Daily-milled rice self-bar at a Bucheon Korean restaurant: Gim

I went with my mom for a good meal at the Bucheon main branch of Tteuranchae. It's in the Jakdong area, one of the Jakdong/Kkachiul spots I'd been meaning to check out, and it turned out to have way more variety and food than I expected, so I left pretty satisfied. Best of all, I drove there and there was a big parking lot right in front of the restaurant, which made things easy — someone was even directing parking, so even that part was no hassle.

Packed with customers the moment we walked in

Walking inside, the place was really busy. The dining room was completely full, and as I was taking photos I remember thinking, "wow, this place really gets crowded."

A rice-milling machine at the entrance

One thing caught my eye right at the entrance: a hwangmi rice (yellow rice) milling machine. They mill the rice fresh every day, and sure enough, the machine was sitting right by the door. Rice is something we eat every day, but knowing it's milled fresh that same day felt surprisingly special.

Order however you like

Looking at the menu, you can order the Tteuranchae set course as the main, or get the Tteuranchae Bapsang individually for ₩13,000 per person. You can also add whichever main dish you want on top.

We decided to order the borigulbi (dried, seasoned yellow corvina) and pair it with a bunch of side dishes. A little while later, the table was completely full. With each dish that arrived the table got fuller and fuller — I was glad I took photos along the way.

Every single banchan was good

The namul (seasoned vegetable) dishes were tasty overall, and so were the jangajji (pickled vegetables). The kimchi was good too — it felt more like fresh geotjeori (unfermented cabbage kimchi) than regular kimchi, so it was crisp and fresh, and I kept reaching for more.

They also sell the side dishes separately. There was a fridge inside the restaurant stocked with banchan, so if you tried something and liked it, you could just buy it to take home — I thought that was a fun touch.

There's a self-bar too, so help yourself

On one side there was a self-serve bar set up. You can take as many of the various banchan as you like, and rice is unlimited too — just grab it yourself from the rice container. Rice disappears fast when you're eating borigulbi, so it was great being able to easily grab more.

Freshly fried eggplant, and japchae on request

If you happen to visit when the fried eggplant has just come out at the self-bar, definitely grab some — eaten hot, it was really delicious. Japchae (glass noodle stir-fry) is harder to keep maintained at the self-bar, so if you want some, you can just ask a staff member and they'll bring it out separately. Honestly, that approach felt clean and considerate too.

Borigulbi and Boseong green tea

Today's main order was borigulbi.

It came with Boseong green tea alongside the borigulbi.

And this is how we ate it: pour the Boseong green tea over the stone-pot rice to make a tea-rice, then top it with a piece of borigulbi.

Mixing rice with green tea and topping it with a piece of borigulbi really worked well together. The flavor of the borigulbi blended with the tea-soaked rice for a light, clean bite.

The cheonggukjang was genuinely delicious

One dish that personally stuck with me was the cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew).

The aroma alone was fantastic — it had that distinctive savory cheonggukjang smell, and the taste lived up to it. Between the namul, the pickles, the kimchi, and now the cheonggukjang, I just kept eating more rice. Among the side dishes, the potatoes stood out too — they had a chewier texture than usual, quite different from the potatoes I normally eat, which made even this small side dish fun to try.

And to finish: stone-pot scorched rice

Then there's the stone-pot rice. The pot itself is fairly heavy, and once you finish the rice, you can pour water in to make nurungji (scorched rice).

After the borigulbi with green tea rice, the hearty cheonggukjang and side dishes, and finally the hot nurungji at the end, I was completely full. Water came in bottled form and disposable aprons were provided too, which felt like a nice, clean touch.

My thoughts after eating

I originally just went for a nice meal with my mom, but there turned out to be way more food, and way more good food, than I expected. From milling the rice fresh every day, to the ease of the self-bar for rice and banchan, to the freshly fried eggplant, the cheonggukjang, the namul, and the pickles — the more I tried, the more it felt like a place that puts real care into its food.

Pairing the borigulbi with Boseong green tea was great, and finishing the stone-pot rice off with nurungji left me feeling like I'd had a truly proper meal. If you're looking for Bucheon restaurants with a hanjeongsik (Korean set-course meal) or a clean, full spread, this is worth a visit. Especially if you're searching for Jakdong or Kkachiul restaurants, Tteuranchae Bucheon Main Branch is worth remembering. Next time, I want to have that freshly fried eggplant again. :)

Basic info for Tteuranchae Bucheon Main Branch

• Name: Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Bucheon Main Branch
• Address: 560 Giljiu-ro, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: 10:30 – 21:00
• Last order: 20:15
• Tteuranchae Bapsang: ₩13,000 per person
• Parking: Large lot available in front of the restaurant