers there, and more kept coming in steadily — so much so that while we were eating, some customers had to turn away because there was no seating. That's when I really felt why Chongil Nakji is such a well-known restaurant in Tanbang-dong.

What did we order❓ ✅ Samgyeop-jeyuk nakji-bokkeum ✅ Chongil soy sauce pork set

After finally ordering and chatting for a bit, our dishes came out along with the banchan and cheonggukjang. Everything looked so appetizing at a glance, and since I was hungry, I quickly took photos and dug in.

How spicy is medium samgyeop-jeyuk nakji-bokkeum?

Chongil Nakji's samgyeop-jeyuk nakji-bokkeum has 3 spice levels: mild - medium (about Shin Ramyun level of spiciness) - spicy. We chose medium, and it was exactly about as spicy as Shin Ramyun — not too spicy, so it was a delicious meal. With the mound of bean sprouts on top and the harmonious look of the pork and octopus underneath, I quickly grabbed my spoon and chopsticks to start the meal.

The crunchy bean sprouts paired with the pork and octopus were spicy yet had a subtle savory depth, making it a dish I kept reaching for.

Mixing rice into the sauce and eating it in lettuce wraps

Of course, with octopus stir-fry, you have to mix the rice with the sauce for the true flavor, right?? Piling the octopus, pork, and bean sprouts onto the rice and drizzling the sauce over the fluffy rice made for absolute heaven — I finished a whole bowl in no time.

The perilla leaves and lettuce served as wrap vegetables were great for making wraps, and I paired them with the mu-saengchae (radish salad) — the flavor was so good I completely emptied my rice bowl that day.

The pork was tender and well-seasoned, pairing nicely with the octopus, and the spicy-sweet flavor is the kind that people of all ages would enjoy. Since the spice level is adjustable, I'd recommend the mild option for families with kids.

Why the Chongil soy sauce pork belly set and cheonggukjang suit a family meal

The soy sauce pork set at Chongil Nakji Tanbang branch was also great for wrapping, and the salty flavor made it especially suitable for family outings with kids. The cheonggukjang came with plenty of tofu, and its mild, clean flavor was great to eat alongside the wraps — a real rice-thief of a dish. Since it's near both Sungsimdang and Tanbang Station, I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good restaurant in Tanbang-dong or near Sungsimdang😊