Lunch waiting line near Ajou University, cold soba side: Gyudongjip

Today I'm introducing a spot famous as a lunch favorite near Ajou University in Suwon — I found it while looking for Ajou lunch spots, and it turned out to be so well-known for great value that there's actually a wait at lunchtime: Gyudongjip!

Location and hours of Gyudongjip Ajou University Branch

• 📍Gyudongjip: 23 Ajou-ro 47beon-gil, Paldal-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi, South Korea, 1st floor
• 📍Hours: Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00 / Closed Sat–Sun
• 📍Wi-Fi, parking

Gyudongjip, great for an Ajou lunch, serves gyudon (beef rice bowl) piled generously with meat!

The beef on the gyudon is really tender yet savory, and the price is affordable too, so I'd recommend it for college students to enjoy together — even as an Ajou date spot!!

Menu lineup — from rice bowl sets to curry

Gyudongjip, a go-to Ajou lunch spot, offers a variety of Japanese dishes: gyudon set, chashudon set, yukhoedon set, house curry, chashu curry, karaage curry, shrimp tempura curry, and more!

Prices overall are pretty good value, so I'd recommend it as an Ajou Japanese food spot haha

Is there a wait at lunchtime?

The restaurant was cozy haha. True to its reputation as an Ajou lunch spot, when I visited during lunch hours the place was packed! There's a wait at this Ajou favorite, so I'd recommend going early~

One gyudon set, one chashudon set between two

Gyudongjip, near Ajou University, lets you enjoy simple yet delicious Japanese food!

Chashudon and yukhoedon both looked so tempting it was hard to decide, but since there were two of us, we ordered one chashudon and one gyudon! Both were ordered as sets, which meant we could also pick a side menu haha.

There's a curry menu too, so if you love rice, the curry probably tastes great as well haha. We picked cold soba as our side! Enjoying cool cold soba alongside a rice bowl sounds amazing, right~!

Finally, the gyudon set and chashudon set arrived! Isn't the presentation amazing? Ordering the set meant we also got to try cold soba, so we could taste even more in one visit haha.

Both the gyudon and chashudon had fluffy rice piled high with meat — looked so appetizing.

To really show off this generous spread, I made a little gif too haha. Passes as a solid Ajou lunch spot, right?! The price is low but the portions are this hearty — I was genuinely surprised~!

Gyudon generous with toppings

Let's start with the beef that came on the gyudon~! The portion of beef was just right, so I could eat until full haha.

Usually with rice bowls there's tons of rice but skimpy toppings, but Gyudongjip, this Ajou date spot, piled toppings on generously, which I really liked haha.

Cold soba chosen as a side

I was craving cold soba that day, so ordering the set turned out to be a great choice haha.

The cold soba at Gyudongjip, an Ajou lunch spot, was really tasty too! The cool broth and chewy noodles were perfect for this hot weather~~

Poached egg, spicy sauce, and plum juice

You just place that poached egg on top of the gyudon and mix it in! The plum juice served alongside was sweet and refreshing too — great as dessert haha.

That spicy sauce they gave us was loaded with onion and had a chili-oil flavor — paired with the rice bowl, it cut the richness and doubled the savory depth!

Mixing the poached egg into the gyudon makes it even more moist and tender ㅠㅠ. A poached egg feels like an essential topping for a truly delicious gyudon haha. The ginger topping on top isn't really my thing personally, but my boyfriend said it smelled fragrant and ate it happily!

If you don't like ginger, feel free to just leave it out haha.

Mixing the poached egg with the meat brought out the yolk's soft, deep richness haha. The rice was cooked with just the right chew too, pairing so well with the thin-sliced beef~~

That spicy sauce they gave us had great savory depth too — enjoyed it a lot~ The onion was crunchy, so it worked well as a topping too haha.

How was the chashudon set?

Next up, the chashu rice bowl! The chashu was arranged in a round, flower-like shape, making it even prettier haha.

The chashu portion was generous too, and grilled over open flame with a nicely charred look — so appetizing~~

The chashu rice bowl looks great too, right?! In particular, Gyudongjip, this Suwon Ajou date spot, also gave us plum juice for dessert — such a thoughtful touch haha.

The chashu was tender with a smoky char — such an appealing flavor! Especially since overly salty or sweet seasoning can get tiresome fast, the mild seasoning here made it even more enjoyable to eat~~

A bite of tender chashu with rice makes for a truly satisfying meal haha. The portions were so generous and the price so affordable that I'd recommend it as a great-value Suwon spot too haha.

If you're looking for an Ajou lunch spot or an Ajou date spot, be sure to check out Gyudongjip, this Suwon favorite worth the wait~!