Pyeongchon tuna restaurant with bluefin platter and stew: Chamchiya

As the weather cools down, I sometimes crave warm food for dinner, but every once in a while I really want proper tuna sashimi. This time I'd been craving tuna sashimi again, so I went to Chamchiya in Pyeongchon. I didn't hesitate and ordered the bluefin tuna platter, and finished the meal with a spicy fish stew (maeuntang) too. If you love tuna sashimi, you know each cut has a slightly different taste and texture, so it's fun to try several at once. So this time too, I took my time going through them one by one.

Finding Chamchiya near Pyeongchon Station

I found Chamchiya while searching for tuna sashimi in Pyeongchon. The sign caught my eye even from a distance, so it wasn't hard to find. Since it had been a while since I'd had tuna, I was already excited before even walking in.

What do the side dishes look like?

After ordering at Chamchiya, I waited a bit and the basic side dishes came out one by one. I nibbled on them while waiting for the tuna sashimi. Having these side dishes come out together made the wait for the main dish not boring at all.

The atmosphere and the bluefin tuna platter I ordered

Walking into Chamchiya, the interior had a clean, tidy atmosphere. Tuna sashimi is the kind of dish you tend to eat slowly while chatting, so this atmosphere suited it well. I sat down, looked over the menu, and ordered the bluefin tuna platter that day.

Even within the same bluefin tuna, the texture and fattiness differ by cut, so it's fun to try them one by one. I started with the leaner-feeling cuts first and gradually moved to the richer-tasting ones.

Tasting cut by cut

Each cut had a slightly different texture, so it was fun comparing them one by one. Some were soft, others got more savory the more you chewed. Personally, I liked being able to taste a little of many different cuts like this. If you love tuna, eating it slowly like this could be fun too.

After eating a good amount of the sashimi, it was time to start wrapping up the meal. But ending with just sashimi felt a little lacking, so I ordered a spicy fish stew (maeuntang) at the end. After eating sashimi, you naturally start craving a hot broth.

Finishing with spicy fish stew

The maeuntang finally arrived! Seeing it bubbling and warm was such a welcome sight after eating cold sashimi. One warm, spicy spoonful of broth and I felt warmed up from the inside, nom.

Eating the broth along with the fish and vegetables naturally made me think of rice. While eating sashimi, you keep eating mostly cold food, but finishing with hot broth made the meal feel much more filling. I personally love eating sashimi and then finishing with broth, so ordering the maeuntang that day was satisfying.

Wrapping up Chamchiya in Pyeongchon

This time at Chamchiya in Pyeongchon, I had the bluefin tuna platter and maeuntang. As someone who loves tuna sashimi, I enjoyed being able to taste several cuts at once, and finishing with the maeuntang made me feel like I'd had a properly complete meal.

Tuna is the kind of dish that comes to mind on a special day or when you want something delicious after a while. Rather than ordering a lot of extra dishes, going with the bluefin tuna platter plus maeuntang kept things clean and simple. Above all, tuna sashimi is a dish that's great for slowly chatting over, so it suits dinner well too.

If you're in Pyeongchon wondering where to go for tuna sashimi, a course like this — enjoying various cuts with the bluefin tuna platter and finishing warmly with maeuntang — could be a good option. Maybe because it had been a while since I'd had tuna sashimi, it tasted even better than usual that day ❤️ Next time I visit, I'd like to try some other menu items too :)