Gwangju Chinese restaurant spicy webfoot octopus jjajang: Mayway

A Chinese-food lunch in Gwangju with my mom

On my day off, my mom and I were wondering what to have for lunch, so we went to try the hot-stone jjajang (black bean noodles) I’d been curious about, haha. It was Mayway Gwangju Cheomdan Branch, a Chinese-food specialty restaurant; it’s near Lotte Mart, so it was easy and close to find.

Mayway Gwangju Cheomdan Branch

We arrived around 11, before lunch, but as we ate, lots of office workers came in for their meals. It seems like a place nearby workers visit often. 🅿️ There’s no separate parking lot, so you can comfortably park in the alley behind it.

Break time and a spacious dining room

The break time is 15:00–17:00, so it would be best to avoid that window. Once inside, it was more spacious and tidy than I expected, making it nice for a family gathering too. I saw families, friends, and couples all visiting.

QR ordering and the self-service bar

There wasn’t a separate paper menu; you check the menu and order by QR code, which was convenient. They also gave us complimentary fried sweet potato, haha. And they set up the hot stone plate for us. We ordered the webfoot octopus jjajang and tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork)!!

(The name may have changed, so it differs from the image.) As soon as you enter, the self-service bar is right on the right.

Unlimited rice with the basic side dishes is the key point!! I think that’s why so many office workers come here. Of course, it tastes good too, haha. There was pa-kimchi (green onion kimchi), so I tried it, and it went so well with the jjajang. It’s a little sad that I didn’t get a photo ㅠ

Spicy webfoot octopus jjajang with noodles that stayed firm

When we came back after getting our side dishes, the food was out, and they checked the temperature first before pouring it on!!

Wowaah 💓 Looks delicious, right? Hahaha

It looked great, and because the webfoot octopus went in fresh, it had a lovely texture and plump flesh. The portion was big too, so we ate until we were full.

Oh, and it was spicier than I expected—and it somehow got even hotter as I ate 🌶️ If you can’t handle spicy food, I think you should choose another menu item or ask whether they can adjust the heat. I worried the noodles might get soggy while we ate because the stone plate was hot, but even though we ate slowly, they didn’t get soggy at all 🫶

Freshly fried sweet and sour pork that felt like tonkatsu

The tangsuyuk was sooooo good. I’m telling you, I thought it was tonkatsu!! It also uses fresh meat, so the texture was incredible, and freshly fried food is just a combination that can’t possibly taste bad, haha ☺️

A kind lunch visit, right down to packing the leftover sauce

There was a huge amount of jjajang sauce, and I guess it’s meant for mixing with rice.. 💜 The owner said, “You should have rice! Shall I get you some?” Even though it’s self-service, he was going to bring it himself; he was so nice, cheerful, and kind, haha. I have to go back at least once more just because of the owner.

The webfoot octopus jjajang serves 2–3 people, but the two of us only finished the noodles and had sauce left. We were too full to mix in rice ㅠㅠ I asked whether it could be packed up, and they happily packed it for us!

While paying, I could also see a framed story about how Mayway began. It was a pretty solid story, haha. I was chatting with the owner while paying and nearly left the packed food behind. He’s so kind 🤣 I heard the jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) is good too, so I’m looking forward to it. Next time, I’ll come back for jjamppong 💓👍👍

If you’re looking for a great lunch spot in Cheomdan or a proper Chinese restaurant, I recommend Mayway Gwangju Cheomdan Branch 👍👍👍