Cheonan budae-jjigae with extra ham and two noodle bags: Cheongwon

Today I've got a review of the budae-jjigae (army stew) I ate in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan!! I was craving budae-jjigae and went looking for somewhere to go, and that's how I found Cheongwon Restaurant Cheonan Dujeong Main Branch. Let's get into the review, here we go.

What is Cheongwon Restaurant: Cooking Budae-jjigae, Cheonan Dujeong Main Branch?

Cheongwon Restaurant: Cooking Budae-jjigae, Cheonan Dujeong Main Branch sells Songtan budae-jjigae in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan, and I was drooling the second I saw the menu. I love ham so much that I eat budae-jjigae pretty regularly.

This is one of my favorite budae-jjigae spots that I keep coming back to,, I love budae-jjigae so much that I revisit the places I like. Takeout gets you a whopping ₩2,000 discount, and they're running a free egg roll promotion too ♡

My favorite mukbang YouTuber Ami Ami was playing on the screen. She was eating so happily, haha.

Inside Cheongwon Restaurant: atmosphere and seating

Check the Chuseok holiday business hours before you visit!! Cheongwon Restaurant's interior was really clean. The tables were spacious and comfortable, and the staff seemed super focused on cleanliness — also incredibly kind.

Songtan budae-jjigae vs Cheongwon budae-jjigae: what's the difference?

We sat down, looked over the menu, and ordered right away. Cheongwon Restaurant has both Songtan budae-jjigae and Cheongwon budae-jjigae. It turns out Songtan budae-jjigae comes with ground meat, while Cheongwon budae-jjigae has spicy cheongyang chili and beef brisket.

Last time I had the spicy Cheongwon budae-jjigae, so this time I decided to try Songtan. Honestly the Cheongwon budae-jjigae was really delicious last time, but I was curious about the Songtan flavor so I picked that instead.

Basic banchan and the self-serve bar at Cheongwon Restaurant

Fresh side dishes +_+ The basic banchan (side dishes) are bean sprouts, fish cake, and kimchi. If you run low, you can refill from the self-serve bar.

Unlimited rice and noodle (sari) refills

Another great thing about Cheongwon Restaurant!! Rice and noodles (sari) are both unlimited. The rice was fluffy and really tasty. I ended up eating two whole bags of noodles too. Unlimited rice and noodles is such a win.

Songtan budae-jjigae with extra ham: how it tasted

After a short wait, the budae-jjigae came out in the pot. There was a slice of cheese on top and it was packed with ham and sausage. Looks delicious already, right? The ham and sausage portions were really generous too (and I ended up adding even more ham on top of that).

The most exciting part of budae-jjigae is right when it starts boiling over. It started bubbling away, and the staff kept checking on it. They also let us know when it was ready to eat.

They said it's even better eaten like this, haha.

The ham was plentiful, and the broth was seriously rich.

Budae-jjigae can sometimes get a bit greasy the more you eat (probably because of all the ham), but Cheongwon Restaurant's version never got tiring.

Watching the ham and sausage boil together in the broth is when I start getting even hungrier, haha. I fished some out first (lol). Take a bite of that hearty ham with rice~ and two bowls of rice disappear just like that.

Fishing out the sausages one by one and taking spoonfuls of broth, before you know it the pot is emptying out. All the way to the last of the noodles — a piece of ham on rice with a little broth on top is the best combo. Eating like that, the rice just disappears in no time.

Budae-jjigae definitely tastes better once it's simmered for a while. As time passes the broth gets richer than at the start, and the ham and sausage soak up more of that broth flavor, so it feels different from the first bite.

Worth adding extra ham if you love ham

Cheongwon Restaurant Cheonan Dujeong Main Branch already gives you a generous base amount of ham, and the extra ham I ordered came in a really generous portion too, which made it fun to fish out. I love ham, so when the ham quality is low or there's not enough of it in budae-jjigae, it's disappointing — but there was no such letdown here.

As the ham and sausage simmer together, the broth gets deeper and deeper in flavor, and eating that salty broth with rice is just amazing. I added extra ham to the Songtan budae-jjigae, and if you're a ham lover like me, adding it is definitely worth doing.

Personally, being able to eat plenty of ham was what I liked best, and the broth paired really well with rice. Next time you're craving budae-jjigae in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan, give Cheongwon Restaurant: Cooking Budae-jjigae a visit!!