Ruwon City pollock dinner set with mom, 37,000 won: Hangsangcharim

The weather is getting chilly, and it's the season for spicy, kick-your-appetite food. It had been a while, so I took my mom out for a nice dinner to freshen things up.

My mom absolutely loves sweet-and-spicy braised pollock (kodari-jjim), so I wondered where to go. Lots of reviews said the parking was easy and the food neat and tidy, so I picked Hangsangcharim Kodari Myeongga Ruwon City Branch (한상차림코다리명가 루원시티점). Having gone, it really lived up to the buzz, so here's my detailed review.

Is parking easy at Hangsangcharim Kodari Myeongga Ruwon City Branch?

Yes, the parking area is big and well laid out, so parking was very easy. When you eat out with your parents, parking is one of the things you worry about most, right?

However good a place is, if the lot is cramped or it's hard to find a spot, you hesitate to go. Here the parking space is genuinely huge, which made things easy. Beginner drivers, or families arriving in several cars, should be able to come without any parking worries.

The clean, spacious look of the entrance and storefront had my expectations shooting up before we even stepped inside.

The ₩37,000 dinner set I ate with mom: what's in it and how it tasted

We visited at dinnertime and ordered the restaurant's signature dinner set (₩37,000). Inside, the clean, roomy interior caught my eye, and the staff greeted us kindly.

I heard that at lunch it's already popular as a Gajeong-dong lunch spot thanks to its filling menu. We came for dinner, so we went with the dinner set.

We ordered, chatted for a bit, and before long a full, generous spread was laid out!

How were the sauce and the fish meat of the braised pollock?

The freshly cooked braised pollock looked special from the first glance, and the sweet-and-spicy sauce aroma hit my nose. The big pieces of pollock had sauce soaked right through, and the flesh was so thick and tender that picking out the bones was really easy.

After one bite, my mom kept praising it: "The sauce has deep flavor and isn't salty, it's really good." I put the chewy yet moist pollock on a sheet of gim, added bean sprouts and wrapped it up, and it was a total rice thief (the kind of dish that makes you finish your rice).

I could instantly see why it's famous as an Incheon kodari spot.

Finishing the stone-pot rice as scorched rice

The stone-pot rice (dolsotbap) that came with the dinner set was tasty too, and later, turned into scorched rice (nurungji), it had a wonderfully nutty flavor.

What's the banchan self-serve bar like at Hangsangcharim Kodari Myeongga?

Another big plus of the Ruwon City Branch is the self-serve bar set up at one side of the restaurant. If you run out of side dishes, you can help yourself as much as you like without feeling awkward.

The basic side dishes were neat, and you could taste the home-cooked touch in each one. Being able to grab more from the self-serve bar was really convenient. The bar area is kept hygienic and tidy, and the traffic flow isn't complicated, so it was very easy to use.

Fresh vegetables that go well with the spicy braised pollock and neat side dishes were plentiful, so the meal felt even richer all the way through.

Verdict: a Ruwon City dinner out with your parents

Getting such a full, tasty dinner set with my mom for ₩37,000 made this a really satisfying meal. The portions are generous for the price and the ingredients are good quality, so it works for taking parents, a family meal or a gathering.

If you're looking for a filling, tasty restaurant nearby, I strongly recommend it as a Ruwon City meal spot! Easy parking, a clean dining room and, above all, really delicious food: Hangsangcharim Kodari Myeongga Ruwon City Branch, do give it a visit!