Cheongju pot rice restaurant: crab vs cockle for two, Sorori Sotbap

Another chaotic day out — this is Kim Chamsae, back from Sorori Sotbap at Culture Factory, my go-to spot near the Cheongju Museum of Art!

📍Location: 314 Sangdang-ro, 1st floor, Cheongwon-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea 📍Hours: Daily 11:00–20:30 * Break time 15:00–17:00 *

Pot rice near the Cheongju Museum of Art: Sorori Sotbap Culture Factory Branch

Sorori Sotbap is a Cheongju pot rice (sotbap) spot I visit often with my own money 🍚 I loved it even back when it was a small shop, before it moved to the bigger Seongan-gil location — it's been my favorite pot rice place in Cheongju, and it's been opening more branches lately! I'd only ever been to the Seongan-gil flagship, so when I heard there was a branch at Culture Factory, somewhere I go all the time anyway, I trotted right over 💓

How's the parking, and is it okay with kids?

I've always been satisfied with parking at the Seongan-gil branch since the underground lot at the Urban Regeneration Hub Center is available, but the Culture Factory branch has overwhelmingly more parking space, it turns out!

(Aprons and baby chairs were all perfectly ready, too 💞) Today's order at Sorori Sotbap, my favorite spot near the Cheongju Museum of Art, was → crab pot rice, cockle pot rice, buckwheat gimbap.

Rib pot rice is my usual favorite, but since it was a first visit to a different branch, I ordered two pot rice dishes I'd never tried before 🫶 The banchan (side dishes) that come as standard and the butter you mix into the pot rice were both easy to grab as much as you wanted from the self-serve bar!

How does the crab pot rice taste?

Here comes the pot rice we ordered~

With sunlight pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows, today's dishes photographed even more gorgeously. First, I lifted the crab shell sitting on top of the crab pot rice and a savory aroma burst out.

Loaded with soft, mild crab meat, every bite delivered insane umami!

Cockle pot rice: crack the yolk, stir in the butter

The cockle pot rice's charm was its spicy, salty sauce — generously loaded with chewy cockles, so between the texture and the special sauce, mixing it all up and wrapping it in seaweed made one bowl disappear in no time ✨

The kick of the spicy sauce in the cockle pot rice pairs with the egg yolk on top — crack it open, drop in the butter, and mix it all together 🧈

Looking at it again, the pot rice visuals are just gorgeous... Go ahead, take one more look at that gorgeous pot rice visual~

Crab pot rice vs cockle pot rice — which to order?

Crab pot rice has that soft, savory flavor that fills you up comfortably, while cockle pot rice pulls in your appetite with its chewy texture and spicy, salty sauce — neither one beats the other! My husband, who came along, actually thought the crab pot rice 🦀 was tastier, while I preferred the cockle pot rice 🐚 The two are completely different in character, so if you're visiting with company, I'd say don't order the same dish twice — get one of each and share for the perfect food combo 🫶

And of course, the buckwheat gimbap — the perfect side dish I order every single time I visit Sorori Sotbap.

This must be my Nth visit to Sorori, and I have no idea why I always just ordered rib pot rice...! Going forward I'm determined to try all the different pot rice options at Sorori Sotbap. Another satisfying meal today 🫶

Keeping the same flavor and vibe as the Seongan-gil flagship while upgrading the parking convenience — Sorori Sotbap Culture Factory Branch was even more satisfying this time. If you're looking for a restaurant near the Cheongju Museum of Art, or a good spot around Culture Factory, I recommend Sorori Sotbap, Cheongju's favorite pot rice restaurant 💞