Jinjeop loach soup restaurant with a kids' pork cutlet: Chuojeong

A weekday dinner with a child at Chuojeong Namwon Chueotang

Starting my honest review of Chuojeong Namwon Chueotang, which we visited as part of a little outing in Namyangju with the kids~!^^

On a weekday evening, craving a hearty meal, we headed to Chuojeong Namwon Chueotang with the kids 😊 That day Jeonghyeok fell into a deep sleep in the car on the way, so we decided not to wake him, and it ended up being just my husband, me, and Ribin having dinner :) When we take our child to a Korean restaurant, the first things we check are whether there's something the kid can eat and whether there's a baby chair. This loach soup place we found in Namyangju had not only chueotang but also pork cutlet and fried loach on the menu, so it worked out fine as a family meal out with a kid too 💕

Is there parking at Chuojeong Namwon Chueotang?

Location and opening hours in Jinjeop, Namyangju

• 경기 남양주시 진접읍 금강로 1828-4
• Hours: Daily 9:30 AM – 9:00 PM
• Parking: Available (free)

There was a space to park behind the restaurant. When moving around with kids, parking is always the first thing on my mind, so being able to park and walk straight into the restaurant was really convenient :) The big Chuojeong Namwon Chueotang sign out front made it easy to find even on a first visit, and the exterior also listed a variety of menu items like the Chuojeong set, Jeju yellow crab jang, stir-fried octopus, and sweet pumpkin pork cutlet.

Inside, the space was bright and clean overall, with relatively generous spacing between tables~! There were also long seats along the window that looked comfortable for solo dining or small groups! Best of all, there was a baby chair set up in one corner, which was a welcome sight for us visiting with a kid 💕

Self-serve side dish bar: refill your own kimchi

On one side of the restaurant there was a self-serve bar where you could help yourself to extra side dishes 😊 Kimchi and yeolmu (young radish greens), along with chives and cabbage, were all neatly laid out, and the fact that you could take just as much as you'd eat made it convenient. Since you could add more of whichever side dish suited your taste from the ones you were first served, it made the bowl of chueotang feel even more filling 💕

What we ordered at Chuojeong Namwon Chueotang

That day, our family ordered two bowls of chueotang, the nostalgic pork cutlet, and a half order of fried loach at Chuojeong Namwon Chueotang.

Chueotang (loach soup)

Since we came looking for a good loach soup place in Namyangju, the main event was of course chueotang! It came out bubbling in a stone pot, so we could enjoy it hot throughout the meal, and the rich, savory broth went well with rice. Mixing in rice makes it a really hearty meal, so it worked great for dinner too~! You could add chives to taste, and it paired even better with side dishes like kimchi or yeolmu. It's a dish I'd want to come back for whenever I'm craving a warm broth 💕

Nostalgic pork cutlet with the sauce on the side

If you're visiting with a kid, the nostalgic pork cutlet is definitely worth a look. The big cutlet had a crispy coating and came with cabbage salad, rice, and pickled radish, making it a full meal on its own :) Since Ribin doesn't usually eat pork cutlet sauce, we asked for the sauce on the side when ordering 😊 Thanks to that, she could eat the crispy cutlet plain without any sauce on it! We cut it into bite-sized pieces and she really dug in 🧡

Being able to order chueotang for the parents and pork cutlet for the kid made choosing so much easier~! When eating Korean food out with a kid, figuring out what they'll eat is often a headache, but this combination worked perfectly for our family 💕

Fried loach, half order

Wanting to try it alongside the chueotang, we ordered the fried loach in a half order 💛 Fried crispy, it was crunchy outside and light inside, great for picking at one piece at a time between spoonfuls of soup. If ordering a full plate feels like too much, or if you want to try a variety of dishes, having a half-order option was a nice touch~! Eating the chueotang and fried loach together felt like we'd fully accomplished our mission of finding a good loach soup spot in Namyangju 💕

Is Chuojeong Namwon Chueotang good for a family with a young child?

That day Jeonghyeok fell asleep in the car, so unexpectedly it ended up being just the three of us eating. Ribin ate her pork cutlet so well that we were able to enjoy our chueotang at ease too 💛 Having a baby chair ready and a pork cutlet option the kid could eat made it a good place to visit with a child, and being able to request the sauce separately was also satisfying for our family :)

You might worry that a loach soup specialty restaurant wouldn't have a proper kid's option, but at Chuojeong Namwon Chueotang the parents can order chueotang while the kid gets pork cutlet, so it could be a solid choice when a family is deciding where to eat out 💕

We visited Chuojeong Namwon Chueotang on a weekday evening craving a hearty Korean meal 💛 Jeonghyeok slept through it and missed out, but Ribin ate her crispy pork cutlet so well that we were able to enjoy our warm chueotang comfortably too :)

• A solid pick when looking for a good loach soup place in Namyangju
• Bubbling hot chueotang and fried loach can be enjoyed together
• Has a pork cutlet menu that's easy for kids to eat, good for visiting with a child
• Great for kids who don't eat sauce like Ribin — sauce can be requested on the side
• Self-serve bar lets you take as many extra side dishes as you want
• Baby chair available, convenient for families with young children
• Parking space available, making it easy to visit for a family meal out

Especially for families looking for a good loach soup place in Namyangju who also want to sort out a kid's menu at the same time, being able to order chueotang and pork cutlet together was a real plus.