Weekday lunch with mom at Boriook Main Branch, a Suwon barley rice

Today I went to Boriook Main Branch (보리옥 본점) in Mangpo with my mom.

Boriook Main Branch basics and parking

• Hours: Daily 10:00-21:00 (break time 15:00-16:30)
• Visit time: weekday, 11am
• Wait: none
• Parking: available

There's parking for about 7 cars in front of the restaurant. But at peak times it fills up fast since customers flock in. We took the last spot ourselves. If you're driving, I'd recommend coming a bit early or just walking in.

Inside the restaurant

The interior was spacious and comfortable. The mother-of-pearl decor in the back gave it a Korean feel that suited Boriook well.

How to eat at Boriook and what we ordered

• Order your menu via table order
• Fill your own plate at the side dish bar (no basic banchan given upfront)
• Enjoy!

Write a Naver review and they'll give you neobiani (Korean-style beef patty).

• Mackerel set (half fish): ₩15,000
• Grilled soy sauce pork set: ₩16,000

There's barely any price difference between the basic barley rice set and the sets with mackerel or pork added, so I'd recommend going for the sets with a main dish rather than the basic one.

What's at the side dish self-bar

I love eolgalri (young cabbage) namul, so I was happy it was there. The yeolmu (young radish) kimchi is delicious. I thought I'd photographed every side dish, but I missed a bunch — I could've sworn I got them all in my head, haha. Besides what's pictured, there's also seasoned bean sprouts, braised lotus root, seaweed stem muchim, napa cabbage kimchi, and doraji (bellflower root) namul. I loved having such a wide variety of banchan.

Braised tofu and japchae (stir-fried glass noodles). I didn't try the braised tofu on its own but the japchae was delicious. At Korean buffets japchae can sometimes be mostly noodles, but here it was packed with a good variety of vegetables.

There's also sweet pumpkin, mushroom, and chili pepper fritters. The fritters were solid, no-frills. White rice and barley rice are also provided, so you can eat as much as you like.

Korea dessert. You can have barley crackers and ppeongtwigi (puffed rice snack). There's also plum and peach drinks, plus coffee. Yes, coffee too.

How I put together my barley bibimbap

The initial portion of barley rice looked small, but once I added namul and mixed everything in, it turned out to be just the right amount.

I added the sesame oil and gochujang (chili paste) sitting on the table to make my bibimbap. Bibimbap is always delicious no matter how many times I have it.

Grilled mackerel and grilled soy sauce pork

The great thing here is that the food comes out really fast. While I was still mixing my bibimbap, the mackerel and soy sauce pork already arrived.

The soy sauce pork has a great smoky char flavor. It was delicious wrapped in cabbage. The grilled mackerel paired really well with the barley rice and cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew).

Cheonggukjang can be overwhelming when the smell is too strong, but this one wasn't heavy at all — it had a clean, light feel!

Finished off with barley crackers and plum tea. Having barley crackers again after so long was so good.

Final thoughts

I loved being able to eat tons of namul. Having so many kinds of side dishes made it fun to pick and choose, and mixing it all with barley rice made for a pretty hearty meal. I especially loved being able to refill barley rice and white rice as much as I wanted, and I was glad the food came out so fast that I barely had to wait.

The basic barley rice set is fine, but since the mackerel set is only ₩2,000 more and the grilled soy sauce pork set is only ₩3,000 more, I'd personally recommend ordering one of the sets with a main dish included. If you're looking for a neat, easy-on-the-stomach Korean meal, this is a good place to visit.