Sinjung-dong, Bucheon Korean restaurant, two set meals: Gim Myeongju

I visited Bucheon again this weekend after a while. I was really craving Korean food, so I searched for Korean restaurants in Sinjung-dong with parking and found Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang! It's a hanjeongsik (Korean set-meal course) restaurant, and it had a seriously upscale feel haha.

Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Sinjung-dong Branch

• Address: 70 Jungdong-ro 254beon-gil, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do (1st floor partial, 2nd and 3rd floors)
• Hours: Daily 10:30–21:30 (last order 20:50)
• Restroom: Inside
• Parking: Available

How big is the parking lot at Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Sinjung-dong Branch?

A parking lot this huge in the middle of Bucheon?! I was honestly overwhelmed by the size. There even seemed to be a lot of expensive cars 🫢 If you're coming by car, go in through the entrance shown in the second photo. The staff guiding cars in were super friendly haha.

It said "café" on the first floor, but no one seemed to be using it. There was a coffee machine inside on the second floor, so maybe that's where you're supposed to drink it haha.

If you're arriving on foot, you'll see the grand entrance right away, so just head on up haha. They also sell rice milled in-house, packaged side dishes, and lots of snacks! There was also a baby chair and a coffee machine haha.

Second-floor hall at Gim Myeongju: mood and seating

The interior was really spacious! I only managed to get this photo once it emptied out because there were so many customers haha. I only used the second floor, but apparently there's a third floor too.

Please refer to the menu board~

What comes with the 31,000-won soy crab set and 28,000-won grilled mackerel set?

Soy-marinated crab set (per person) ₩31,000 Grilled mackerel set (per person) ₩28,000

I was surprised that 2-4 of the side dishes don't even come with the set 🤣 They're all at the self-bar, so you just grab whichever ones you want! Since I said it was my first time, they explained everything really kindly haha. They also said the cheonggukjang is refillable 😆 (it's so good). I originally came for the soy crab, but the grilled mackerel and cheonggukjang were so delicious that I barely reached for the crab?! But somehow Kkangkkang-ssi knew and picked the fish meat off the bones for me... ㅁㅇㅁㅇ!!

Which self-bar side dish at Gim Myeongju tasted best?

The self-bar was amazing!!

The braised potatoes(?) were super chewy, and the fried lotus root(?) tasted a bit like guobaorou (Chinese sweet-and-sour pork) haha! The yeolmu mul-kimchi (young radish water kimchi)... I was so sad I couldn't eat it 😭 I felt like rice with the water kimchi topped with mackerel and godeulppaegi (bitter lettuce kimchi) would've been amazing, but noo ㅠㅠ There was sesame oil, perilla oil, and gochujang (red chili paste) set out so you could make bibimbap. So naturally I had to make bibimbap too, right?! Personally, my favorite side dishes were the cheonggukjang, kimchi, godeulppaegi, dried radish greens, braised gwarigochu (small green peppers), and seasoned spinach! But there were already so many basic side dishes with the set that I didn't really go back for refills haha.

For rice, you can scoop your own choice of yellow rice or barley rice. The pot rice that comes with the set itself isn't much in volume, so I scooped a bit of yellow rice to make bibimbap 😋 There were also plum juice and omija (schisandra berry) juice, but I forgot to drink them before leaving haha. There was so much food that I kept forgetting what was even available. Not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing haha.

How was the soy-marinated crab at Gim Myeongju?

The soy crab here wasn't sweet at all, which was a little disappointing ㅜㅜ I guess I just have unusual taste buds that like things sweet 😓 Maybe it's because a lot of older customers come here?! ㅎㅎ Still, white rice with soy crab is an unbeatable combo. Rice with soy crab, sliiiiide~~~ And for the bibimbap, I drizzled on plenty of sesame oil, added a spoonful of cheonggukjang, and mixed it all up thoroughly. It made me crave a fried egg~ I think it would've been even better with a fried egg haha.

Is Gim Myeongju a good group-gathering spot in Bucheon?

Of course I finished with the pot rice at the end~ I'm not a fan of just adding water to pot rice, so I always add some kind of stew, and cheonggukjang worked great here too. Their cheonggukjang is truly the real deal 🧡

Overall, the food was neat and generous in portion, and the interior was spacious, so it seems like a great spot for a Korean set-meal gathering in Bucheon haha. Since the space is large, groups of 2-4 probably don't need a reservation, but for 5 or more, I'd recommend booking ahead. There was a whiteboard with reservation status on it, and there were genuinely a lot of bookings.... 👍🏻 I need to bring my parents here next time 🤍