Four à la carte dishes at a Daejeon Japanese restaurant: Choi Dining

I was looking for somewhere to have lunch in Gwanpyeong-dong and ended up at Choi Dining! It's right in the Gwanpyeong-dong dining alley so it wasn't hard to find, and I thought it was also a great spot to grab lunch before heading to Hyundai Outlet.

Eating a solid meal before shopping is always the move. I did exactly that — ate here first, then went straight to shopping at Hyundai Outlet.

Where do you park at Choi Dining Daejeon Gwanpyeong?

Choi Dining Daejeon Gwanpyeong

Parking was available for about 3 cars right in front of the restaurant. It's not exactly generous space, but being able to park directly in front of the store was convenient.

Parking can be a headache when looking for a place to eat around the Gwanpyeong-dong dining alley, but if the timing works out, you can park right outside and walk straight in — which was great.

What the restaurant looks like inside

Interior photos

The interior is decorated in a cute, detailed style and had a real 'like you've landed in Japan' feel.

Ordering four dishes à la carte instead of a set

Menu

At Choi Dining you can order individual dishes one at a time, or go for the Couple Set and Family Set if you're dining with a few people. This time, rather than ordering a set menu, we just picked the individual dishes we felt like eating.

So on this visit we ended up ordering four dishes total! Salmon futomaki (thick seaweed rice roll), whole bacon pasta, kimchi nabe (hot pot) set, and pork katsu.

How did the four dishes taste?

Food photos

Ordering several dishes at once and sharing small portions of each meant we got to try a nice range of the menu. And to cut straight to the conclusion... if you ask me which one was the tastiest, it was genuinely hard to pick just one. Each of the four dishes had its own distinct charm, so I couldn't confidently say 'this one's the best!'

What I ordered was salmon futomaki, pork katsu, kimchi nabe, and bacon cream pasta — four dishes in total.

Salmon futomaki

First up, the salmon futomaki! Futomaki is already a hefty size to eat in one bite, so it looked appetizing from the get-go. Salmon is tucked inside, so anyone who loves salmon would especially enjoy this one.

With the rice, various fillings, and salmon all coming together, one bite gave you a bunch of flavors all at once, which I loved. The salmon in particular kept it from feeling too heavy — it had a light yet soft texture. Since futomaki has so many different fillings inside, every bite brought a fun mix of textures too.

Whole bacon pasta

Next, the whole bacon pasta! Pasta can get a bit greasy if you're not careful, but this whole bacon pasta had a spicy kick that cut right through the richness — I liked that a lot.

The bacon's savory, salty flavor combined with the spiciness meant it never felt as heavy as a typical cream or oil pasta, and I just kept eating. Especially paired with the other dishes, the spicy pasta worked well as a palate reset in between bites.

Kimchi nabe set (kimchi hot pot meal)

Next up, the kimchi nabe set! I personally love dishes with kimchi in them so I gave this a try, and the warm broth combined with the kimchi flavor made it a great meal choice.

Especially for lunch, it's nice to have at least one dish with rice and broth to feel properly full. The kimchi nabe set fit that role perfectly as a full meal.

Pork katsu

And finally, the pork katsu! This was really delicious too. The outside was fried nice and crispy, giving it great texture, and the savory flavor of the pork came through well.

With katsu, that crisp texture is really what matters, and the crunch on each bite was satisfying. It was good with the sauce and good plain too — I just kept reaching for more.

Final verdict on Choi Dining Daejeon Gwanpyeong

Looking for a good lunch spot in Gwanpyeong-dong? Or a good restaurant near Hyundai Outlet? Everything here is just delicious — highly recommend!