Stuffed fried eggplant at Yeoju Korean set-meal spot Nadeulmok Yeoju

Why a Yeoju hanjeongsik lunch after a Chuseok grave visit

Chuseok is approaching. Every year, a week before the holiday, we visit my father-in-law's grave with the kids, but this year the kids all had their own busy schedules, so it was just my husband and me — the one who sells tea — heading out for the visit.

We usually eat lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Ilchuk on the way back, but today we decided to stop by Yeoju Premium Outlets on the way. So I looked up a good Korean set-meal restaurant in Yeoju. It looked like a local favorite with great reviews, but when we got there, 16 parties were waiting, and several groups who'd come for lunch just left because the wait was too long.

They told us the wait would be about 50 minutes. We thought about going somewhere else, but I really wanted to try the Yeoju rice more than the braised cutlassfish, so we decided to just wait it out.

Side dishes, braised cutlassfish, and free refills of pork and doenjang stew

Nadeulmok Yeoju Ssalbap serves very neatly arranged side dishes, and the staff kindly let us know that the stir-fried pork and doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) are refillable. Every side dish tasted like real effort went into it.

Among them, the yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi) had a spicy, refreshing kick I loved, and the stir-fried eggplant was chewy and delicious. The main dish, braised cutlassfish, was also excellent.

Japchae, tangpyeongchae and salad arrive before the main dish

Before the main dishes came out, we got japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), a vegetable salad, tangpyeongchae (mung bean jelly salad), and fried eggplant. Everything was neatly plated — the japchae was warm and well-seasoned, and the tangpyeongchae was soft and tasty. The salad was very fresh with a delicious dressing.

Extra fried eggplant, 5 for 4,000 won, plus stone-pot rice instead of plain rice

This is the fried eggplant — one piece per person. When I cut it in half, I found minced meat stuffed inside and fried, so it was crispy outside and soft inside. My husband went absolutely wild over how good it was.

You can order extra fried eggplant, 5 pieces for an additional ₩4,000. Next time we come with the whole family, I think we'll have to add an order of this. We were too full to order more today, but I've kept thinking about that fried eggplant ever since.

Also, there's no plain rice bowl here. You have to order stone-pot rice separately, and it takes about 15 minutes. The staff brings it over on a tray like this.

The main course: braised cutlassfish and about 10 side dishes

Here's the main dish, braised cutlassfish. The spicy cheongyang chili peppers gave it a nice kick, and the radish wasn't overcooked, keeping a nice texture that made the whole dish taste even better.

The 10 side dishes included yeolmu kimchi, seasoned doraji (bellflower root), dried squash namul, seasoned pickled cucumber, stir-fried miyeok julgi (seaweed stem), stir-fried eggplant, stir-fried pork, doenjang jjigae, seasoned chamnamul (aster greens), fresh cabbage kimchi, a potato side dish, and pickled lettuce stems — and the stir-fried pork and doenjang jjigae were both so good.

Yeoju-rice stone-pot rice and the nurungji crust

This is stone-pot rice made with Yeoju rice, each grain distinct and separate. The scorched rice crust from the stone pot was even more savory and delicious than the crust you get from a cast-iron pot.

How long is the wait at Nadeulmok Yeoju Ssalbap?

Nadeulmok Yeoju Ssalbap seems to always have a wait. You enter your phone number on a tablet to join the queue. With 16 parties ahead of us, they told us it would take about 50 minutes, but it actually took around 30 minutes.

This popular Yeoju Korean restaurant does have a break time, so definitely keep that in mind before you go.

After the meal, coffee is also available.

Menu, parking and how to find Nadeulmok Yeoju Ssalbap

• 4 menu items total
• One order per person required for ages 8 and up
• Parking is available both in front and in a large lot behind the restaurant, so no need to worry about parking
• The restaurant is located at the road entrance right before Yeoju Premium Outlets