Pyeongtaek Korean restaurant for two cockle bibimbap flavors: Kkomak Manse

Back at Kkomak Manse after shopping at Starfield

A little while ago, my sister and I were shopping at Starfield and wondering what to have for lunch when we found a place to visit. It was Kkomak Manse Pyeongtaek Manse-ro Main Branch (꼬막만세 평택만세로본점).

Actually, this wasn't my first time here—it’s a favorite I’ve already revisited a few times ෆ I love cockles, and this is somewhere I find myself coming back to whenever I’m craving cockle bibimbap. So while my sister and I were out shopping at Starfield, we came by for lunch again. If a place makes you come back after trying it once, that counts as a good restaurant, right?!

Parking and ordering

There are so many restaurants around Manse-ro in Pyeongtaek, and I think you may well have spotted Kkomak Manse while passing by. There is parking in front of the restaurant too, so it’s fairly convenient to visit by car.

The dining room was spacious and tidy, making it nice for a family meal, while still feeling relaxed enough for friends or couples.

You can conveniently order from the kiosk at your table ꔛ

A set for two, plus cockle dumplings

• Kkomak Manse set for two: 2 cockle bibimbap + 3 cockle pancakes
• Cockle dumplings

Since it was a repeat visit, it didn’t take us long to decide what to eat, and I think I almost always order the set for two when I come to Kkomak Manse! We arrived hungry, so the two of us ordered quite a generous spread ◡̈

After ordering, warm eomuk-guk (fish cake soup) comes out with the basic side dishes. The soup is quietly so good that I kept taking spoonfuls of broth between bites of cockle bibimbap.

You can get extra basic side dishes from the self-service bar, so it’s easy to refill anything you run short on!

Bibimbap generously topped with prepared cockles

After a short wait, our dishes began arriving one by one. The cockle bibimbap was topped quite generously with cockles and came with assorted vegetables too.

Best of all, the cockles come already prepared, so there’s no need to pry open each shell—you can just mix them straight into the rice. I love cockles but find shelling them tedious, so this was another thing I really liked.

And one of the biggest reasons I’ve returned is that the cockles are both plentiful and plump. With cockle bibimbap, you can sometimes end up with only rice left, but there were enough cockles here to enjoy together with the rice.

How should you season the soy-sauce cockle bibimbap?

We started with the soy-sauce cockle bibimbap. Because the soy-sauce seasoning is served separately, don’t pour in too much from the start; add it little by little until it suits your taste.

Once you mix the cockles, vegetables, and rice evenly, it has a savory yet clean taste. The soy-sauce seasoning itself wasn’t overly intense, so it was easy to enjoy the cockles’ own flavor.

I also love wrapping cockle bibimbap in gim (roasted seaweed), and it was delicious this time too. The chewy texture of the cockles and the nutty taste of the seaweed work so well together—it’s the kind of bite that keeps you eating!

Why we ordered spicy cockle bibimbap too

The spicy bibimbap is delicious too! You simply mix the seasoned cockles into the rice, and because the seasoning has soaked nicely into the cockles, it is well seasoned without adding lots of extra sauce. It’s spicy and full of umami—the kind of flavor that has you reaching for another bite!

Especially because there are so many cockles, you keep getting chewy cockles throughout the rice. I wrapped this one in seaweed too, and it was delicious as expected. I was glad my sister and I had ordered one soy-sauce and one red spicy version: alternating between the two kept it from becoming tiring, and it was fun comparing the flavors. If it’s your first visit and there are two of you, I’d recommend ordering one of each.

Sharing cockle pancakes and cockle dumplings too

The set included three cockle pancakes. They were a good size and filled with cockle meat, giving them a chewy texture when you bite in. They have a different charm from eating cockle bibimbap alone, so they were great to order and share. A light dip in soy sauce added a mild, nutty flavor and was so good. And somehow, eating the cockle pancakes made me think of having a drink, haha. They would be good as a meal, but I thought they would also make a nice evening drinking snack.

I remembered enjoying the cockle dumplings too, so we ordered them again this time. The meat filling was packed with chewy cockle meat! I first tried cockle dumplings at Kkomak Manse, and they’ve been delicious every time ◡̈ After the cockle bibimbap, pancakes, and dumplings, we were much fuller than expected. Still, sharing them meant we got to try several dishes, which was lovely.

What to order on your first visit

If it’s your first visit to Kkomak Manse, I think you should start with its signature cockle bibimbap. If you’re visiting as a group, it would also be nice to add dishes like cockle pancakes or dumplings to share. This was already another repeat visit to Kkomak Manse Pyeongtaek Manse-ro Main Branch! Maybe because it’s somewhere I’ve visited several times, but I had another easy, delicious meal this time too. If you’re looking for lunch or dinner on Manse-ro in Pyeongtaek, or if, like me, you’ve been once already and are craving cockles again, stop by Kkomak Manse Pyeongtaek Manse-ro Main Branch ◡̈